I am extremely grateful for being able to go on a cruise to the Galápagos Islands! These pictures don’t even capture all the amazing memories I made deep sea snorkeling with sea lions and turtles and seeing all the species of the islands. One amazing thing about this experience was the ability to get so close to the animals. Since they don’t have many interactions with humans, they don’t see them as a threat. You could even almost accidentally step on a sleeping sea lion because they wouldn’t even flinch! Ecuador aims to protect their treasure to the extent of spraying all luggage in the airplane to avoid introducing an invasive or new species. The species of the islands have all been carried here through wind or water currents, and adapted and evolved to their new home. This trip really reminded me how truly amazing nature is. Besides the two ports, we entered and excited the cruise, we saw no civilization, which was hard to leave and come back to highly-populated Quito! 
travel_ng 