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Hi Everyone Why am I writing two days as one? You will understand soon enough. We woke up yesterday morning and the fog was so thick that we decided to not do our morning shoot but wait and see if the fog lifted. Breakfast was great. We all sat around a long table. The breakfast that our Russian woman cook makes is spectacular. She made pancakes, eggs, bacon and great hot oatmeal. The Russians have caviar with their pancakes. I decided to see if I liked it and found the combination to be excellent. The hot oatmeal hit the spot. The Russians put lots of jam and marmalade in their hot oatmeal. After breakfast the rain hit us. We just sat around. I went back into my tent for a nap. Am still dealing with jet lag. I decided to take a shower after lunch and change my clothes. After lunch my shower was set up. A separate tent was used as the shower tent. Hot water is heated via gas and pored into a large canister similar to a fire extinguisher. There is a spray hose attached and you first lather up and then spray yourself off. If the water pressure gets low you pump the canister. I felt so good after refreshing myself and changing my clothes. I then went into the Kamaz to read and of course, took another nap. Dinner was served at 7. The cook is quite creative. We had some tasty soup and chicken with rice. I need to talk a little bit about the coffee. There is a coffee thing that is used here that I have never seen. The product is named “Blendy”. It is from Japan. The coffee is sealed in a small filter with a hanging arm on each side. You tear open the filter and hang it in the cup. You then pour water into the filter and the cup fills up. When the cup is full you then throw the used filter away. Google “Blendy” and read about it. Makes an excellent cup of coffee. After dinner we all crawled back into our tents hoping for the weather to change in the morning. We were awoken by Vladimir, our Russian Pro photographer at 4:30. He said there was a chance to capture the sunrise over the three volcanoes we were near. All seven of us had some coffee and then went for a mile hike to hope for the sunrise over three huge volcanoes. The fog never lifted and our chance of seeing this supposed amazing scene was gone. We then had another great breakfast and watched the traveling crew breakdown our camp and load everything into the two Kamaz. It was now time to return to the land version of the Drake Passage. Up, down and bouncing around as we drove over the hilly plains and finally entered the forest. The forest was more of the same ride as our Kamaz continued to remind me of the Drake. Finally we left the dirt road forest and drove onto a semi normal road to a small village. What a scene. In the middle of no where were these square and rectangular shaped three to four story apartment buildings with single family homes amongst these structures. A small Russian style church was there. We wandered around and I ventured into two convenience style stores. Most of the people were either walking or on bicycle. There were some large dogs, without collars, resting in the middle of the road. I could only imagine what it was like to grow up and live here. To be so isolated from the rest of the world and live in such a barren place. We then boarded our Kamaz for the drive to our second isolated camp. It was back into the dirt road in the forest for more of the bouncing. We finally arrived at what looked like a dry river cluttered with branches and trees. The ground was black lava like sand. The crew stopped for lunch and I saw our driver look into the engine area of the Kamaz. He pulled out a metal wire and spoke some Russian. We were told that the Kamaz needed to be repaired and the other Kamaz, with our supplies, was going back into town for a new part. It seemed like we were dealing with Murphy’s Law. Three hours later, the other Kamaz finally returned. Our driver took out a small sodering torch, heated up the flame and put some screws on the metal part. He then proceeded to install the new part. It seemed like we were driving in a mobile repair shop as well. Off we went. Back into the forest for some more bumps and bounces. We were told we were still four hours away from our final destination. After about two hours we stopped in the middle of the forest for the bathroom and and to walk up to the end of a lava field. The lava came from a volcano that was ten miles away. The flow started in late 2013 and lasted for nine months. I could just image the scene as this was happening. Of course, we had to board our Kamaz for the final two hour drive to the Camp. When we pulled in I saw about fifty tents set up and two small wood dining halls. The ground was all volcanic ash. We were on the side of a volcano. The first thing I had to do was go to the bathroom. Everyone knows that I have used all types of bathrooms and endured them all. This was horrible. A hole in the ground surrounded by dirty looking wood and some human waste behind the wood. What will I endure for unique images and how far will I go? More on that later on. The crew set up dinner and we were served Siberian Dumplings. They are small dumplings with either pork or beef

Hi Everyone How can I describe this day? Let me try to explain where I am and what I am doing here. Let’s start with where I am writing this blog. I am laying down in my own one man tent in the middle of one of the most desolate places I have ever been to. I keep on thinking of what I put myself through to get my images. We started the day by waking up at six, shaving, showering and packing for the journey ahead. We all met at 7 for breakfast and then boarded our Kamaz for the long ride ahead. What is a kamaz? I will try to describe. A kamaz is a six wheel all terrain vehicle that can go through anything and over anything. There is a box like structure that you climb into and sit in seats like the economy seats on an airplane. The climb to get in is high since the wheels are huge and the passenger box is raised. There were two kamaz at our hotel. One was the passenger kamaz and the other was used to transport our tents, food, water and other items to our campsite.Our luggage was stored in the back of the passenger kamaz and off we went. Our little caravan. The drive was pleasant to our first stop. We stopped at an area that had small stores where coffee, food and other items were sold. I first went to the bathroom and then had a great cup of strong coffee. This seemed easy. Little did I know. We then hit the road. After about ninety minutes we made our next stop. We just pulled over on a deserted highway to stretch and go to the bathroom where ever. We then boarded for our next stop. Our next stop was for lunch. We stopped in a town that was very clean and orderly in the middle of no where. We then entered a building and I went into the bathroom. The bathroom was the hole in the ground. My eyes lit up as I enjoyed myself. I then stood on a line and was served cafeteria style. I could honestly tell you I did not know what I was eating except for the bread. The food was almost uneatable. We then stretched our legs around town. There was an apartment building that had a spaceman painted on the side. Dmiitry told me the painting was of Yuri Gagarin. He was the first man in space. He also told me that this building was built during the Communist era. There was some nice street art that was very well done. We then boarded our Kamaz. Shortly the road turned into dirt and we were driving through a dense forest on either side. After about ninety minutes we stopped for a rest. Then it first happened. Mosquitos attacked me as I found a bathroom where ever. I quickly finished and climbed back on the Kamaz. We then kept on driving and driving. It seemed like I was back on my spinning wheel from the flight over here. I started to feel like a hamster just spinning around that wheel with no end. We then stopped again and the mosquitos visited again. I quickly did my thing and boarded the Kamaz. When will this ever end? We arrived at a small village to pick up some helpers and more supplies. There were enormous amounts of cut logs in front of each house. I can just imagine the winter here.  After leaving the village we drove into the woods. We were told to fasten our seatbelts since the remaining drive would be very bumpy. I could never describe how bumpy it was. We constantly went up and down. It seemed like I had found the land version of the Drake Passage. We stopped in the middle and I got out to go to the bathroom. The mosquitos were relentless. I was consumed by them and rushed back into the Kamaz. The Kamaz finally left the forest to open ground. We eventually arrived at our campsite. As soon as I disembarked, I was consumed by mosquitos again. The helpers started to set up the tents. All of us sprayed repellent all over and we put our mosquitos hoods on. The drive time was almost twelve hours. How am I going to survive the next five days? While the helpers set up our camp we hiked down to a small pond that had some beautiful reflections of two volcanoes that we were camped near. Both volcanoes had snow on the peaks. We then hiked back over rough uneven terrain with mosquitos all around us. While we hiked down a red fox walked right by us. That was truly an amazing sight. Back at camp we chose our tents and got set up. Dinner was served. I then crawled into my tent for the evening. We are getting up at 4:15 for our morning shoot. Pray for me to survive the relentless mosquitos LoveLarry

Hi Everyone Our Aeroflot jet took off at about 8 PM from New York on Saturday night. After settling in my nice large premium economy seat I immediately fell asleep. Airports tire me out. Going through security and walking with all my gear tires out an old man like me. I was awoken by the stewardess coming by with dinner about two hours into the flight. I had the lamb chops and the food was one of my best meals on an airplane. Had some coffee then read some. I tried to view a movie, but all the movies were in Russian. A woman sitting next to me was from Belarus and she talked fluent English so we had a nice long conversation about our countries, my photography and why I am going to Kamchatka. She has never been to Kamchatka so she could not give me any thoughts on what I am about to experience. When the lights were turned down, I fell back to sleep for the long trip over the Ocean. I was awoken by another stewardess serving breakfast. We were about three hours away from landing so I decided to eat breakfast and then stay up. We then landed in Moscow at about 11:30 AM. By the way, when I checked my suitcase in at JFK, I was told that my bag would be routed all the way through to Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka. I would not have to pick up my luggage in Moscow and would only have to go through immigration there and customs later. I thought to myself. What are the chances that my luggage makes it all the way? Good luck on that. The international airport in Moscow is named Sheremetyevo Airport for a Russian poet of this name. None of the airplanes pull up to the terminals, but you disembark on the ground and take a large bus to the arrivals terminal. Odd for such a large airport in such a major city. I am traveling with two other people in the group. Donna is from New Jersey and Rich is from Connecticut. We found a nice lounge near our gate and settled in for the layover until we had to board our next flight. At about 3 PM we met two other participants in the workshop. Marcela is from Mexico and Kiko lives in Lima. Both Marcela and Kiko have spent a day in Moscow before the second leg of this journey. At 4 PM we went to our gate and got on the bus to be taken to our airplane for the trip to Petropavlovsk. So lets rehash a minute. Moscow is seven hours ahead of New York and Petropavlovsk is nine hours ahead of Moscow. This means that our final destination is sixteen hours ahead of New York. I settled into my large premium seat and was sitting next to a beautiful Russian woman who spoke no English. We were first served a full course meal and then myself and my aisle mate tried to converse through an app and my photography. I got much further with the photography and realized that photography is indeed a universal language. I then fell asleep again. Could not stay awake even if I tried and I really tried. About six hours into the flight I was woken up by another stewardess offering another meal. I turned her down. I could not eat anymore airplane food if I tried. I then stayed up and read for most of the remaining trip. We finally landed in Petropavlovsk Kamchatka at about 10 AM Monday morning. What a voyage. It seemed like I was traveling forever and on a spinning wheel going around and around. We disembarked on the tarmac and where then led into a large bubble covered room where there was a large conveyor belt to pick up your luggage. How I wished I would see my large black suitcase. There were lots of people crammed into this small area and then I finally saw it. my beautiful large black suitcase. My heart was pounding with joy. The five of us then walked out the airport and no customs check. The airport looks like it was left over from another era. Most of the buildings were old looking plain buildings with some interesting smaller homes and buildings amongst the plain box like structures. I had previously seen these kind of buildings in Western Mongolia. We then all boarded a large van for our forty minute drive to our hotel. Dimetri, one of our guides, told us that it starts to snow in early October and doesn’t to end until the beginning of May. Our hotel is quite basic. My room has two single beds and is very plain. In the lobby is a large stuffed bear. We were told to not wander far outside since the local bears are foraging. At 2:45 we met for a drive to a volcano museum and an explanation of the volcanoes we are going to visit. A young man, who was very knowledgeable and spoke perfect English, gave us the grand tour. Kamchatka sits on top of three large plates in the earth and that is the reason why there is so much volcanic activity here. A volcano is a crack in the earth to relieve some of the pressure that has been building up underground. Smoke, steam, hot ash and lava could be emitted from the earth or a combination of them to help relieve some of the pressure. Hopefully we will experience most of these releases. At about 4:30 we boarded our van for the drive back to the hotel and dinner. One thing that I have already observed is that I have never seen such beautiful wild flowers as are growing here. The colors are simply beautiful. We arrived back at the hotel at 6 PM for dinner. I am so exhausted and can hardly stay up. We had a wonderful dinner of various

Hi Everyone It seems like I have not spoken to anyone for a long time, but its only been around two months ago since we last touched base. It’s time to wake up and follow me. Where am I going now? Would you believe Kamchatka. Most of you have never heard of Kamchatka and for good reasons. Kamchatka is not a desired destination. First where is it? Kamchatka is located on the east coast of Russia north of Japan. Kamchatka is also in the last time zone of Russia or sixteen hours ahead of the eastern time zone in the US. There are no resorts nor any reason for most people to go. You have to rough it in the wilderness. Tent camps and bathrooms wherever are the norm and forget about showers. So why go? Most of us would stop right here and not continue. Kamchatka has twenty percent of the grizzly bear population in the world. It is sockeye salmon season there now. Meaning that the sockeye salmon swim up the rivers to hatch their eggs and then die. The grizzles have a feast and eat for the coming winter when they got into hibernation. Kamchatka is also the home of numerous active and almost active volcanoes. Some of them are spewing lava and there is an app that tracks their lava activity. Kamchatka is also the home to the biggest ice cave in the world. There are also amazing landscapes, huge mountain ranges and glacial lakes. I personally do not know what I will experience and find here but I do know that that this area has always given me room for thought and heightened my imagination. I start this journey Saturday August 3. Am leaving JFK on Aeroflot for Moscow. The flight leaves at 7:10 PM and arrives in Moscow at 11:20 AM Sunday August 4. We then go through customs and immigration. By the way, getting a Russian visa was an experience just like getting a Chinese Visa. The application was about ten pages long and you needed a letter of invitation from a Russian citizen. I got the visa in March since I wanted to have lots of time to sort out any problems if any. We then have a five hour layover. At 4:45 our next flight leaves for Petropavlovsk Kamchatka. We arrive in Petropavlovsk Monday August 5 at 10 AM. According to my itinerary total flight time is twenty hours at 30 minutes and then add on a sixteen hour time difference. Wish me luck. I am flying premium economy. Hopefully this will help. The next time I will speak to everyone will be from Petropavlovsk on Monday August 5. I am sure that internet service will not exist once we leave Petropavlovsk so I will still write my daily blogs but publish them when I return. Return is Monday August 19. Wish me luck on this journey and adventure. By the way, my Instagram account is going great. Please follow me at larryblau1949. Love Larry

I hope you enjoy the photos in my latest galleries! Also, I invite you to follow my adventures on Instagram @larryblau1949 Love, Larry

Hi Everyone Last night we had a fabulous farewell dinner on the sun deck. We had arrived at the island of San Cristobal and dropped anchor. You saw lights on the island in the distance. People and civilization. How different. The chef made filet minion and lobster tails. I had two huge lobster tails and we all talked the night away.  Our wake up call was for 6 AM. I was so tired that I immediately fell asleep after dinner. I have always said that a photography trip is hard work. No rest. We all met for our daily coffee and then boarded our Pangas for our last Panga ride. How glorious it was. Saw beautiful frigate birds flying and sea lions playing in the water. How I will remember everything about this trip.  After one hour, it was back to the yacht for breakfast and a quick shower. Our luggage was taken away and put on the Pangas for the airport and we then boarded them when they returned. We debarked in a small town named San Cristobal. Not much doing here. Some restaurants, bars and local stores. We first went to the airport to check in for our flight to Guayaquil.  We were then driven back into town to explore this sleepy sort of fishing village. I wandered around and bought some funny t-shirts and we all met at a local restaurant at noon. It was back to the airport and our flight to Guayaquil. Of course, as soon as I boarded and sat down i fell asleep. This seems to be a habit of mine. Arrived in Guayaquil at 4 PM. Don’t forget, Ecuador is one hour a head of the Galapagos and checked into the hotel we had started from.  Had dinner with some people from the trip and now need to get some sleep since I am leaving for the airport at 6 AM. Now to sum up this adventure. First lets start with Quito. What an enchanting and old city. Cobblestone narrow streets and old buildings. Locals selling food and the hotel we stayed in was so beautiful and majestic.Then the long windy road to Mashpi Lodge and the cloud forest. Seeing something that will probably not exist in the near future. Being challenged with my photography skills. Taking pictures at night in the rain and mud. Seeing little creatures that you had to find. The hummingbirds. They were so beautiful. I wish my pictures do them justice. Now onto the Galapagos. I think the saying “When was the last time you saw something for the first time” is so appropriate. Knowing that you could never see these amazing creatures in zoos. They only exist in the Galapagos. How can I describe seeing the marine iguanas and their prehistoric look and beauty? I fell in love with them. Knowing that they only exist in the Galapagos. Seeing the blue footed boobies was so different. How beautiful these birds were. Seeing albatrosses going through their mating rituals and sitting on their nests. Seeing the giant tortoises in their natural environment. Snorkeling as sea lions were swimming around me. Seeing them dance as they bobbed their way around. Seeing sea turtles swimming as they ate below me. Finally, the cormorants that do not fly. Knowing that there are only nine hundred of them left in the world and they are all in the Galapagos. How fragile this environment is. What about the Galapagos penguins? Penguins on the equator. Only in the Galapagos. These are the memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I hope that my pictures tell the story.  Now for some photography facts and thoughts. I took all my pictures in the Galapagos only using one camera and lens. I used my Sony 7riii and 100-400 lens all. the time. My camera is as 43 megapixel camera and I wanted to have some more room for cropping. Furthermore, there were very few times that the subject matter was moving fast so no need for the Sony A9. When I was in Africa last year, I used the Sony A9 almost all the time. My photography skills were challenged. Shooting during the night in the cloud forest was something I had never done before. I used manual mode most of the time. Would use auto ISO and pump up the shutter speed for hummingbirds and other faster moving subjects. Another way would have been to manually adjust the ISO and I used that sometimes. Exposure compensation was constantly being adjusted. Taking pictures in bright sunlight and in the darkness required the adjustments. Lava rocks also needed exposure compensation to bring out the true colors. You want to try to make as many adjustments with the camera and not do those adjustments in editing. The camera captures data and editing does not. This is all technical, but as you know, photography is about the “eye”. Taking unique images, telling a story and seeing what others don’t see or pass over. My next adventure starts in the beginning of August. I am going to Kamchatka. Where is Kamchatka? Kamchatka is a peninsula on the east coast of Russia north of Japan. It is one of the most remote places in the world. I have always wanted to go there. Will be camping out most of the days. Cant wait to see what I find there. Talk to everyone soon Love Larry

Hi Everyone We all woke up at 5 AM. I can tell you that it was rough last night. I woke up several times and all my equipment that is scattered all around my cabin was thrown all over. Still not nearly as bad as the “Drake”, but bad for most of us.  We had breakfast at 5:30 and then it was off on our Pangas to explore Espanola Island. The Pangas were able to make a dry landing on some lava rock out growth. This hike will take four hors over lava rocks most of the time. We started early since the heat and humidity goes way up as the day progresses. Don’t forget, we are almost on the equator. The oldest person on our trip is eight five years old and I am the second oldest at seventy. We were offered walking sticks and he took two. I decided not to use one. Gerry, the oldest, kept on falling over the rocks and crevices and evenly he was helped and a crew member came to meet us to help him. The hike was mostly uphill over jagged lava rocks. You had to constantly look down  to navigate the rocks and avoid twisting your ankles or falling. I have been to some places where I have sweat an enormous amount and almost become dehydrated and this hike ranks up there with some of the hardest and most strenuous. My shirt and shorts became totally drenched and my fingers were dripping sweat on my camera and lens. We finally reached a clearing where there were lots of albatrosses. They come to Espanola Island to breed and start coming here from April and leave in the late fall. They had paired up and started their mating rituals. Albatrosses have only one mate for life. The female lays one egg a season. The eggs are large. We saw some eggs left over from last season which did not hatch. It was fascinating watching the albatrosses go through their matting ritual. I took some great images of this ritual of nature.  We then left the albatrosses and kept on walking up over the rocks. We finally reached a cliff overlooking a bay. There was a large blow hole that was spouting water up under one of the cliffs. The mist and waves created quite a beautiful and different image. Espanola is alsop home to another type of marine iguana. This marine iguana is the pink marine iguana. They have more color than the other iguanas and are only unique to Espanola. I have become very fond of marine iguanas. They are so different and photogenic.  We started to hike on the cliff and took a different route back to the Pangas. Eventually we started a descent and arrived at a flat rocky area that was inhabited by blue footed boobies. I finally had my wish. There are approximately one thousand pair of these unique birds left and I have seen them. Don’t forget “When was the last time you saw something for the first time?” Priceless. The female lays three eggs and they do not mate for life. They are very precious and their feet and beaks are amazing. Took lots of pictures of these birds knowing that in all likelihood this will be my only time to see them and how fortunate I am in seeing them for myself and being given the opportunity to show them to others as I saw them. I started to really feel the heat and humidity. Lisa gave me a large electrolyte pill that i crushed in my water bottle. Hopefully this will do the trick. We kept on walking over rocks in this intense heat. My mind started to think about a cold shower and getting out of these sweat filled clothes. We finally reached the end of our hike. Another group, from a different yacht, were starting their hike. I could not imagine how they would survive. At 10:30 we arrived back at the yacht and my dream came true. Stood under a cold shower and thought of what I had seen. I would do it all over again if I could.  After lunch I worked on my pictures. I download them at every opportunity onto two SSD hard drives. I have become a person who keeps lots of backups. Hopefully, I will never use them. At 2:30 we boarded the Pangas for a trip to Gardner Bay. This is a white crushed coral beach and was not hot at all. No sand. Some of us went snorkeling. I did not since I could not imagine it being better than the snorkeling yesterday where we played with the sea lions. Sea lions dotted the beach . Most of them were sleeping and got up for an occasional yawn and stretch. They were behaving like we were not there.  Tonight is our farewell dinner and cocktail party.  Tomorrow morning we have our last Panga ride and then its to the airport and back tp Guayaquil.  Will wrap up this incredible trip tomorrow night Love Larry

Hi Everyone Got up at 6 AM. The open water crossing was rough last night and I tossed and turned. Finally fell asleep and was woken up by music at 6o’clock. We went for a Panga ride first and then back to the boat for breakfast. The yacht had anchored off of Floreana Island.  After breakfast we went back into the Pangas for a wet landing on shore. We were let off at Post Office Bay. Why is this bay called Post Office Bay? In the 18th century whalers passing through the islands placed a wooden barrel on Floreana Island for use as an unofficial mail box. Before we left the yacht we were given postcards to address to someone. I addressed my post card to Olivia. You deposit your post card in the barrel and sort through the ones left behind. If you find one near where you live, you can then deliver it by hand when you return. I found one post card addressed to an address in Chappaqua, but it was only placed in the barrel last week so I left it behind. The tradition calls for you to hand deliver the post card you take just like the whalers used to do. If you mail it, you will be cursed. We continued back to the beach to explore. There is a little bird that lives here by the name of the “Yellow Warbler”. It is so hard to capture one in flight that Andy has offered a $500 discount on someones next workshop, if he or she can capture a Yellow Warbler in flight and in focus. No one has gotten an exact hit but Duane has been very close. We then boarded our Pangas for the ride back to the yacht.  After lunch is when the activity really picked up. We went snorkeling. Eight of us, including myself, got on our wet suits and boarded a Panga. We were taken to a small island named “Champion Islet” located just offshore of Floreana Island.  We were told by Pablo that a wall existed near the shore and the current was very strong. We needed to flight the current to avoid any injury. As soon as we all jumped in, a group of sea lions also jumped in. They were all over us. They made their circular motions and were so close to me that I touched some of them. Also, a few went right up to my mask. The younger sea lions are very playful. As we swam down the islet, some of the sea lions started to even bite some of our cameras. There were also lots of beautiful schools of fish but the stars of the show were the sea lions. How amazing this site was and to be a part of this experience was unbelievable. This experience will live with me for many years as I remember the Galapagos.  We then headed back to the yacht for a quick shower and then it was off to a wet landing at “Cormorant Point”. We hiked down to a large lagoon where there were large flamingos walking on the shallow water eating what they could find. Also, there were small birds named Stilts that were eating what they could find. An beautiful scene. As the light changed, the reflection of the flamingos on the lagoon created some very interesting images. We then walked back to the beach. We saw some blue footed boobies sitting in their nests. The blue footed boogie is also only found in the Galapagos. We walked down the beach and found another blue footed boobie sitting on her nest. I so wanted her to stand up and expose her feet. I even offered her $50 to stand up, but nothing happened. Just as we were getting ready to walk back down the beach to our Pangas, she took me up on my offer and stood up. There were two large eggs in her nest and her feet were mostly exposed. I couldn’t be happier. To take a picture of these rare birds nesting like this is quite rare.  We then boarded our Pangas for the ride back to the yacht. Before dinner we were given our itinerary for the last full day. Wake up time is 5 AM and breakfast will be served at 5:30. Then its off for a four hour walk through the morning heat to take pictures of the grey albatross. This bird only comes here to nest and this is the time of year they are here.  After dinner we had our last critique and I will miss these sessions. Before dinner I went outside to the back of the yacht and saw a flying fish had flown onto the deck. The fish was still alive and I picked it up and threw it back into the water. I heard some splashing and looked down. Some literally dozens of sharks, both large and small, eating flying fish and anything else. What a scene. I tried to take some pictures, but it was too dark. What an adventure.  Love Larry

Hi Everyone Last night I laid down at about 10:30 and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. A photography workshop is hard work. You always get up very early and am constantly using the creative part of your brain. That said, we were given one half hour more to sleep and were woken up at 6:30. We then ate breakfast and were told that the Pangas were leaving at 8:30 for either kayaking or snorkeling from the Pangas. I was so tired that I decided to stay on the yacht and work on my techniques in lightroom. Had some more coffee and took a nap. Everyone returned at 10:30 and the snorkeling people told me that they had seen penguins swimming all around them. I felt disappointed that I had not experienced this, but I needed some time to mope around.  At 11:30 Lisa gave a one hour lecture on Charles Darwin. He came from a wealthy family and went to numerous schools during his early years. He was the second choice to go on the voyage of the SS Beagle. One of his mentors could not go and recommend him. The voyage was for five years and went around the entire globe. Darwin would take side trips by himself. The SS Beagle’s visit to the Galapagos was towards the end of the voyage. The voyage started in 1836 and finished in 1841. Darwin never left Britain again. He documented the voyage and gave lectures for the rest of his life.  We had finally arrived back at Baltra. This is where we had landed and started our journey. The yacht needed to refuel and the only place to refuel is there.  After lunch it was time for some more rest and relaxation. I needed the moping time to recharge .At 3 PM we all boarded the Pangas for a visit to Mosquera Inlet. This inlet is located between the islands of Baltra and North Seymour. We did a wet landing on a reef of lava rocks and coral. Pablo told us that this reef was formed due to an uprising. This was a favorite area for sea lions and their pups. They were sleeping in the sun all over the coral reef. One important concept to remember is try not to take pictures that anyone can take. Try to make your pictures unique. I search for that and am constantly honing my eye trying to find those unique situations. An example is on this location.  Anyone can take pictures of sea lions, but what can you do to make your pictures unique? You have to try to capture images of the sea lions interacting or finding some that have a special relationship. Also, try to bring your image into where you are taking it. That is difficult sometimes. An example of that is taking a picture of a marine iguana. Everyone who comes to the Galapagos takes pictures of marine iguanas, but to catch one entering the water is much more unique. That further explains where the picture was taken since marine iguanas only exist in the Galapagos. My photography has reached this level. I know enough technically, but the ability to compose and make your photography unique is an ongoing process that never reaches a goal and you are constantly learning. I captured some great pictures of some sea lion pups playing with each other. I am my worst critic and am always being too selective. Olivia helps me and that.  We boarded our Pangas for the trip back to the yacht. How I have fallen in love with the creatures that call the Galapagos their home. They are all so unique and to be given the opportunity to see them in the wild has always been a dream of mine.  After dinner with Andy and Lisa sat with us helping us on our editing skills. They both have the patience of saints. Everyone has their own style and technique and I absorb so much from learning from them and others.  Tomorrow is a fun day of activity as our journey is drawing to a close. Talk to everyone tomorrow. Love Larry

Hi Everyone Another day of getting up at 6 AM. We had a surprisingly rough voyage last night. Of course, no where near as rough as the “Drake”, but rough enough for you to feel the power of the water under us. I did not sleep well due to this and having too much coffee all day.  We changed our schedule since the volcano we were going to visit was a muddy mess and you could not get near it either by vehicle or foot. We were anchored in a bay off of the island of Isabela. After breakfast, we boarded our Pangas and drove to town or what you call a town in the Galapagos. As we drove by other boats anchored in the harbor, we saw sea lions boarding them and the boats had no people on them. The Galapagos does not allow helicopters, jet skiing, jet skis, para gliding or another other kind of activity that you would normally see on the beach area of most of the islands around the world. You could count the restaurants on your hand and the hotel facilities were very barren. The name of the town is “Puerto Villamil”. As soon as we disembarked our Pangas and started to walk up to our van, we saw marine iguanas and sea lions all over town. They outnumbered the people there. The sea lions had taken over the beach and the iguanas were all over. You had to watch where you walked. We were driven to a long white beach that had lots of black lava outcroppings. On some of the outcroppings were infant marine iguanas. I have grown to love these creatures. They are so photogenic and do not bother anyone. They make great subject matter and look like prehistoric dinosaurs that have been left over. There were also crabs and some more Sally Lightfoot crabs. Made for an interesting morning of exploring and walking around.  We got back to the yacht at about 11 AM. The heat seems more intense in the morning and the humidity starts high and goes down as the day wears on. We all rested until lunch. After lunch Lisa gave a very informative lecture on the Galapagos penguins. They are so unique and there are only about one thousand pairs here. Don’t forget, these are the only penguins in the world that live on the equator and they only exist in the Galapagos. The reason is even though we are on the Ecuador, the water is much colder than you would find in an area on the equator. The Humboldt current brings up cold water from the Antarctic, surrounds the Galapagos and then goes back down to Antartica.  As you already know, we have been wearing wet suits while snorkeling. At about three o’clock, we then boarded our Pangas for a return visit to Puerto Villamil. We disembarked and then boarded a van to go to the Tortoise Breeding Station. This is not a zoo. We had previously seen tortoise’s in the wild. This center was created to protect tortoises during their first five years of life. Giant tortoise eggs are collected and brought to the center where they are hatched and kept for around five years until they are released back into their natural environment.  After leaving the Tortoise Breeding Station, we walked on a long trail through some wetlands. Nothing grows in the Galapagos. There is no soil to grow crops. Everything is on lava. No native or indigenous people live here. The wetlands were beautiful. We walked over mangroves that were growing through back lava. We passed by some beautiful birds and flamingos. Our van was waiting at the end of the walkway and will all boarded it for a ride back to the pier and Pangas. Dinner was amazing. The chef had made sushi and it was very good. Local fish bough in the market made as sushi. After dinner Andy had us each submit three pictures for a critique. The session lasted a good two hours and Andy did a wonderful and informative job.  Talk to everyone tomorrow from this unique place. I am understanding now how the Galapagos changed the world. Love Larry