Christopher Hitchens

whoa.  must say something.

Learning about New Worlds, and about Me.

We returned from two weeks in Ecuador and the Galapagos.  I can not provide more interesting photos than those published in National Geographic magazine or on PBS documentaries (but several of my own, taken with my little Lumix point and shoot, can be found HERE, along with images from Quito and the surrounding Andes).

The animals, the birds, reptiles, fish: all were shocking to our sensibilities, and perhaps the best thing one can do is just take lots of pics.  Today, as I reflect back on my own images, I begin to adjust to what I really saw, experienced, where I've been.  Truly, the Galapagos adventure was life-altering, should I choose to continue to consider it; perhaps more so as time passes.  The best testament to this visit may be a short blurp I wrote to/about our tour guide, Jose:

We all watch curiously as he lightly touches leaves, shells, and cactus trees trunks with the care a mom gives a newborn; each piece of nature a most precious gift given to each and all of us.  In his actions and speech, he offers to us a new, subtle, mindful approach to our earth as home.  Georgia O'Keeffe once said, "I will paint big, so people are forced to look," and so she did brilliantly.  Our guide does the same, not with paints but with time and patience.  Few of us tolerate this measured pace well, but we experience and thus are forced to learn a bit about it in the Galapagos Islands, with Jose.