wineasmusic

We had great service. I did a daily posting to this board of our adventure. D2

Turns out the Silversea cruise included Latam flight from the Galapagos to Guayaquil continued on to Quito. It would have been better for us to continue to Quito and catch our Delta flight there, but we did not know. Can't guarantee that Latam schedule would not change though. The default Silversea flight was to Guayaquil, so we just planned accordingly. We did our own flights to Ecuador.

I would not call Ecuador a cesspool. We were just there in May for our Galapagos cruise. We did a day trip in Quito to the old town area and it was great. Unfortunately, fuel and food costs are going to cause uprisings in many developing countries this summer, a bit like back in the Arab Spring. Some of these will bring down governments and be very violent. With any luck they can get you in and out avoiding the problem areas. We did a Greek cruise from Athens during one of the times Athens exploded with violence. We stayed in a part of the city away from the riots (they trashed the hotel we stayed at the time we visited before). We did not tour the city pre cruise, but we did a day trip to Corinth and it was great. Sometimes the violence is too great to do that and sometimes it is not. I have a group of 6 friends on that cruise. Good luck… D2

Just got back from the Galapagos on Silver Origin. Our cruise docs suggested we get a PCR on Wed so the test would still be current for boarding the ship on Sat. We paid $300 for our PCR tests. We flew to Ecuador Thursday and SS included 2 nights in a hotel before flying us to the Galapagos to board the ship on Sat. When we got to Quito, ALL passengers had to do an antigen test SS paid for. So our PCR tests they told us to get were wasted. Can’t be sure all SS ships require a test administered by SS before boarding like Silver Origin did. D2

When we booked last year, SS included a flight to the ship from Quito and flew you to Guayaquil after the cruise where they gave you a day room. We flew Delta into Quito before the cruise and our return Delta flight had a leg on Latam from Guayaquil back to Quito to pick up the Delta flight to Atlanta. D2

We had to show vaccination plus one booster cards to the airline, Ecuador and to SS before boarding the ship. We had to test Friday morning at the hotel between 8 and 9am (cost included) before boarding the ship. SS docs said to get a PCR test Wed and it would be good for Ecuador entry and boarding the ship. Ecuador did not ask for test result and SS made us do the Friday test anyway, so $300 for PCR tests wasted. SS tests you again after the cruise at the day room hotel (cost included) so you can get back in the U.S. D2

Disembarkation went well. Blue group left first on the zodiacs and then green group. When your zodiac gets to the dock, you board the bus for a short trip to the airport. You pick out your check luggage (they brought it to the airport) and check in for the flight to guayaquil. When you arrive you claim your luggage and get on a bus to the Oro Verde hotel where you get a meal and a day room. Then at your appointed time you get on a shuttle to the airport. Most flights to the US leave between 10pm and 1:45am. This all went quite well except for the half of the cruise that was connecting through Miami. The storm cancelled their flight. That was no fun for those folks. We really enjoyed this cruise. D2

This morning we did the Darwin center. Boatloads of giant turtles. Some of them were really massive. Can't believe something like this actually exists. The last supper was really good. I had prawns with an artichoke sauce. The Galapagos prawns are excellent!. Lunch was an excellent suckling pig. Seems pigs had overrun one of the islands and were only eradicated about a decade ago. Maybe the locals have a taste for pig since there was probably free pig for everyone due to the eradication effort? We leave by Zodiac in the morning. Seems this ship never docks. All provisions are brought out by boat, including fuel. The luggage is transferred by boat and we will get it at the airport to check in for our flight. We've really enjoyed this cruise! D2

Yes, she was excellent. We told her what we wanted to see and it worked out great! D2

I don't think we are allowed to post recommendations. She was killer! Is there a way to send me a DM on this site? D2

The trail is all big rocks about a foot or so big. They are jumbled in all directions. You are having to pick your way between our on top if they are flat enough. Takes some balance and leg strength. 2 hours of that at a slow pace. If you can do it it's worth it. A number of folks were in poor shape but still pulled it off. D2

We did Machu Picchu several years ago on an orient express tour. Staying in the hotel at the site was a big win. All the tourists leave about 3pm to catch the trains so it is all yours. Don't do much first day in Cusco. You are at 10k feet! Your body needs time to settle. We took the Hiram Bingham train round trip. It was really cool. D2

The food was again great today. Wifey did have a problem with the lunch menu, first time, and had to rely on the basics menu. I don't know what all is on that menu, but there are standards you can order anytime, anywhere. She did a margarita pizza. The crust was a little different than she is used to, but she was ok with it. Cheeseburgers, pizza and things like that are on that menu. Today had the most challenging hike we have done. They warned us in advance. It was very worthwhile, but it was a lot of work. Tomorrow the Darwin center and more giant turtles. I think some of these are double the age of the oldest cruiser on the ship. We have not sailed Silversea since 2005, but we have done Seaborn and Regent a bunch. This cruise, being an adventure cruise, has a younger crowd than those. D2

The night I did hot Rocks it was either octopus or tofu. All the beef has to be pre-cooked before coming to the islands. The one piece of beef I had appeared to have been cooked sous vide, so it still has a pink color. No medium rare steaks in the Galapagos... The wines are from everywhere, mostly Argentina and Chile, but even a number from Italy. D2

We are now halfway through the cruise. So far the food has been very, very good! I'm a foodie, so wine and food are very important to me, so I'm happy the food part is so good. This is a seafood focused cruise (although wifey is still finding plenty to eat). I've been lobbying the Hotel Director to have more Pinot noir wines on board. There is only one on the wine bottle menu. Today we got our picture taken with a wild giant tortoise. Huge... We will see them again another day. D2