2 Cool Souvenirs from the Galapagos

Not only are these two souvenirs cool, they were also free, earned just by being there and fully participating in the program.
Granted, being there wasn’t free, I was on the National Geographic/Linblad Expedition boat The Islander, for a 7 day tour of the Galapagos Islands.
Cool Souvenir number one was the pin for crossing the Equator, which happened while I was on the bridge with the Captain, looking at the instrument showing 0 degrees. The photo by itself would have been enough, but then the crew held a big yellow tape representing the equator, and we passed, or limboed, under it. Afterwards, we all received the “I crossed the equator” pin.
Cool souvenir number two was a certificate for having completed the Mega-Swim, meaning that rather taking the zodiac from the beach to the boat, I, along with 7 other passengers, swam the 710 yards. I elected to wear both snorkel and fins because I didn’t want to miss seeing any marine life.
At the end of the daily recap that evening, the five women and one man who completed the “Mega-Swim” received our certificates during a presentation ceremony.

The certificate says:

Urvina Bay Megaswim, February 24, 2016.  This certificate hereby certifies that Chris Wildgen made the long-distance swim of 650 meters (or 2,132 feet/710 yards) from the beach of Urvina Bay, braving the cormorant, penguin and pelican-infested waters of Galapagos to the anchorage of the National Geographic Islander at 00 degress 24.05 S / 91 degrees 13.75 W with no outside assistance of any kind and fired by plain stubbornness to complete a mission once started.”
I love how the Linblad crew made both things a memorable, fun and celebratory event.