A special thanks

To my family and friends for all their support. The love and support of many made this dream possible. A special thanks to my college roommate and best man, Skip Allen. Skip came to assist me through all the transportation issues that were so difficult for me. He also had a great time as did I.

A typical beach on the Galapagos Islands

The water temperature was about 78 degrees and the waves were gentle. They are pristine and undeveloped one way the people of the Galapagos are controlling the number of visitors to their paradise.

A tortoise breeding station

Tortoise eggs arre hatched here and protected from predation. Humans have introduced rats, cats and dogs which have become feral and prey on young tortoises. The tortoises are raised till about 10 years old then released to the environment. The largest island, Isabella, has 5 different species of tortoises it was formed by 5 different volcanos. There is some evidence to suggest that a unique species evolved on each volcano and then the continuing lava flows brought them all together.