FC2Video

Lava path, Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez, Hawk and albatross landing strip. This hawk is the top of the food chain on this island. During a different season, the albatross land on this volcanic path, and launch off the "serious cliffs" presented in the next video. http://jpmeyer.com

The entire scene could not have been fabricated any more beautifully. Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez. http://jpmeyer.com

Sea lion colony, Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez. Lots of vocalizations, some of which are Klaus giving a very interesting presentation. http://jpmeyer.com

Red billed birds and other cool wildlife, Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez. Can't remember the red billed birds name. Something inappropriate like 'crab cracker'; inappropriate because they don't eat crabs nor could their bills crack a crab. Please enlighten me at jpmeyer@jpmeyer.com. http://jpmeyer.com

Landing: Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez, Sally Lightfoot crabs, iguanas and sea lions. Lots of Sally lightfoot crabs on the rocks of the jetty. Sometimes the sea lions like to lay on the path on the jetty, making passage for humans very challenging! http://jpmeyer.com

Serious cliffs, Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez. This is how a tremendously large wing span bird launches: they throw themselves off a cliff. We'll come back another time when the albatross are in town. http://jpmeyer.com

Persistence. Galapagos Islands, Espanola, Hood, Punta Suarez. More most picturesque video. The infamous 'dead iguana' holding on by a fingernail, the very definition of persistence. More of the most beautiful portion of this island. http://jpmeyer.com

Pan of lake shore. Beautiful scenery with the Alps in the background. Now our Perillo Familia is all together as Tony gives us instructions as to where to meet and when. Bucherer Jewelers, in case you have a sudden urge to buy a Rolex. Town center. Construction on what should have been a very pretty fountain. (OK, those 30 seconds could have been edited out.) One last pan, and then some very precise Swiss countryside shot from the bus. http://jpmeyer.com

The Perillo website describes today's excursion. "Lugano, a quaint lakeside town, is in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. This morning's visit to Lugano is actually in Switzerland, but this Alpine paradise clings to its Italian roots. The natural beauty is accompanied by great shops filled with Swiss specialties --- like clocks, watches and, of course, chocolate! Tonight, fabulous food and wine at a classic Milanese restaurant." http://jpmeyer.com

Like Disney, without the saccharine. Just a delightful walk around a beautiful town. http://jpmeyer.com

italy: St. Marks pigeons

More nice sights from A. Volta park. Our Perillo Familia may not have gotten to see the details of A. Volta's memorial, so enjoy! http://jpmeyer.com

Taking pix of each other. Volta memorial, like Jefferson's Monticello, Volta statue in the town center and pan of town center. We negotiated our first pizza here, mostly by sign language, because we speak no Italian and they spoke no English. http://jpmeyer.com

A compilation of the still pictures we obtained while walking around the Northern Italian lake town of Como. The rest of our Perillo tour had gone for a boat ride, so some of these sights might be new. Enjoy! http://jpmeyer.com

Perillo's website describes "ITALY'S MAGNIFICENT LAKE REGION - LAKE COMO & LUGANO." Our itinerary had us first visit Como, "the charming town and pristine lake of the same name, lined with lovely villas." Swans, pan of villas, male mallard duck. Extra ordinary villas and fountain. http://jpmeyer.com

Transatlantic flight, waiting for luggage, introduction to the "deluxe motor coach" (the bus), phoning about the luggage, arrival at the hotel, waiting for the luggage. Where's the luggage? (See "Venice" for the answer!) http://jpmeyer.com

According to the Perillo website, this is Day 1, when we depart the USA. "Boarding our overnight flight, we're off on the adventure of a lifetime." This is one of those rare times when the reality lives up to the hype! In this video, we see two starkly contrasting but equally sublime sights: the New York City skyline of Manhattan, with great footage of the Empire State Building all lit up; and the magnificent snow capped peaks of the French Alps, all on our way to arrival in Milan, Italy. http://jpmeyer.com

Como is situated at the southwest tip of the deepest lake in Europe, and those charming Italian villas were best seen from an optional boat trip. Our family opted to walk around this extremely very old world town for the two hours we had in Como. For that reason, there's not too much footage of our entire group, the Perillo "Familia" that we became. Odd trees, beautiful villas, Palace Hotel, trolley terminal stop. http://jpmeyer.com

Our Perillo Familia starts dancing at our second dinner in Milan, while the kids make fun napkin creations (a skill picked up on their Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines adventure aboard the Voyager of the Seas). Finally, a little travel footage of Milan at night, from the vantage point of the front of the bus. http://jpmeyer.com

Hungry Sea Lion, Galapagos Islands, Espanola Punta Suarez, Hungry sea lion pup greeting mama! This pup was very happy to see it's mama, and couldn't wait to nurse. Plus, some iguanas resting in the shade. http://jpmeyer.com

The Blue footed Booberie, Galapagos Islands, Espanola Punta Suarez, The path to the booberie. Lots of male whistles and female honks. Love those blue feet! http://jpmeyer.com

Birds, Galapagos Islands, Espanola Punta Suarez, Birds: boobies, frigates, nests, baby boobie and a blowhole. Starts with an identification error. Love those blue feet! Iguana against the "white cliffs" (guess why they're white...) http://jpmeyer.com

Kathy's slideshow of Espanola Hood Island Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands. http://jpmeyer.com

Sea lions "arm wrestling". Espanola Hood Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands. Klaus explains to the group how male sea lions rough-house to establish dominence. Plus, the panga ride back to the Mary Ann. http://jpmeyer.com

Sea lion plays with US! Espanola Hood Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands It's HIS beach, after all! Plus, a closeup of the sand. http://jpmeyer.com

Sea Lions on their beach. Espanola, Hood Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands Plus a "fast moving LBB" (Little Brown Bird). Turns out that LBB is a hummingbird, according to an informal census. Correct me if I'm wrong by contacting jpmeyer@jpmeyer.com. http://jpmeyer.com

Sally Lightfoot Crabs video. Espanola Hood Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands First, the beach was leaking. Then, lots of SLC's scurrying about and feeding. Not for the arachnophobic. http://jpmeyer.com

Sea lions, iguanas and children on the beach. Espanola Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands. Plus one idiot who Sebastian had to tell "don't bother the sea lions." http://jpmeyer.com

Panga to Espanola (Hood) Island. Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands. Our daily briefing summary. Wet landing on the most beautiful white sand beach, full of sea lions, marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs. http://jpmeyer.com

A Ray, right off the shore. Espanola Hood Gardner bay Beach, Galapagos Islands. Sebastian spotted a ray. http://jpmeyer.com

Dive-bombing pelicans; beach meets lava. Espanola Hood, Gardner Bay beach, Galapagos islands. http://jpmeyer.com

Marine Iguanas, Espanola Hood Island Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands On the beach, and swimming in the water. http://jpmeyer.com

John's slideshow of Espanola Hood Island Gardner Bay Beach, Galapagos Islands. http://jpmeyer.com

Katharine's slideshow of Bartolome Island and 213 pictures of Klaus, Galapagos Islands, Bartolome http://jpmeyer.com

Kathy's slideshow of Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands. http://jpmeyer.com

After a century or so, small plants finally emerge from the lava field. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

Pa-hoi-hoi lava field, from an eruption 100 years ago. It's difficult to express how unreal this landscape is, until you're there for yourself. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

You wouldn't usually associate words like "colorful" and "shiny" with lava, but here it is. If you have the bandwidth, look at the subtle colors in the near-DVD version of this video. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

John's slideshow of Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands

Kathy's slideshow of Sullivan Bay (James Island), Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

Galapagos Islands, Bartolome, Klaus negotiates 12 cameras for our group picture. Jonathon at the helm of the panga. Harvard lawyers sing! It was empowering to watch the "Master and Commander" battle sequence on our little pirate ship's DVD player, and then sail right past where the battle happened. (Well, at least where the location shots were filmed.) Now, THAT'S immersive! Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

Katharine's slideshow of Sullivan Bay (James Island), Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

Preparing to ascend the 365 steps. Another location shot for "Master and Commander". The Doctor and his companions walked through this field of shrubs, and then the movie crew 'erased' all the footprints. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

John's slideshow of Sullivan Bay (James Island), Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

Kathy's slideshow of Daphne Major and Departure, Kathy's slideshow of Daphne Major and Departure. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome http://jpmeyer.com

Sebastian 'scared' Edwin. Then, if you have seen the movie "Master & Commander" with Russel Crowe, you may recognize some terrain used in the movie. Recall when the Doctor was trying to find his flightless cormorant, he trekked across "a" Galapagos island, picking up new species on the way. Part of that sequence was filmed right here; other parts were filmed on other islands. Klaus was instrumental in helping the location manager find the best locations for the movie. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com

Feel the burn! Fortunately, there were a few rest breaks along the way. At the top, Martin's pulse was as steady as a rock. The climb was well worth the view. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome http://jpmeyer.com

John's slideshow of Daphne Major and departure. Galapagos Islands, Bartolome. http://jpmeyer.com