Journal Entry: Galapagos 2005, Day 6, Isabela Island:  I am simply fascinated by these marine iguanas!  They are everywhere here and blend into the gray volcanic rocks that formed these islands – I almost stepped on one!   Apparently, when Darwin first landed on this island, the beaches were literally covered with these creatures.  It is believed that land iguanas arrived in the Galapagos from elsewhere in the world, then evolved based on the abundance of marine algae as a food source.  They are not found anywhere else in the world. What is so amazing about the Galapagos is the fact that the wildlife are not afraid of humans, so you can get very close.  This picture was taken without a zoom lense.

Journal Entry: Rwanda 2007, Day 5, Volancos National Park:  After meeting our guides, we traveled about an hour to begin our trek into the Virunga Mountains to see the magnificent gorillas once studied by Diane Fosse. I felt lucky that we had been chosen to visit the Sabyinyo group, led by the largest male silverback alive today. The gorillas were on the move today, so we ended up bushwhacking for several hours, led by two machete-wielding guides and escorted by two armed soldiers. (Apparently there are elephants in the area!) We finally followeDthe group to the backside of the mountain and were able to observe them for about an hour.  The 450-pound silverback never kept his eyes off of us while the two moms and her babies rolled around. Getting good pictures was a challenge since we were standing on about a 60-degree angle cliff of wet, viney ground cover. What an experience!!!

Journal Entry: Africa 2000,Day 14, Lake Manyara: After climbing Kilimanjaro, we thought our safari would be calm and relaxing but on day one an elephant charged us! I was just able to snap this shot as the jeep started to speed away and throw me onto the floor !