It was our first full day in the Galapagos archipelago. It was our first snorkel, first penguin, first white-tipped reef shark, first hammerhead shark, first lobsters in the wild, first octopus, first sea lion underwater, first red beach, first sting rays, first flounder, and first marine turtle. It was a world of firsts in twelve hours! As a resident, as a naturalist for over 30 years here, I get to stay in the islands and watch again and again these marvelous landscapes and happenings. But there is never anything quite so special as the first time.