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Hi Everyone Another boring day in the Galapagos. How can any day be boring here? Charles Darwin wrote his famous books about the Galapagos recording the unique creatures. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. Our day started again at 6 AM. Pablo put on some music and we all woke up. At six thirty we boarded our Pangas for a wet landing. What does this mean? Our Pangas were only able to take us so far and then we had to get in the water and walk to the shore. How do you carry your camera gear? You buy a water proof satchel made from a special rubber that protects it. Even if the bag falls in the water, it floats. My bag is made by a company named “Overboard”.  After walking through through the surf, we all met at Urbina Bay on the island of Isabela. We had packed our hiking shoes in the water proof satchel and sat down to put them on. It was then off to following Pablo through the underbrush. This area experienced a major uplift in 1954 causing the land to rise over sixteen feet. The coast expanded half a mile out and the wildlife had to adjust. We shortly saw our first land turtle. There are two types of turtles in the Galapagos, land and sea. Land turtles, of course, never venture into the water. Sea turtles only come out of the water to create their nest and bury their eggs. On one side of our path was a restricted nesting area. It takes about four months for the eggs to hatch and the there are approximately one thousand eggs in each nest. Only two eggs will survive and mature to adults. We walked into numerous land turtles. They were young and older. We even saw two land turtles mating. These are all wild turtles and not part of a conservancy center. When these turtles mate, the male lets out a howling sound and they are interlocked for over one day. The humidity was intense. My clothes became drenched with sweat. I also got quite muddy and dirty by laying on the ground taking images. I always tell people the best pictures are captured at eye level. We also ran into some land iguanas. They are yellow due to the food they eat. Land iguanas live mostly alone unlike marine iguanas who live in huge bunches. Also, land iguanas go into burrows they dig at night and venture out after the sun rises.  After spending about two hours on this hike, we eventually met our Pangas, took off our shoes and got on board for our short ride back to the yacht. I needed a cold shower in the worst sort of way and had to wash my clothes by hand. After breakfast we were given a lightroom session on some maneuvers and techniques until about eleven. It was then time to rest until lunch. After lunch we rested again until 2 PM. A little before 2 we all put on our wet suits and got our snorkeling gear for one hour of snorkeling at Moreno Point. Moreno Point is also on Isabela Island. I put on my wet suit, grabbed my gear and hopped on a Panga. We then drove towards the shore and the Pangas stopped to let us off. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Lots of brightly colored fish and then the first contact with a sea turtle. This sea turtle was so graceful underwater. Its shell had sea moss growing on it. The sea turtle was eating moss off the rocks. I just watched in amazement and floated along with him. We saw two more sea turtles and I explored the rocks and saw some small creatures on the rocks and crevices. What a different kind of world.  After one hour of snorkeling and my shoulders aching, we got back on the Pangas and headed back to the yacht. I immediately took a hot shower and got ready for our next adventure. We were going out on the Pangas to the mangroves and beyond. Imagine seeing mangroves growing out of lava rocks and stones. We saw schools of sting rays swimming alongside our Pangas and lots of penguins and flightless cormorants. This is the last time we will see these amazing birds since they only are on the western side of the Galapagos. We were able to see some of the flightless cormorants nesting and of course, my friends the marine iguanas were plentiful. As we drove further away from the mangroves we saw more and more Galapagos sea lions. Their black skin is so shiny and beautiful. We also saw a mother nursing her pup. The gurgling sound of the pup could be heard. What a wonderland.After our presentation for tomorrow by Pablo dinner was served. Andy them gave us another Lightroom session. I am the last one awake and am feeling my arms and hands being very heavy as i finish this blog. The days of lugging a camera and gear are starting to wear on me.Talk to everyone tomorrowLove Larry

Hi Everyone Why am I so tired? Its 9:27PM and I am exhausted. Why? Lets go through the day and you will see why. The day started at 6 AM. Our wake up call is Pablo getting on the loudspeaker and telling us all to wake up. I slept like a log. The waves were more pronounced than I expected, but calm enough to be a sort of a soothing effect. We all met for coffee and waited for the fog to lift. Our leaders decided to have us eat breakfast first and then go on our Panga to explore the cliffs of “Vicente Rosa Point” on Isabela. Isabela is the largest of the Galapagos Islands. We then boarded our Pangas. Do we all remember what a Panga is? It is another name for a zodiac. We then explored the cliffs of Isabela on the northwestern coast. The cliffs and water were full of life. We saw those amazing birds that don’t fly. What do you mean a bird that does not fly? Only in the Galapagos are flightless Cormorant birds. When I was in China, I saw and took pictures of fishermen that use Cormorant birds to fish. Their birds, of course, fly. These Cormorant birds do not have to fly to eat and through evolution have lost their need to fly. They still have small wings, but do not use them for their intended purpose. These birds waddle into the water and eat. We also witnessed one bringing some small branches out of the water to make a nest. There were also lots of marine iguanas hanging out on the cliffs The second unique creature known only in the Galapagos is the marine iguana. The marine iguana is the only iguana that swims in the water to feed. There are land iguanas here as well, but the marine iguana is the one that is only known in the Galapagos. We saw lots of turtles feeding. We also saw some seals swimming and then climbing up on lava rocks that were outcroppings near the cliffs. Then the Galapagos penguin made its appearance. Penguins that live on the equator. Thats right. Of course, these penguins only live in the Galapagos. Another example of seeing something for the first time. These are smaller penguins and do not look like your typical penguin found in colder climates, but they are black and white just like the others. Most of what I have seen so far is volcanic. The rocks are harden lava and the this in itself creates a challenge in bringing out the beautiful colors of the area.  We then headed back to the yacht to change into our snorkeling gear and go back out. We were each given wet suits, fins and a mask with a breathing tube. I had brought a waterproof camera just for fun. In order to take good underwater photography you need expensive equipment. The images you get from a cheap waterproof camera is not the quality that I would accept. We put on our wet suits, grabbed the gear and got back into the Pangas. We then were driven further in towards the shore. It was now time to jump in. The water was nice with the wet suit on. I immediately saw a school of silver long fish and took some pictures. I then swam into a school of large clown fish. Maybe the biggest clown fish I had ever seen. I took some more pictures and then it happened. My camera fell off of my wrist band and I saw it floating down to the bottom. I dove down trying to catch it, but it was too late. The last I saw of my camera was it falling into a crevice. Furthermore, another member of the group lost her GoPro in the water. Imagine how many cameras are at the bottom of the Galapagos. Oh well, I guess I wasn’t meant to take any underwater pictures that I would have not been happy with anyway. At noon, we all boarded the Pangas and were driven back to the yacht. After taking long hot showers, lunch was served on the sun deck. Rich and myself went to sit in the hot tub after the snorkeling and were late for lunch. I would have turned up the temperature in the hot tub to soothe my aching arms and shoulders.  After lunch was rest time and I really needed some time to myself. It was time for a well deserved nap until 3 PM. We were going on a land hike on Fernandina Island. Fernandina Island is the youngest of the Galapagos Islands and is growing. In March 2018 there was a volcanic eruption and lava added to the size of the island. Tourists were not allowed on Fernandina until the lava had cooled and it was safe. We took our Pangas to Fernandina Island and luckily it was high tide so we were able to be dropped off on the island. Black lava rocks of all sizes were everywhere. We then started to hike and walked right into a huge group of marine iguanas. When the marine iguanas are on land, they like to huddle together for their body heat and warmth. My camera could not stop clicking. I had always wanted to take pictures of marine iguanas up close and this was my opportunity. After some time shooting these amazing creatures, we finally left the location and walked towards the water. There were huge lava fields heading down to the ocean. We then saw some more marine iguanas sitting on some beautiful mangrove wood that had a beautiful texture to it. This could not get any better. I immediately stopped and laid on the rough ground to be at eye level. As I was getting up, I fell and cut my two knees. Dot worry, it was not bad, but am buying knee pads when I return to civilization. We then saw some seals and

Hi Everyone Its been a long day. Called Olivia last night for the last time I will hear her voice for eight days. That alone seems strange to me and being cutoff from the outside world is an experience in itself. Woke up at 5 AM for breakfast and then it was off to the airport in Guayaquil for our three hour flight to the Galapagos. I have always dreamed about going to the Galapagos and see and learn how and why these small islands changed the world. Our yacht has two posters of local wildlife and the posters ask the question “When was the last time you saw something for the first time?” As you get older that question becomes much more difficult to answer. Over the last few years I have been fortunate enough to see things for the first time in many places around the world. Part of my photography tries to bring these unique places, people and animals to others and show others how I visually see those things for the first time.  Our Avianca flight took off from Guayaquil at 8:30. The Galapagos is one hour behind the rest of Ecuador or two hours behind the eastern time zone. Of course, I immediately fell asleep. Three hours later I felt the airplane landing at Baltra Airport on the island of Santa Cruz. Baltra Airport was a U.S. military base from 1840 until after the second world war. You can still see some of the concrete bunkers. The U.S. then handed over the base to the Ecuadorian government. Before we left Guayaquil, we were each given a packet. Inside the packet was our pass to enter the Galapagos and all the detail about our stay and for how long and what we will be doing. The amount of people is limited and you need to make reservations very far in advance. Furthermore, yachts both small and large are only allowed to follow two island by island itineraries. Landings are limited based on the size of your vessel and the number of people per landing is also limited. Fortunately, our group is sixteen and we are on a small yacht so all of us can go on each landing. Similar to Antartica. Going through the registration process is fast and simple. Our paperwork was already done for us and the entrance fees were paid for.  Our Ecuadorian naturalist and guide, named Pablo, met us and we all followed him out the terminal to a large van. Our luggage was taken from us and the van took us to a small dock area. Our yacht was anchored in the harbor. We were each given a life preserver to wear and then boarded two zodiacs. Zodiacs are called “Pangas”. I will continue to use that word during the course of my writings. We each sat on the outside of the Panga and the person driving the Panga took us toward our yacht. Before we boarded our yacht we took a short trip to some cliffs and saw some blue footed boobies. This is the first of many creatures that are new to me. Their feet are this beautiful color of baby blue. There were also grey penguins diving for fish. We finally drove back to our yacht and boarded the “Natural Paradise”. There were two or three other small yachts also boarding. We were first given a lecture on safety. We had to leave our shoes outside. They are all on stands. Shoes are not allowed in the yacht. My room is nice and the crew is very helpful.  We were first served lunch and then we had down time until 3 PM. I took a nice hit shower and shave and went upstairs to the sun deck to  lay on a long chair. The air is very dry and you do not sweat, but you can feel the intensity of the sun. Don’t forget, the Galapagos is on the Equator. We have been told we will be criss crossing the Equator at least five times. That means going back and forth from the southern to the northern hemisphere. I fell asleep on the sun deck and the warm sun felt so soothing. I was later told that my nose got quite red and a need to put lots of sun block on.  At three we all met on the sundeck to be fitted for our wetsuits and snorkeling gear. The water is not warm and is cooled by the Humbolt current.  At four we all boarded to Pangas for a two hour trip around the western coast of Santa Cruz Island and a place called “Eden Islet”. We went into a small mangrove area and I saw crabs named “Sally Lightfoot Crabs”. They are named this way for the way they walk. They are so colorful and different. The rocks are all volcanic lava. The Galapagos is the home to quite a few volcanoes. We then saw lots of terns and penguins doing their diving act. It seemed like the two hours went quickly and then it was back to the boat. At 6:45 were were given a thirty minute talk on the next days activities. The day is packed with adventure and our wake up vis at 6 AM. I can’t wait to see the rest of these amazing and different islands. I feel like I have entered a different kind of world and hope my photography does this experience justice. Love Larry

Hi Everyone How did our day start in Guayaquil? Got up at 5:30 and went down for breakfast with my IPAD to read. Whenever I travel, I never watch TV and always read. Have become accustomed to reading electronic books and now find it almost impossible to read real books. How the world has changed. The question is has it changed for the better? After drinking about ten cups of good coffee, I went upstairs and went back to sleep. I have a strange body chemistry. We had a lecture at 10 AM on wildlife photography. The lecture lasted over ninety minutes and we went over all of our cameras, settings and lenses. Also included was some review of the environment we will be entering tomorrow in the Galapagos. It is important to know your location and the challenges it will bring. If you are doing photography in a wet location, you need to bring special covers and protection for your gear. I have done photography in locations where the temperature dropped to almost forty below. Your camera freezes quickly and your batteries have very short power lives. You need to compensate for all this and even if you do, challenges still arise once you are there. After our lecture, we went to a local restaurant for our group introduction lunch. Six new members have joined us. We are now a group of sixteen including Andy and Lisa, our leaders. Our boat only accommodates sixteen people plus a crew of ten. The boats name is the “Natural Paradise”. The boat is 111 feet long and the pictures and reviews are exceptional. The lunch was served in a restaurant that looked like someones former home with old pictures hanging on the walls. I ordered the mixed grill seafood platter. It was fabulous. The squid melted in my mouth and the shrimp was so sweet and tasty. After lunch some of the group went back to the hotel and the other half went for a walk to the Malecon. Guayaquil is located on a river that leads into the Pacific Ocean. Once we reached the entrance to the Malecon, you had to walk up 444 steps to the top. Each step was numbered with a tile and its number so I now that that number is correct. This was all done in “Africa Hot” humidity. My beautiful wife Olivia, on one of our trips to Cambodia, coined that term. Once you reach the top, you then see a lighthouse and church. At the back of the church, you look down into a barrio. The barrio is made up of colorful houses on a hillside. The barrio is named “Las Penas”. By the way, the stairs are lined with cafes and shops. Las Penas was the first neighborhood of Guayaquil and was built over four hundred years ago. People live there today. After walking back down the 444 steps, half of the remaining group took a taxi back to the hotel and the remaining half decided to walk back on the malecon. I decided to walk back since I doubt I will ever be here again and wanted to see more of the city. We eventually found the malecon and walked past people strolling and sitting on benches watching the river pass by. Eventually we had to make a right hand turn onto a main avenue and then walk about ten blocks to our hotel. The sweat started to engulf me. There were young people selling “Agua”and lots of shops and snacks being sold. I had to stop and buy some bottled water and it felt like I was starting to dehydrate. We stopped at a local church that was quite beautiful and continued walking into a large park. There were statues all over the park and a big water fountain in the middle. Then I saw it. An oasis in my mind. The hotel. How I could not wait to take a nice cold shower and lay down in my huge soft bed. After dozing off, I went down to the bar and met the group for some drinks and conversation. The new participants fit in well with us and we should have a great trip. It is now 10:22 PM. I will be signing off for the next eight days. No internet nor cell phone service in the Galapagos. How many of us can endure this reality? I have been without cell phone service before on some previous trips. Most of Mongolia and Antartica have no internet nor cell phone service. Most of you know what I do with my blog when these harsh conditions happen, but I will tell everyone again. I still write my daily blog since the memories and details are fresh in my mind. I write them on my laptop or IPAD and then copy and paste onto my website when I return. Don’t fret, you will not get eight blog notifications when I return. I still publish one each day so that people get to read them on a daily basis. Wake up time is 5 AM. We are leaving the hotel at 6:45 for a three hour flight to the Galapagos. The Galapagos is six hundred miles from the coast of Ecuador. Get ready to visit one of the most unique places in the world and see creatures that only live there and no where else. Thats it. Hope the world is around when I return Love Larry

Hi Everyone Hope all is well. Olivia told me it rained all day in New York. I want to wish my beautiful wife and all other mothers and wives a very Happy Mothers Day. Our day started at 6 AM in the lobby for coffee. We then boarded a van for a short ride to what has become my favorite place in the cloud forest. We were going back for a second time to take pictures of the hummingbirds. What beautiful creatures they are. They guides set up their feeders and put sugar water inside. They also hung some flowery branches on ropes near the feeders and used a syringe with sugar water to coat the flowers and branches with the sugar water. The hummingbirds started to appear. They had no fear of humans and it even seemed that they enjoyed our company as they buzzed around and past us. I loved hearing the sound of their buzzing. I couldn’t stop take pictures. My arms became tired. Taking pictures of hummingbirds is unique. Imagine the shutter speed you need to use and what focal point you choose and where to put that focal point. I decided to shoot in manual mode and create my own settings. This is a process of trial and error as you are adjusting all the settings of the camera. Furthermore, the light was constantly changing. A real photographic challenge. I had to be told to leave and could have spent hours there watching these beautiful birds. After breakfast we packed. You go through clothes at a rapid pace in this environment. You are either sweating or rain is constantly starting and stopping. Brought my laundry in to do and luckily it came back in time. At 10:30 it was time for our critique. I gave Andy three of my images. One image was of the cloud forest and the clouds interspersed in the vegetation. I love this image since it depicts the environment I had just spent four days in. The second image was of three hummingbirds hovering around a flowery branch. Two of the hummingbirds were perfectly focused. To get one hummingbird perfectly focused is hard enough, but two is much more difficult. The third image was one that was taken with the wrong exposure settings and I wanted to know if it could be saved. The answer was no. We finally boarded our van and checked out of this beautiful Lodge and environment. I will always remember the four days I have spent in the cloud forest. I learned that you have to find the creatures here. They are hard to find, but once you find them, their beauty is extraordinary. Most of the creatures are small which makes it even harder. The uniqueness of the cloud forest should not be missed. As you already know, this unique environment is disappearing from our world. How sad it will be when the last cloud forest is gone. I pray that never happens and this beautiful ecosystem can be enjoyed by many future generations. I also experienced photography in a very challenging environment. From taking pictures of hummingbirds to night photography and trying to capture good images of tiny frogs, it was a real challenge. Also, having to use camera rain covers and always being extra careful with your gear. Imagine walking at night through a creek carrying cameras and lenses with the rain coming down. It was so easy to slip walking in creeks and mud. The way back was the same way in. Four hours of driving over a long winding one lane road with about half the time no pavement. The roller coaster couldn’t end fast enough. We also crossed back the equatorial line from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. We finally arrived at the airport in Quito for our forty five minute flight to Guayaquil. Guayaquil is located on the Pacific Ocean. We are spending the next two nights here and then taking a three hour flight to the Galapagos on Tuesday morning. We are being given a wildlife photography lecture tomorrow. Then having a local lunch. After lunch we will be walking on the Malacon. I understand the Malacon is beautiful. Love Larry

Hi Everyone So how was our final day in the Rain Forest? Of course, we woke up at 6 and met the group on an outside terrace at 6:30. Fortunately, the terrace is located next to our room and looks over a portion of the cloud forest. Lets first talk a little about this rain forest. Rain forests are divided between two types. There is the temperate and tropical rain forests. Most people think of a rain forest as a tropical rain forest such as the Amazon. A cloud forest is constantly covered by fog. When the low level clouds or mist is continually present at the same altitude as the vegetation, the area receives a significant decrease in sunlight and due to the moist conditions, moss develops and all sorts of creatures and vegetation grow. By the way, we are at an elevation of ab out 3500 feet. A cloud forest is also called a “montane rainforest” or another type of rainforest. Now lets talk a little about this cloud forest. Originally this cloud forest consisted of 300,000 acres. All but 2 percent or 6000 acres are left. All the other areas have been either logged, mined or farmed and destroyed. This 6000 acres is a private preserve and is the same cloud forest that has always existed. The Lodge was built by a former mayor of Quito to preserve this area. One acre of land has more species of vegetation and trees than in the entire United States. The next time you use a plastic bag or straw think of this and how precious our world is. This is the only cloud forest left in South America. The largest one in the world is in Costa Rica. There are a few left in Southeast Asia and Africa but they are all much smaller than this cloud forest. I hope you could follow this, but this was one reason why I wanted to visit this area. Now lets get back to this morning. I took some great pictures of the clouds hanging over the cloud forest. There position is constantly changing and the beauty is all around you. After breakfast we had our first unique adventure. We hiked up to an area that had a two bicycle sort of gondola. The person in the back pedaled the gondola across the cloud forest and the person in the front took pictures and enjoyed the scenery. I pedaled for about twenty minutes to a platform where a staff member turned the contraption around and I then sat in the front. A unique way to get up close with the cloud forest. We then walked up a steel observation tower that was built on site piece by piece and is seventeen stories high. You can see the awesome beauty as you looked down. The greenness of this area six breath taking. The size of the leaves and moss draped tress and branches makes the area look like a real Jurassic Park. After hiking back to the Lodge, lunch was served. We were then broken up into three groups for our next unique experience. We hiked up to a path that led into a trail that further led onto a platform and we boarded an aerial cable car named the “Dragonfly”. The “Dragonfly” seats four people and is a large box that is pulled by a large machine over the cloud forest for forty five minutes. You start at the highest altitude and see the types of vegetation change the lower you get. You are then pulled back up to a platform to be let off. We then all met at a roofed area overlooking the cloud forest. As I looked in the distance, I could see land that is being used for farming and knew that was part of the 98% that has been destroyed. We watched the clouds change as we talked and had some wine, pineapple juice and snacks. It was then time to board the “Dragonfly” for our ride back. It started to rain as we were pulled along and got quite heavy at times. We finally reached the other platform, got out and hiked back to the Lodge soaked but happy that we had witnessed this amazing area that is so unique in our world. After dinner, we all met for some night photography, but the rain is still relentless. We had our raincoats on, boots and protective covers for our cameras. Drove to the area we had walked through last night, but it was raining too hard and drove back to the Lodge. Tomorrow morning we leave, but first we are going back to the hummingbirds for one last encore. Meeting time is at six. we then have breakfast, pack and then check out. We will also have a critique after we pack. Andy and Lisa have asked each of us to pick three images to critique with various reasons for each. I love these sessions and have learned sod much from them over the years. We then travel back to Quito on that windy road, board a plane and fly to Guayaquil. Love Larry

Hi Everyone How did the day start? This was a glorious day in the Rain Forest. We all met at six thirty for a walk around the outside of the Lodge to take pictures. As soon as we walked out, we saw a beautiful bird sitting on a branch and the clicking started. Before this trip, I had not picked up a camera since mid January. Photography is just like many things in life, you need to constantly practice and learn. When I pick up a camera I use a part of my mind that lays dormant and I see the world through that portion of my mind. As this trip progresses, I realize how much I have missed seeing the world through a camera and how much I need to do just to reach my previous level of knowledge and skill before I can even learn more. As the pictures are taken, my eye is getting better and my skills are quickly returning. Imagine standing on a terrace overlooking a beautiful rain forest with clouds constantly moving below and above? That is what I witnessed to start the day. A picture cannot tell the whole story. You need to be there and experience the moment and how precious this rain forest is. As we all know, many of our rain forests are shrinking and dying. I hope this rain forest lives forever. It needs to be preserved and protected at all costs. After breakfast, we were driven up hill to take pictures of birds and butterflies. The drive took approximately twenty minutes over a very muddy road. After getting out of the van, we then walked downhill for about fifteen minutes to a terrace area overlooking the rain forest. Next to the terrace was an enclosed large butterfly sanctuary. Our guides put out food for the birds on branches and they started to come. The birds were so plentiful and colorful. After taking numerous pictures, I then walked into the butterfly sanctuary. What an experience. It seemed that the butterflies all became active as they sensed our presence. There were large ones and small ones. We even saw some coming out of their cocoons and spread their wings for the first time. I wanted to stay with the butterflies and let my mind wander and explore. We left around eleven and were given a choice of either walking back or taking the van. I decided to walk back with one half the group. Along the way, a snake came wiggling on the road. Our guide grabbed him and I was the first one to let him wiggle all around me. It felt so comfortable and my sense of nature was aroused. How before creatures can be in their own environment. We then had lunch and some down time until three. It was then onto an experience I will never forget. We all got in the van, and drove for about twenty minutes to a terraced and roofed area to take pictures of hummingbirds. Imagine trying to take pictures of hummingbirds? How fast their wings flutter and the speed at which they fly. A whole new learning lesson. The Lodge had set up feeding stands and our guides went around to some branches and put drops of water saturated with sugar over some of the flowery branches. I was mesmerized. I eventually put my camera in manual setting and experimented with all my settings until I reached a group of settings I was satisfied with. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of this unique scene. The sound of hummingbirds flying around you, sounds like they are miniature jet airplanes. At about 6 PM, the group started to pack up and leave. I tried my best not to and was the last one to walk to the van. We are going back here our last morning. It was then time for a quick shower and dinner. By the way, you go through clothes fast here. You always have to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts and your clothes get muddy, dirty and sweaty within a short time. I will have my laundry done tomorrow. After dinner we went for a night hike and to find the animals that wake up and live here during the night. We put on our high boots and boarded a van for the short ride to a small creek. Of course, we all used lots of bug spray. As soon as we arrived at a designated area, we were pointed out a beautiful tree frog and then a large tarantula. Doing photography like this at night is quite a challenge. You use a metering mode called spot metering. I have never used this before and the settings I experimented with were a challenge. We found some beautiful frogs and spiders walking through the water and mud. We then hiked back to the Lodge for a well earned rest. What photography challenges await me tomorrow in an environment that is both challenging and beautiful at the same time. Love Larry

Hi Everyone I am currently staying in an amazing lodge in a real rain forest, but lets get to this later. We left Quito at around 9 AM. Quito is such a quaint little city. The Spanish and Incan influence can be seen all around. From the old provincial architecture to the locals selling food on the streets, this is a city that needs to be visited by everyone. After leaving the cobblestone streets, we drove through little villages. We eventually passed the “Middle of the World”. There is a monument denoting where you pass the equatorial line and go from the Southern hemisphere to the Northern hemisphere. Latitude and longitude is zero. We were now back in the Northern hemisphere, but were told that we will pass the equatorial line numerous times during our trip. Eventually the road turned into dirt and stones. I have very rarely been on such a winding road. We were going down in altitude and could see how the vegetation changed as we through little villages. The road was very bumpy and got worse as we headed northwest towards our destination. The road turned more and more narrow and we could see some of the mudslides created. We are at the end of the wet season and the road has been badly damaged. We finally stopped for a pit stop at an archaeological site named “Tulipe”. Not much to see after you have recently seen the Aztec ruins of Mexico. Finally, after around three hours of a serious winding and bumpy road, we arrived at our destination. Mashpi Lodge is built in the rain forest and has been designated by National Geographic as one of the great lodges of the world. After checking in, we had lunch. The highlight of lunch for me was some fantastic plantains. The nonalcoholic beverages are very unique. From herbal iced tea to a drink called a glass frog, they are very tasty and good. It was then time to rest up and meet at 3:30 for an orientation and then a hike in the rain forest. After orientation we were all given high boots to wear and were told to dress in long pants and long sleeve shirts and bring our waterproof hats. Our group of eight was broken up into two groups of four each. Andy headed the other group and I was with Lisa. We also had local guides from the Lodge. My group was going to hike down to a waterfall. The six of us got off the road and onto a muddy trail full of roots that were sticking out from the ground. The moss, large leaves and vegetation looked like Jurassic Park. The texture of some of the leaves was like something I had never seen before. With five minutes of the hike, it started to rain. Of course it rained. This is a rain forest and its supposed to do that. I had never seen a rain forest like this, except on the South Island of New Zealand. Our camera gear got heavier as we walked on a muddy narrow trail down to the bottom. After what seemed like forever, we finally reached the waterfall. My clothes were soaked and my muscles were hurting. We then set up our tripods and took some nice creamy photos of the waterfall. As I took picture after picture, I started to think of what effort it would take to go back up the same way. At about 6 PM and with the light fading, we started to climb backup. The rain was still coming down making the trail muddier as we climbed. We finally reached the main dirt road back to the Lodge. My clothes were drenched and I was exhausted, but still felt exhilarated in accomplishing this hike and seeing an amazing rain forest. I also realized that in order to take pictures of the creatures that call this place their home, you are going to have to explore and find them. That exploration and discovery starts tomorrow morning. After a long shower, I drank a large pitcher of ice water and relaxed before dinner. Dinner was so good. I had a local soup and then Goat Stew. The Goat Stew was amazing. So tender and cooked just right. After dinner we had a session on our external flash units and triggers. We will going out the next two nights to find the elusive creatures that live here. I can imagine all the bugs we will encounter on these hikes at night. Tomorrow morning we meet at 6:30 AM for some morning photography. Love Larry

Hi Everyone Hope we are all well and happy. The trip started last night. Our plane took off at midnight for Guayaquil Ecuador. The flight time is approximately seven hours. After getting settled in, I had some coffee and then fell asleep. At about one thirty AM the stewardess woke me up and asked me if I wanted dinner. I told her I did not look like I wanted dinner and then fell back to sleep. At about five thirty I was woken up by the plane landing. I have learned to sleep on planes, but the rest is not like sleeping in your bed. We then walked through immigration and customs. No problems. Smooth sailing. It was then onto our connecting flight to Quito. We were flying on TAME Airlines. Go look that one up. Guayaquil is on the coast of Ecuador and about six hundred miles from the Galapagos. Our fifty minute flight was uneventful and we finally landed and disembarked. Quito was a lot colder and drier. After being met at the Airport by the hotel bus, I then checked the altitude on my iPhone. We were at about 9600 feet. Quito is the second highest capital city in the world. La Paz Bolivia is number one topping out at around 12,000 feet. As we drove towards the City, I began to see more and more houses and then we finally got to the City. Quito is an old city that has lots of narrow cobblestone streets. The large avenues and boulevards that exist in cities like Lima and Buenos Aires are not here. The architecture was very colonial Spanish and similar to the old section of Mexico City. Buildings had large wood doors and lots of small private terraces. The city sort of reminded me of cities in Northern Italy that had their narrow cobblestone streets. After checking in to our beautiful hotel on the main plaza, myself and two of my friends from previous trips walked around Quito. I stopped and saw something interesting that a local Incan woman was selling. It was Yucca and it was fried. She wanted fifty cents and i gladly paid it. It looks like corn, but has a different taste. Yucca is a plant that is used for various medicinal purposes and popular here. It was very tasty and I understand why it is so popular. We walked to a church high on a hill that was quite unique. By the way, walking up hills at an altitude of 9600 feet can be quite tiresome. The uniqueness of the church was from the various depictions of animals around the facades. Animals such as caimens and gargoyle like creatures decorated the outside facade. We found a nice coffee shop and I tanked up on some very strong cappuccino for one dollar a cup. It was then back to the hotel to rest. The hotel has a terrace overlooking the main plaza. I was able to use my telephoto lens and get some interesting pictures of the people in the square. We all met at 5:45 for a visit to a church where the nuns take vows of silence and solitude. The church was about four hundred years old and had some interesting paintings. It was then back to the hotel for a ten course dinner off local foods. I can say that this was one of the best meals I have ever had. Spectacular could be an understatement. Tomorrow we leave at 9 AM for the Masphi Lodge. The Lodge is located in a rain forest called “The Choco”. We have been told that this rain forest is very unique and only one of its kind in the world. “The Choco” covers about three hundred thousand acres over four countries and the Masphi Reserve is about forty thousand of those acres. We have been also told that the wildlife does not come to you, but you need to find it. We have been told that there are various species of frogs, reptiles, birds, hummingbirds and other creatures that only exist here and no where else. Love, Larry

Hi Everyone It’s time to wake up after a long winter of hibernating in my office. My latest adventure starts on Tuesday night. Based on the title, if you guessed the Rain Forest and the Galapagos, you are correct. Have a midnight flight on Tuesday night to Guayaquil Ecuador. When Andy and myself land, we are then taking a puddle jumper to Quito. Should arrive in Quito around 9:30 AM on Wednesday morning. After spending the night in Quito and having dinner with the other members of the group, we are then driving to the Ecuadorian Rain Forest and staying in the “Mashpi Lodge”. We will be there for four days taking day and night pictures of the creatures that call the Rain Forest their home. I even had to buy an external flash due to the lack of light in the Rain Forest. Imagine the different kinds of frogs, birds, insects and other animals that we will be seeing. The Lodge is loaning us high boots to wear in the Rain Forest. Am also bringing rain coats and zip lock bags for my camera gear. You always need to be ready for the elements and not let them stop you. On May 12, we then drive back to Quito and then fly to Guayaquil to spend the night. The following morning we then board a puddle jumper for the Galapagos. The Galapagos is about six hundred miles from Guayaquil and we did not want to waste any time getting there. We then board our own private boat and off we go. The Galapagos has always been high on my bucket list. Imagine seeing and taking pictures of the creatures that live there. The Galapagos sits right on the Equator and the sun and heat should be intense. Am bringing a large waterproof rubber bag for my camera gear, sun screen and light and loose clothes. I am also bringing a simple waterproof point and shoot camera since I intend on going snorkeling as much as I can. Thats the basic itinerary. As always, I will be writing my daily travel blog. Stay tuned for this adventure. Should be a great one. Love Larry