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Ok, it's a llama not a dog and it is much friendlier than a guard dog would be.   Anyway, it is fun to see these guys wandering around amidst the tourists at Machu Picchu.

Here are a few more shots of the land iguanas of the Galapagos.

On a Floreana Island beach, we happened upon many sea turtles in front of a nearby nesting ground.  Some turtles were frolicking in the surf, where sex lasts for two hours!  Most of the female turtles were just exhausted - either from the frolicking or from laying eggs.  

A bit more shy than the marine iguanas we saw on the beaches at Santa Cruz Island was the land iguana.  The ones we saw while hiking on "Dragon Hill" were resplendent in yellow and orange colours.  They were difficult  photograph as they were off the trail in the bushes and we weren't permitted to leave the trail to look for a better vantage point.

This photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of this Spotted Eagle Ray, lying by the ocean floor.  If I had scuba gear, I would have dove down to get a better shot, but the wet suit and salt water made it difficult for this snorkeler to dive down to any significant depth below the surface.

The good news is that I was able to swim in the ocean with a pair of white-tipped, reef sharks while snorkeling off Floreana Island in the Galapagos.  The bad news is that the underwater camera I was using couldn't get a clear photo of the sharks.  The was a strong current flow through the middle of an outcrop called The Devil's Crown and it was kicking up sand.  

I knew we would see many bird species on a trip to Galapagos but I must admit that I didn't expect to see penguins!  These little fellows were the fastest swimmers of any creatures that we saw on the trip, zipping back and forth more quickly than dolphins or sea lions.  Tt was difficult to get a photo of them while they were swimming but I did manage to get this one.

While visiting Galapagos, we saw a large number of (large) sea lions.  Many were lazing on the beach, but we also swam in the ocean with them.  Here are a couple of beach beauties.

One of the first things we did when we arrived at Galapagos was to visit the El Chato Ranch on Santa Cruz Island.  This place is a natural reserve with many enormous land tortoises in their natural habitat. These giants can weigh between 250 and 300 kg and they can live up to 200 years. 

How beautiful is this guy?  (Well, maybe his mother thinks so.) This is a marine iguana who seems to think that he is in charge of the beach at Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos.   He is perched up at eye level on a lava outcrop and he is eyeing everyone who passes by.  I love the texture of the skin and the spikes on his head.  Thankfully all of our papers were in order and he allowed us to pass!

I haven't been blogging in a while, busy with post Christmas and New Year plans.  Here is a lovely Midjourney-generated image of three lions.  It reminds me of my trip many years ago to five game parks in Kenya and Tanzania.

This was rendered by a new test version of Midjourney (alpha version 6).  Like the previous version, it seems do deliver nice animal images.

While I don't like the way Midjourney struggles sometimes with human forms (fingers, hands, arms, ears), I think it does great artwork rendering of animals.  I'm not a cat lover, but .... here's a Christmas kitty for the cat lovers out there!

This dog asleep in front of the Christmas Tree was rendered by Midjourney.  I like the addition of the red ornament on the left side of the image.

I'm trying to learn more types of AI generated styles and this image from Midjourney combines a double exposure (lion and trees) with a watercolour style.  It really does remind me of when I was on safari in Tanzania and Kenya.

Gracie, beloved Yorkshire Terrier of my good friend, Jim, passed away.  In honour of Gracie, here is a rendition of a Yorkie done by Midjourney AI.

Sitting around the firepit two evenings ago, good friend Jim was telling us a story about coming across a black bear drunk from eating fermented apples in an orchard.  While at the firepit I showed Jim how Midjourney AI may be able to produce an image of the scene.  This is what it rendered.

Overall I like this image generated by Midjourney AI, especially the action and the lighting.  However, I'm not happy with the horse's apparently stubby legs.  It might be worth another try.

I generated this tall image using Midjourney AI as a reminder of a safari in Africa many years ago.  I took so many giraffe photos with my old Minolta SRT 201 that the people I was on safari with started making fun of me.  "Look, over there.  There's a giraffe you havent photographed yet!"  Well, now with the help of Midjourney, I can generate all the giraffe images that I want!

Here's a lighter post today from Midjourney AI.  This handsome pair of ducks features the fellow on the right in a plaid shirt and overalls.  Love the look!