Go Go Gadget Galapagos - Chapter 2, Puerto Ayora

The next island we visited, Santa Cruz, is the most populated/developed and its main city is Puerto Ayora.  We spent 3 days before Grace and I left Jesse for a week to go on our boat trip, and got to experience a lot of what Puerto Ayora had to offer.  Our first day we went to the Darwin Center to see some giant tortoises up close and personal.  Turns out we got a little too up close and personal...it was a pretty empty day as far as tourists and any kind of law enforcement went and we "accidentally" entered the enclosure from the back where there were no signs telling us not to get so up close and personal.  Whoopsies!  Don't try this at home kids.

Also, there are really really awesome movies that Jesse put together of this and the rest of our Galapagos/Ecuador time, but I forgot to steal them from him before we parted so you have to go check them out at his, far superior blog: kipptastic.blogspot.com.  They are not to be missed, trust.  Anyhow,The next day we set out for a brackish water swimming hole we'd heard about called Las Grietas.  It was hot as hell and a perfect day to take some dips.  We did some pretty lame cliff jumping and were soon schooled by 8 year olds jumping the entire length of the 60-70 foot crevasse.  Nothing like an ego boost to start your day off right.  Again, see Jesse's blog for evidence.  The final day in Puerto Ayora we went to see Tortuga Bay, a GORGEOUS white sand beach about a 45 minute walk from town.  Probably the most beautiful beach in the Galapagos, and a strong contender for most others I have seen.  

Obviously one has to take advantage of these settings for a little photo shoot attempt: