Having visited all 63 U.S. national parks, we felt it was time to broaden our scope and explore one of the most popular and biologically diverse national parks outside the United States: Galápagos National Park. Located hundreds of miles west of mainland Ecuador, this archipelago of tropical islands straddles the equator. Because the islands were isolated from other landmasses for millions of years, many plants and animals evolved into species found nowhere else on Earth. Much of the wildlife you encounter in the Galápagos exists only there. Galaxy Cruises recently hosted our visit to this remarkable national park for four days and five nights aboard their EcoGalaxy catamaran. If you’d like to learn more about Galaxy Cruises, follow this link. And if you use the promo code MattandKaren at checkout, you’ll receive a 5% discount. If you use this code, we may earn a marketing fee, but you won’t pay anything extra. Here are some of the topics we cover in this episode: · A brief overview of the Galápagos, including a bit of history · Our stay in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, for a couple of days before the cruise · The flight from Quito to the islands and the process of getting through immigration, customs, and paying the park entrance fee · Our daily activities during the cruise, including what we did and what we saw - like snorkeling in deep water for the first time while sea lions swam alongside of us · Our impressions of the EcoGalaxy, the crew, and the accommodations · And more! ----- We now post ad-free versions of our episodes on our Patreon account (search for mattandkarensmith). If you are interested in joining, follow this link to check it out. Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show. Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Facebook at mattandkarensmith, or check out our blog at https://www.mattandkaren.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices