February 3 - Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands. One of the Galapagos' most spectacular beaches, Tortuga Bay, is only a half an hour walk from Puerto Ayora. Although the walk can be a bit grueling under midday sun it was worth every sweat drop. The beach is a wide swath of glistening white sand which we followed to a mangroved lagoon with glassy emerald water and bobbing pelicans. One of the best things about Tortuga Bay was that we had it more or less to ourselves -- only two other people besides us! The majority of locals find the walk too arduous and tourists generally do not stick around long enough to make the trek.