Hi everyone,

We are writing this blog to you about a week after we arrived back from the Galapagos islands. We thought it would be a good idea to put some pictures up first and that took a little longer than expected...the computer speeds are a little slower on this side of the world! And we still have about 200 more to choose from so expect a lot more in the coming days!

I think the pictures do a better job of explaining Galapagos than we ever will but here's a quick summary of what we got up to anyway. We spent 7 nights in total on the islands, 3 of which were spent on a small cruise ship with 14 other people. The cruise ship allowed us to see islands that otherwise would not have been accessible. We visited 6 islands in total. Each of the islands has its own unique wildlife and plant lfe and we managed to see everything from iguanas to blue footed boobies, sea lions to sharks. We even got to snorkel with sea lions and on one occasion a white tipped reef shark. Linda mistook a sea lion swimming below her for a shark during her first day snorkelling and had a mini panic attack.....much to the amusement of our guide!!

After the cruise we spent 2 days on one island called Isabela. We hiked for 5 hours to see an active volcano (last eruption 2005) and then spent an afternoon, looking at sharks and penguins. Unfortunately the guide wouldn´t let us p-p-p-pick up any penguins! (terrible joke I know but has to be done! Linda is cringing as I write this!)

As most of you know, I took the plunge and proposed to Linda on our last night on Isabela. She nearly fell over with the shock! But luckily she managed to compose herself enough to say yes, and put a big smile on my face! Thanks a million for all the lovely messages and best wishes you have sent. Unfortunately we aren´t with you all to celebrate it but hopefully we can make up for it when we get back.

The next morning to celebrate the engagement, I christened our boat back to the main island with 1 hour of solid sea sickness! Luckily my new fiancee was there to rub my back and to reassure me that land was in sight!! (It was the longest hour of my life!).

We are currently travelling up the west coast of Ecuador in search of sun, but there is none to be seen yet! Going whale watching tomorrow and Linda is already preparing a cocktail of seasickness tablets for me as I write this! Hopefully we will have some great pictures to show you later in the week.

Lots of love to all,

Ger and Linda