We have arrived in Colombia. Bogota is a busy big city of eight million people.
Today was our first experience with the TransMilenio or bus system. It is like Toronto’s metro except it is above ground with very long and very fast buses driving in their own special lanes. People are jammed in. We had a lot of help from the Colombian riders learning how find the stops and push our way through. Everyone has been so kind. The Street Art Tour taught us a lot. Some of the Street Art the government lets stay up and some of it gets painted over. There is so much of it that it seems they must start painting again as soon as it is erased. Some of the paintings are traditional, some just pretty, and some are meant to have a message. What do you think the message of this mural is? You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
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This morning when we woke up there was a sea lion sitting on the back of our boat. It almost felt like he knew we were leaving and wanted to come with us!
Yesterday, on our last full day, we were still seeing new things. Finally had a chance to see the Red Footed Boobie—bonus...she was on a nest with her chick. And, the snorkelling with the sea lions was the best yet. There were so many we didn’t even know where to look. On to more adventures. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom. Does he look scary to you or does he look like he is smiling? The land iguanas are very big. They have rounded tails—the marine iguanas have flatter tails. Their skin must be very tough because they climb up the cactus trees. Cactus is something they like to eat. They usually sit very still while we take their pictures.
Every day we see something new. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. We are at the bird sanctuary for Blue Footed Boobies and Frigate Birds. We stop on the path just feet away from a couple of Blue Foots doing their dance. The male swishes his tail feathers, and lifts his feet up and down to show off just how pretty they are. Every once and a while he taps the female’s beak with his. They don’t seem to notice us whatsoever. We obey the rule that says we must stay at least two meters from the wildlife, but sometimes the animals break the rules and come to us.
Everything here is unique and fascinating. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Every day we see Marine Iguanas, and every day I’m excited to see them. Each one seems to have a different colour and personality. Some seem to smile and others really look evil. The iguanas have just the right colour to camouflage themselves—red if the sand is red... black if the sand is black...grey if the sand is white.
After a few days you learn to tell when they are feeling threatened. They bob their heads and hiss salt from their nostrils. Sometimes this means you need to back up. Sometimes they are just angry with another iguana. Tomorrow we are going to see land iguanas. I wonder how they will be different. You are Always in my prayers. Love Mom. What does a typical day look like? Eat—hike—snorkel: Repeat. So, with two hikes and two sessions of snorkelling a day we are getting a lot of exercise and eating a lot of delicious food. Let me share one story from our afternoon of snorkelling.
As we snorkel along the red rocks we can see huge green cacti blooming with yellow flowers above us. Jennifer is my swimming partner. All of a sudden something is coming right at us. She heads straight at Jennifer then makes a quick left. Now she right in front of me—a giant female sea lion. Did she think we were sea lions too? What a surprise for her and us. Our guide is calling us to come quick. Oh my goodness—sea turtles. We are now swimming with really big turtles. Dad dives down to get a closer look. It looks like they are feeding. There are seven of them in total! Everyday is something new and fascinating. Every island is so different. Having a blast. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. We are heading back to Isabela Island to see the breeding centre for Giant Tortoises. Early settlers, and ships travelling through, once used tortoises for food. We see two huge Giant Tortoises right inside the gate. It is exciting that we are this close to the largest species of tortoises in the world! They seem to be mostly sunning themselves, but when they move of is impressive to see that much shell lumbering around.
Look, the friend of our guide is here today. He is taking us to see the eggs and the newly hatched babies. The babies are no bigger than the palm of my hand. It seems impossible that something this small can grow so big. Galapagos tortoises live over a hundred years. It would be interesting if they could tell us their stories. In the mean time we will just have to use our imagination. You are always in my Prayers. Love Mom. As our plane approaches the runway we see giant cactus trees dotting the barren landscape. We get our bags and head off in a dingy for eight days on the Monserrat. What—snorkelling already? Fitted for our wet suits we immediately motor out to find the White Tipped Sharks. Is that one? Another one? Five White Tipped Sharks! We are swimming with the sharks—how cool is that? A bit of rest and snack and off to an island to visit the sea lions. Some of them are scrapping and playing. Most are snoozing in the white sand. There are so many—babies, mommas, and really big males. Occasionally they bark at us if we get too close to the pups. Back to the boat to watch the Sunset set from the top deck. We can see several Galapagos sharks just under the surface of the water around our boat. What an amazing day. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. |
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Ray & Diane
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