The Galapagos giant tortoise seems to play dead with its consistently bored expression. It seems as if the weight of its monstrous shell is too much for its scrawny, leathery neck. Or maybe it's just the sheer boredom of living longer than most humans and eating only a variety of plants.

We spied two of the enormous beasts on our first day in the Galapagos Islands. Edwin, our guide, got us settled aboard the yacht we would stay on for three nights and took us on a giant tortoise hunt.

Let me rephrase that. A search, not a hunt. Nothing is hunted on the islands. The animals totally rule the roost and have free range of the farms.

As the giant tortoise move about the islands in search of tasty treats, it's the law for farmers to move stock out of their chosen paddocks and adjust fences to allow them to fit through.

When spying surly tortoises got to be too much our group hiked to a hilltop house to take in the spectacular view of the green valley and faraway ocean.

And we were all surprised when a mustachioed American appeared from nowhere and offered us tea and coffee. He looked like a retired Vietnam vet and had set up tables for visitors like us. When he pulled out a bottle of whisky to plop in our coffees, the situation seemed very odd indeed.

I'm still kicking myself for not asking how on earth an American like him ended up in the middle of nowhere in the Galapagos Islands. Very strange! We never expected a walk in the fields to end with us feeling tipsy on whisky.

Next stop: Life on a yacht in the Galapagos Islands was about as good as it gets.

Check out more photos from my trip in my Flickr album.

Read more of Kelly's blogs.