28th August - 4th September 2008: We head to the airport to transfer onto our cruise ship - The Galapagos Legend! Because our transfer never showed up on our first day we have been upgraded to a superior cabin so we get two huge windows instead of teeny tiny portholes - yay! The ship fits 100 people so is one of the largest sailing around the Galapagos and we will hopefully avoid getting seasick from the rough seas round these parts! We all get on little pangas (or RIBs) for the short ride to the ship, before leaving our stuff in our spacious cabin, having a quick lunch and briefing about the next seven days. We get split into groups and assigned naturalist guides who will show us around the islands. I am very amused to hear that we are in the group 'Boobies'!. Our first excursion is to Bartolome Isla - we walk to the top of the hill (up alot of steps!) for a sunset view of Pinnacle Rock - the scenery is beautiful so we take lots of photos before heading to the beach for a swim and a snorkel. Mum and I decide to brave the cool waters and spot lots of fish along with a couple of sea lions who decide to see what all the commotion is about. Have a four course dinner (blimey!) before heading out to watch the stars from the top deck. There are sea lions swimming around the ship, chasing fish out from underneath so watch them for a bit and marvel at my good fortune before heading to bed.

We get woken up at 6.45am with the dulcet tones of Enya before being infomred that our breakfast will be ready at 7.30 and we are getting off the boat for our morning excursion at 8.30. We head to Urbina Bay and explore the island, spot a giant land tortoise, a land iguana and lots and lots of finches. Our naturalist guide is called Luis and is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all the wildlife and history of the islands which is great. We head back to the ship for a quick lunch and relax in the sun before heading to Espinosa Point for the afternoon. Mum decides to stay on board and gets the whole ship (and 70 staff!) to herself while we explore the pahoyhoy lava fields and see loads and loads of marine iguanas, crabs and even one loggerhead turtle crawling back to the sea! We're also here at the right time of year to see sea lion babies so spot a couple of cubs before heading back to the ship. Spend the evening relaxing by the pool bar with Mum and get merengue lessons from the barman!

On our third day we visit Egas Point which is a lovely beach where we see more sea lions, a hawk, herons, fur sea lions, boobies and much much more! It's amazing how close you can get to all the animals and we take loads of photos while Luis explains all about the wildlife. After lunch we head out for a snorkel off the cliffs of Rabida, another island. Mum is becoming a very proficient snorkeller so we head out to deep water where we spot lots of starfish, fish and most excitingly, two loggerhead turtles! After snorkelling we walk along the red sand beach where sea lions are basking in the sun and baby pelicans are hiding in the trees. In the evening we entertain ourselves with Neptune's Party - because we have now crossed the equator four times it's an excuse for some people to dress up as pirates and various animals from the Galapagos. I get enlisted as a slave and have to drink 'iguana pee' (better than turtle blood!) before getting onto the serious business of drinking and dancing at the bar once again!

Day four dawns and we head off to spend a whole day on dry land. My sea legs have already well and truly established themselves and once back on land it feels like I am wobbling all over the place. In fact, I walk into a wall in one shop as I try to compensate for the roll of a ship that I am not even on! First we head to the Charles Darwin Research Centre on Peurto Ayora. We see lots of giant land tortoises but the most impressive of all is of course Lonesome George. We do hear the happy news that he is in fact not so lonesome anymore and has found a mate, albeit of a different species. But she has laid eggs and fingers crossed there may be some baby George's in the future. In the afternoon we head to a tortoise farm where there are wild tortoises raoming freely - apparently there are sometimes none there but luckily we see lots of them! Apparently Steven Speilberg based ET's head on the face of a giant tortoise and I can easily believe it as they are spookily similar. We witness a tortoise fight which has to be the most civilised fighting in the animal kingdom - each tortoise tries to raise it's head higher than its opponent, and the highest head wins! Luis goes foraging for fruit and we gorge on grapefruit, papaya and passionfruit - delicious! Most of the people on the ship leave today as they have finished their four day cruise but Mum, me and most of the other Boobies are lucky enough to get to stay for three more days!

On day five we have an early start to the beautiful Bachas beach - pure white sand and turquiose waters greet us which more than makes up for the early start. We walk to a lagoon where there are flamingoes - of course I take a ridiculous number of photos of my favourite birds (although blue footed boobies are coming a close second!) before we paddle and relax on the beach. Suddenly sharing a beach with 100 other people comes as a bit of a shock after the deserted beaches of the Osa so I tuck myself away in a quiet corner to contemplate being back in civilised society before we head back to the ship. Today is the arrival / departure day for those on the shorter cruise so while groups are ferried to and from the airport Mum and I are taken to Baltra beach for an hour or two of sun. We arrive to find three young sealions basking on the beach and as we get into our snorkelling gear and head to the water they decide to join us - the water is beautifully clear and we´re the only people in the water, so predictably, this is the day I forget to bring my waterproof camera! Nevertheless, swimming with the sealions is an unforgettable experience and the fact that it was just me and Mum made it extra special. They were so curious, friendly and playful - as I dove down to the bottom they would spiral around me and shoot back up to the surface, or swim behind me nibbling my fins. They decided Mum needed some encouragement to dive underneath the water so would give her a gentle nudge to try and persuade her that it would be ok! Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the ship so after a couple of photos with the sealions on the beach we headed back for lunch. In the afternoon we head to Floreana to see lots of birds including male frigate birds displaying their giant red inflatable breasts, albatross (huge!) and more boobies.

Today we head to Dragon Hill, which is a rocky walk but we are rewarded with flamingoes at the end! We also see a white tipped reef shark in the shallow waters. Once back on the ship we spot a pod of dolphins but they are heading in the other direction. In the afternoon we head out for more snorkelling - Mum is a pro now! We see lots of starfish and another turtle, before a bbq in the evening.

Today is our last full day on the ship and in the morning we go to Suarez Point on Espaniola Island and finally see blue footed boobies dancing! They are so serious about it that I instantly fall in love - especially when they delicately present each other with a crefully selected stick as a sign of their devotion to each other. After much cooing from us and much whistling from the boobies we head on to find albatross and masked (nasca) boobies. On this island there is also a blow hole from the ocean so after watching that we head back to the ship. In the afternoon we go to La Galpaguera on San Cristobal island, where we see more land tortoises. After one last dance and drink (ok, more than one of each!) at the pool bar I head up to the top deck to watch the stars and enjoy every last minute of our time on the Legend.

On our last morning we have one last chance to go snorkelling - Mum and I both head out but only once we´re on the boat do we realise it´´s a deep water snorkel with no beach landing! Mum hasn´t done one before but decides to jump in the deep end (literally) and give it a go. The water is over 10 metres deep so I´m very proud of Mum and she acts like she has been snorkelling for ever! Lots to see, including reef sharks (I don´t point these out to Mum), sealions, starfish and lots of fish. We head back to the ship for a quick lunch and to say goodbye to all the staff and guides, who have made our stay even more memorable than it would have been anyway. Catch our flight back to Quito and head off for a quick tour of the Old Town before eating and sleeping. We go to bed feeling as if we're still on the ship - with our beds rolling on the waves. But at least there is no early wake up call!