Galapagos Explorer 2 :Ecuador and Galapagos Islands August 2012

[Familygoboston]

Sea Turtle!! She laid her eggs on the beach and then headed back to the sea!

 

(Ghost crab)

 

(an interior lagoon yielded two birds I enjoyed watching fish; a black necked stilt)

 

(and flamingos!)

 

Then we snorkeled for an hour off the beach. The guides bring the snorkel gear bins onto the beach and you find your bag which has a number on it (remember this number, I wrote it down on my note pad!!) Except for losing my DD, who lost her buddy and decided stay out in the water after all of us came back in, causing me to panic while looking for her -it was fun;-)

 

On this snorkel, I felt there were too many people in the water to see any really amazing sightings and to keep track of my kid who was wearing the same snorkel as everyone else. My kids are not young and are very strong swimmers, so I didn't let it panic me, but if you have younger children I highly recommend bringing some colored duct tape (remember the duct tape) to mark the top of their snorkels so you can spot them quickly. They all look alike in the same gear! There is always a panga (or 2) watching the group very carefully, but still...I'd feel better if I could more easily identify my kids in the water, especially if they were younger.

 

This is shallow snorkeling, which makes it easy but people kept standing up, and stirring up the sand on the bottom, making it murky. We did see several schools of very nice fish, but didn't see any of the other things we had heard about like, penguins, rays, sharks or sea lions. We couldn't believe how many fish there are and although it's not as colorful as the Caribbean, it's definitely more and larger schools of fish than any place I've snorkeled other than Bonaire.

 

(except for a few murky fish, this was the main animal sighting on Bachus Beach)

 

 

 

But we did see this strange little guy when we got back to our cabin

 

Anyone have an idea on his species??

[Familygoboston]

After the AM excursion, we return to the ship for showers and to explore the ship a bit. There is a nice sundeck on 6 and we check out the Jacuzzi, (which can only fit 2 adults , maybe three, who know eachother realllly well!) library, shop, and lounges too.

 

(photos of GEII)

 

(main lobby)

 

(Sun deck)

 

(piano bar)

 

 

(stern lounge area outside piano bar- this is my fav place...can you tell I like to book aft balconies?;-)

[Familygoboston]

Lunch is a wonderful buffet with two 45 minute sittings. There is a pasta station where the chef will put together pasta with a variety of additions to the sauce. After lunch there are several naturalists talks, but I opt for a nap instead. At 2pm our group does a group activity in the lounge...I don't want to give away the surprise...so I won't post pics.

 

The ship is on the move again, heading to Santiago. There is a really great map in the dining room, where you can check out where you've been and where you are going.

 

(photo of map in DR)

 

 

TIPS Debarking the ship and riding the pangas:

-Some folks have concerns about getting on and off the ship and doing the wet and dry landings, so here is a little review of what happens and some tips

 

-your group will meet in a lounge

 

-your guide will lead the group to the deck

 

-a guide will supply you with a PFD, and help you secure it if you need help

 

-the group will wait at the top of the ladder while the guide boards the panga

 

-another guide will be at the top of the stair and direct you down the ladder when its time to board

 

-two guides at the bottom of the ladder will assist you onto the panga, taking your back pack and handing it back to you if you are not wearing it.

 

-once on the panga, stay low with your knees bent and move as close to the stern (back) and sit so others can board.

 

-once everyone is on board the operator will head out, it is not usually wet in the panga, but you might get a little spray if it's rough, but you shouldn't get soaked.

 

-wet landings, will be you swinging your legs off the side of the panga and jumping into about knee deep water, the guides will keep your stuff dry and hand it to you and assist you with mobility

 

-dry landings are actually trickier, you will be landing on a rock covered by a towel for traction, and have to step off the boat onto the towel, again, guides are very helpful and careful.

 

-amazingly, this is very well organized and the guides ( even G, who we do warm up too!) do an excellent job keeping you safe and assisting those with mobility issues. We had 3 70 yo grandmas in our group and they all did just fine...no problems at all! By 2 excursions, everyone has the process down and it goes amazingly fast!

 

(photos of ladder and pangas)

 

 

[Familygoboston]

At 3:45 we are headed out to Santiago for our second excursion, another wet landing on the black sand volcanic beach of Puerto Egas. Another delightfully uninhabited by humans area. The highlights are seeing the sea lions, Galapagos fur sea lion, and a green sea turtle surfaces in a fur seal grotto, much to the delight of the group. There are more marine iguanas than people and when walking over to see something on the lava, you must be careful not to step on one by accident! One time I almost walked into a baby sea lion- they honestly don't move and are so well camouflaged in the sand, that in my distraction, I simply didn't see it! Luckily our guides are good about keeping us on the path. I notice on this part of our trip that our guide relies on the other guides to spot interesting things, such as a small scorpion pointed out by the guide in front of us, and this is where he misses the circling Galapagos hawk that our group tour guide points out for us.

 

(photos of afternoon walk )

 

The terrain and views of our walk at Peurto Egas on Santiago

 

(the Sugarloaf at PA)

 

(no, they don't make you climb it;-)

 

Sea Lions! our first up close sighting and the kids were all really excited, the sea lions...not so much!

 

 

 

 

(do you see the pattern here? Excited kids, oblivious snoozing sea lions!)

[Familygoboston]

( and here is the one photo that is very, very rare!! This animal is almost never captured on film or memory card...a shot of our photographer!!)

 

 

 

 

(Pelicans)

 

 

(ready for his close up, marine iguana)

 

 

(sally lightfoot crabs; the mature ones are colorful and too crunchy to be edible, the young ones are dark and tasty, but not very visible to predators...ingenious, huh?)

 

 

(marine iguana colonies are large here)

 

 

(but they are not the only cold blooded creatures- here is a lava lizard)

 

[Familygoboston]

(lava heron)

 

 

I simply couldn't believe how many birds you can literally walk right up too, its is the strangest thing! Our entire group of 30 + people were standing around these agrottos; making noise and wandering, and this little heron just never moved! See thre is he is watching us watching him without a care in the world!

 

 

 

heres a "where's Waldo" for you...you already saw this picture...

 

 

But did you notice this guy?

 

 

He's a fur sea lion, which is another (furrier and fatter) species...look at him, he's like a face on a tube of fat!!) And he and his other sealion friends have ears, that and living in the pacific is what makes him a sea lion and not a seal!!

 

Another "where's Waldo" ...where do the iguanas end and where does the lava start? Hard to tell and on this walk, many of us had "near misses" and nearly stepped on one. you have to watch your feet carefully!

 

 

This is a good place to get your holiday card "squatting behind a sea lion" photo; I'll spare you our own, but trust me when I say we have more of them than people on our holiday card list!

 

Returning from our excursion, we dress a bit for dinner and relax, then head to the dining room. We order dinner each AM at breakfast, so the kitchen know how much to prepare , but its flexible enough to change your mind if your tastes change in the interim. We have shrimp again, and the boys have pork medallions and pasta. After dinner at 9 we have a chance to stargaze on the sun deck with our lead guide Israel (who is excellent!). It's a little cloudy so we only get 1/2 way through the sky before a big cloud obscures it. This was a private showing for just our group, the others will have it another night, so anyone who wants, can get the full version then. After the stargazing, karaoke is held in the lounge for everyone on board and several from our group get up and sing.

 

When my folks went to bed tonight, they were greeted by 4 Lilly pads and two swans necking made out of towels, from their room steward and a bottle of wine, card and two " special occasion" pins from our guides. They have been tired, but they are enjoying this trip and they were excited by this acknowledgement of their 50th anniversary!

[Familygoboston]

Up at 6:30 after a smooth evening, it's rocking pretty good this morning until we anchor. A few people in our group decide not to do the El Barranco, (which is billed as 30 steep stairs and then mostly level sand and some lava fields) on Genovesa due to health problems (one boy, and his grandparents only just made the trip after a leg injury, but like most 10 year olds...you'd never know he had been on crutches and only got the ok a few days before leaving!) and some motion sickness.

 

My mother is concerned, but after a talk with our guide, decides to go and uses the walking stick offered and is very glad for it. It's actually easier, once up the steps, than the walk yesterday in Santiago. First, our tour group goes over to the steps, while the rest of the ship lands at the beach. This is nice since the big group is broken up and it feels much less "crowded". This is a dry landing, with a step from the boat to a rock laid with a towel. Then there is a walk up 30 stone steps of varying sizes. Guides are extremely helpful with elders and people with limited mobility. After Quito, where a walk up a regular staircase leaves you breathless, this was not hard for anyone without physical limitations, just tricky to negotiate with large and small steps at varying heights.

 

(photos of the "steps")

 

 

This walk is amazing for the sheer number of sea birds nesting within touching distance. ( of course we did not) there are fluffy little chicks under their mothers, and red footed boobies doing mating ritual grooming. Because these birds breed all year, we had the opportunity to see the whole life cycle; mating pairs, 2 day old chicks, fluffy 2-4 month old chicks and chicks nearly ready to fledge all in the same visit. We also spotted 3 short eared owls which sit in the lava and try to capture storm petrels swirling around them. We do also see a fur and regular sea lion resting on a rock ledge, and a few smaller marine iguanas- but this place is all about the birds!

 

(photos of El Barranco walk)

to give you an idea of the terrain and trail after you make it up the stairs

 

 

(nazca (masked) boobies)

 

(Galapagos doves)

 

 

Nazca boobies nest on the ground (watch your step!!) I was just ticking off a couple more places in my "1000 places to visit before you die" book, and the description of the Galapagos mentioned that the animals are more curious about you than you are of them. Doesn't this little fella look that way? He's a juvenile nazca boobie, he's so ugly he's cute!

 

 

(some nazca boobies are brown; it's just like hair color)

 

[Familygoboston]

also on this walk are red footed boobies, which nest in trees, but look like they shouldn't fit there

(a new red footed boobie couple)

 

 

 

see what I mean about not looking like it should work? But here is how they do it!

 

 

This is a nesting greater frigate bird and it's chick...isnt it great?

 

("what's for dinner???")

 

[Familygoboston]

This was fun...one of the few animals in the Galapagos you actually have to "look for". Luckily the guides ahead of us had spotted him and our tour guide helped the youngest ones "find" him with the binoculars. She did not rest till every last person had seen it!

 

(short earred owl)

 

 

Here's our hero, our tour guide, getting a snap of some nazca love!)

 

 

(2 nazca chicks...days old...only one will make it)

 

 

(another, slightly older, so ugly its cute juvenile nazca)

 

I show that series to depict one of the other amazing things about the Galapagos; because food is so plentiful and conditions are always right, any one time visitor can see the whole reproductive spectrum of these animals in one trip; we saw it in one walk!!) And now, so have you;-)

 

 

After a 2 hour walk we headed back to the ship for a rest and an early lunch. Our group had a private bridge tour at 1:30.

 

(bridge tour)

 

 

(this map is in the bridge- we were on "cruise B" the yellow line)

 

 

We are supposed to put our wet suits with our gear bags on the stern, but we couldn't locate any of our four mesh bags since the rest of the ship did AM snorkeling, and rearranged or used the equipment. Eventually our guides locate all 4 bags, but not before my overly anxious daughter has a breakdown over it.

Since other guests must pay to rent equipment, we noticed that people used the equipment assigned to us while we were on a dry excursion. This might be explained by people misremembering their own bag number, but our group was missing a lot of equipment, so that's a lot of bad memories, or someone was trying to get away with something. Not only was this icky, since we couldn't be sure it was rinsed properly, but it was confusing as they didn't return it to the proper lettered bin. When they assign you snorkel gear, keep it in your own in your cabin, on the floor of the bath, under the vanity till just before your snorkel- then leave it in the appropriate lettered bin for your guide to transport, or carry it on to the zodiac yourself.

[Familygoboston]

The afternoon walk on Genovesa at Darwin's landing was better than the snorkeling. The wind had picked up significantly, and our beach landing is quite tricky, but we all get out safely, but the high wind is not so safe for a tiny shearwater chick we see floating helplessly in the water, its been blown from its nest and is not a water bird. Our NP guide scoops him up to at least warm him in a towel and leave him near the cliff. This type of intervention is frowned upon, but the guides do occasionally try to help out wildlife in small ways, I suppose it's human nature! Then we have a walk the beach with our guides.

 

This beach is home to Galapagos swallow tail sea gulls and their nesting young. Again, due to the ongoing cycle of theses birds mating cycles, we get to see fluffy chicks and tiny chicks without feathers literally within inches of the paths. There are also nesting Frigate birds and red boobies in the trees.

 

 

The highlight here though is several sea lion pups, one nursing, one tiny one curled up on the beach sleeping and one curious one cavorting in the water at our feet and with the kids body surfing. One swims right up to the shore to " play" with the children in our group. It seems as fascinated and delighted about our children as we all are about the young pup. It comes right up to our toes to have a look and later, as the children are in their wet suits surfing in the waves, it comes to join in the fun with the other young "sea lions" in wet suits.

 

 

(photos of sealions)

 

 

because of the rough seas, some of the mom sea lions had moved their pups and into this bay and little lagoon for protection from the pounding sea, again, we stood our ground and they came up to us to see what was going on! (BTW- the kids in the photos are most usually the children of the other family in our small group...their kids are so much more photogenic than our own:-) The whole family was! We joked that they could be the brochure family! Our family looked like juvenile nazca boobies...but not nearly as cute!)

 

 

(now, this is what you see when you look up "cute" in the dictionary!!)

 

 

We are excited for snorkeling, but the sea was very rough and a beach snorkel is too rough, and nothing would be seen in the sand that is stirred up on the beach anyway. We decide on the deep water snorkel hoping to swim with the sea lions, see sharks and maybe rays. But visibility is terrible, we see lots of fish, but they are difficult to see and with the combination of this weather and the dark lava rock, they don't show much color. We all snorkel for about an hour then return to the panga.

 

(photo of deep water snorkeling and the panga)

 

 

When we get back we are cold and shivery, so most of our group heads to the hot tubs. Because of the rough windy weather, the boat is really rocking when we return. Lots of people in our group are feeling a little queasy. I am too due to being hungry and from swallowing bits of seawater during snorkeling. I take a Bonine and am fine for dinner.

 

TIPS Tips for the Motion on the Ocean: This is a good place to talk about motion, there are obviously several health concerns people have when they look into this trip; altitude, the Um...potty talk, (both of which we've discussed already) and now we are at the part where we worry about motion sickness on a fairly small ship in an area where there are two pretty strong currents meeting and some good winds. 4 of the 6 of us did have some short time in which we felt effects of the motion. Only my DD 2 actually lost dinner, (but we joke with her that she gets sick in all the best places, and her dad congratulated her on having tossed her cookies on 3 separate continents!) the rest of us found some combination of these tips to alleviate the problem pretty quickly. A few people in our group had effects of motion sickness or a combo of that and a little GI distress. But in general, with these tips, only a few were bothered enough to have to skip activities.

 

-try not to be caught with an empty tummy, proteins work best to alleviate the nausea, and since you cant bring any food on the islands, try to have a nut snack or enjoy something with protein on the jacuzzi deck between excursions.

 

-my DD1 and several of our fellow adventurers found the sea bands to work well for them.

 

-I also carried ginger gum, when I or DD 1 started to feel dizzy from motion we chewed this and it prevented nausea from starting.

 

-on the days when I let myslef get too hungry, I took a less drowsy Bonnine, (meclizine) and thoroughly enjoyed my lobster dinner!

 

-I carried both of these things in a small clip wallet that I kept on my belt loop or in a pocket that I also used to hold my room key. This way, no matter where we were I could instantly treat the start of symptoms with the gum first, waiting only makes it harder to reign back in. DD1 started getting a bit woozy during our "activity " and I just handed her some gum and some water and she was all set and having a great time 5 minutes later.

 

-DD2 and my mom who one night had problems after dinner both took Dramamine (dimenhydrinate) and went right to bed and were fine in the morning.

 

- I did see some folks just wearing the Scopolamine patch and they seemed to have no trouble.

 

-in the end, even if you are sensitive as my DD2 is, the ill effects are fleeting enough and easily prevented/treated so that in my opinion, I wouldn't let the fear of this keep you from taking this trip and we didn't find any level discomfort that interfered with our enjoyment of the trip. My parents skipped a few snorkel excursions, just out of sheer exhaustion, but otherwise felt well. Pretty much every person over 50 on our trip took at least one excursion off to rest or recuperate. It's a very demanding trip...but there is no rule saying you must do them all, the ship is a very comfortable place to hang out and maybe it was more the wisdom of the older people knowing when to say when! :-)

 

 

Tonight the adults have lobster, duck, salmon, while the kiddies have a movie and pizza in the piano lounge. (pizza and movie is a special event for the kids on our tour, but the dinner menu is the same for everyone onboard) It's a nice dinner, where our group sits at 6 rounds and socialize with each other. Each table lingers long after dessert, enjoying each others company and conversation. Usually at meals the larger families sit together, this chance to socialize with our fellow adventurers is really fun!

After dinner, I do feel a bit queasy again, even though I felt great during dinner. I think I am mostly tired, so I take a Dramamine and hit the pillow for a long sleep.

[Familygoboston]

Another 6:30 wake up call. We have a dry landing in North Seymour for a hike. I should mention that while the terrain of all our hikes is a mix of sand or dirt tracks, lava rocks and lave rock scree, while the rocks can be tough for some to manage, the elevation is almost always flat except where there are natural stairs to climb up to the island. The pace is quite slow, with many stops to discuss the animals. Our NP guide doesn't seem great at spotting hidden wild life, though he is knowledgeable. He seems to rely in the more experienced guides to spot the harder things like the little owls we saw yesterday. Often times it is our tour guide or one of the kids in the group who spots things and points them out to the group. He seems especially interested and talking about the adaptations and natural history rather than animal behavior. He's happy to answer questions. Anyway, it's worked out ok, mostly because there is no way to not be amazed by the accessibility of these animals!! But my deaf father has really missed a lot of the details, we knew that could be a possibility, but our tour guides do a better job of trying to help him understand than the NP guides.

 

This walk is also really great. Here we see Blue Footed Boobies nesting and some adorable chicks. We even see a red footed boobie perched in a tree that doesn't belong there and probably landed there by accident since the terrain is similar to Genovesa. G even snaps a picture of this lonely, lost guy...proving my theory that you know how unusual your sightings are if your guides are taking photos! We see more swallow tail gulls and chicks here, and this is where the great frigate birds nest, so we see lots of them on their nests with chicks too. Several of the males have their red chests puffed out and it's fun to see them in the trees. Another highlight here is the land iguanas, which are larger and yellowish compared to smaller black marine iguanas. We see at least two eating cactus fruits that fall to the ground. First they find them by listening for the vibration of them falling to the ground. Then they roll them in the dirt to rub of the spines, then eat them. It's fun behavior to watch. We see lots of sea lions and young on this walk too.

 

As we are heading back to the ship, we spot a huge group of the golden rays swimming and many schools of fish near the surface of the water, this is where we will snorkel this afternoon, so we tell them all to stick around we will be right back. We are due for a great snorkeling activity!

 

(Headed out on the pangas- GEII in the background)

 

(photos of North Seymour Walk)

 

(Here we see nesting swallow tailed gulls and their chicks)

 

 

 

(more sea lions!)

 

(for the new edition the dictionary could use this one too;-)

 

hummm..the editors of the "cute" dictionary entry have some tough choices to make!

 

[Familygoboston]

And finally the highlight...the blue footed boobies!

 

 

(oh you wanted to see the rest of the boobie? Here you go!)

 

 

(ahem, this is my better side)

 

 

(also on this walk, we saw magnificent frigate birds - which are more iridescent than the greater frigate birds and just...well, I think quite frankly they are starting to run our of adjectives to capture the awesomeness of this place and maybe could use a little help from the dictionary editors!)

 

Again, due to the awesomeness of the Galapagos...we saw every age and stage of the frigate bird life cycle in one walk!

(nope, not good enough for these ladies...)

 

 

(Now, we're talking!)

 

 

(and here is a little one)

 

[Familygoboston]

Another interesting sighting...the land iguana, which is yellowish, lives in the higher ground and doesn't swim.

 

 

He eats this stuff...yum!

 

 

by rolling it around in the dirt till the spines are gone

 

 

 

Fun to watch...but I'm hoping this local delicacy isn't on the menu tonight!

[Familygoboston]

The snorkel is 10:30-11:30 off the pangas, so we simply show up on deck with our wet suits on and our gear in hand. We travel by panaga the short distance to the wall of the island and gear up and hop off the panga. One panga watches the back of the group with a guide, and the other watches the head of the group with a NP guide in each. At least one NP guide and one of our tour guides is in the water with our group.

 

This is the most amazing snorkel of the trip. We see so many colorful fish, but also a white tipped shark, 3 kinds of rays and the highlight is swimming with a baby sea lion under water. He seems fascinated, but a little nervous about the kids all exclaiming and swimming around him. He goes deeper and then comes back for another look. The snorkeling here is the most diversity and quantity of fish and marine life I have ever seen, but the lava rock is not as beautiful as the corals in other places.

 

Also we see no anemones, sea stars or other marine life that thrives in a coral environment. There is coral on the beach and we see a few, but not many coral. But this is made up for by just the most incredible diversity and quantity of marine life...it's no wonder no one is competing or predating on each other...there are just plenty of fish in the sea!

 

Just as we are about to come out of the water, we spot the school of golden rays swimming together. I swim along behind them for a while and really feel like I'm in a National Geographic special! All in all it is the most incredible snorkel experience I've ever had. I leave the water with such joy, all of us breathless comparing our sights!

 

(snorkel photos)

 

 

 

(spotted eagle ray)

 

 

little sea lion that was swimming with us)

 

 

(golden rays)

 

 

(white tipped shark)

[Familygoboston]

Returning to the ship, we shower to warm up and get some lunch. I was hoping to have a massage...it's about $1 minute for treatments here, which is an incredibly good deal, but I cant fit one in. My DM had one the day before and loved it!

 

(spa menu)

 

 

The ship moves to Santa Cruz and At 1:45 we head out for our afternoon excursion. This time we take the pangas to the dock and then a bus into the highlands to see the tortoises. I find myself a little disappointed to be back in "civilization". I'm learning this about myself; I really prefer a very remote wildlife experience. It is hot and sunny on the dock, 80s. But as we drive through the arid zone on the coast to the transitional zone, we see a change in the flora; it becomes more green and lush. The cactuses give way to epiphytes on trees. As we enter the highlands, the temperature drops by about 15 degrees and the clouds cover the sun and a light mist seems to rain down.

 

(photos of elevation changes)

 

(Coastal Zone)

 

(transition Zone)

 

(highlands)

[Familygoboston]

Once at Primicias, we go into a lava tunnel to get a sense of what these look like. Our NP guides explain that each island was formed by a hot spot- spewing lava and ash as it built up into an island above sea level. But the crust of the earth keeps moving past the hot spot, so the island moves on and a new one is made in the crust below where the hot spot is now. The already created islands get more and more eroded and less high, and this is how they know the ages of the islands.

 

(photo of graphic of island formation)

 

On Santa Cruz, the lava flowed and while the top of the lava field cooled and hardened, the lava below continued to flow to the sea. Once all the lava had flowed out, a lava coated tube (or tunnel) was left. These go for several km and we walked just a short portion to get an idea about it and " see" how this geological process happens. There is a fairly significant stairway down into the tunnel, but all of our group gets down and back up with a little help from the handrails. Inside the tube is very dark and wet, but our guides give us some information about the tunnel and how it came to be and again, they are concerned about the safety of the group.

 

(photos of lava tube)

 

 

 

After the Lava tube, we drive a short distance to the Primaicias tortoise reserve. Here we don boots (European sizes) and leave our shoes on a self. Then we hike in 6 inch deep mud through the fields to find the tortoises. This isn't difficult to do! They are huge, and they move slowly. Our guides discusses their adaptations - these are domed because they eat low grasses in the highlands, and the tortoises at the Darwin Center, are saddle backs, adapted to eat shrubs and trees on islands where it is drier. We also talk about how all these are male as the females will travel to the coast to lay eggs (25 km away) and will not come back till they need to mate again. It's interesting, although the animals themselves are pretty sedate, obviously. After a boot wash, we replace our shoes and have a little shopping time at the gift shop. They have a good selection of maps and animal charts, but those are not cheap.

 

 

(getting boots)

[Familygoboston]

(photos of Tortoises)

 

 

 

 

We return to the coast, again noting the change in terrain, temperature and vegetation as we descend 400 feet back to sea level. We take our panga back to the GE2 to rest and pack before dinner. The transportation required to fit in these excursions makes for a longer day, so if you are thinking of a massage or other onboard activity, Day 2 or 3 is a better choice.

 

TIPS for Santa Cruz touring:

 

-wear your oldest shoes for the mud at the lava tubes

 

-wear "day old" pants because it's cool, can be buggy (again , despite warnings- we saw none), you'll want long pants but the bottoms will get mud spattered. We had all worn just washed pants and were disappointed that we could not get a second day out of them.

 

-Raincoat with hood or hat for mist

 

-As part of your planning; look at a US/European shoe size conversion chart, especially if you have kids, the boot are all sorted by Euro sizes and having a general idea where to start, it will go faster.

 

-this is one of the few excursion days where you could possibly spend money, so you can bring some if you'd like to hit the gift shop.

 

Dinner included some special surprises for our group, since it's our last night on the ship. My own kids are nervous, and packing seems to be a logistical nightmare. Part of it is emotional, they are tired, but they are also sad to see the end of their cruise is near. Finally we are packed. Our group has arranged for us to be LAST getting off the ship (though we still have to vacate cabins by 8), the flight is not till 1:45, so even with the next days activities, there needs to be about an hour and a half of sitting somewhere, and in this case it's better at our piano bar and lovely outdoor stern lounge area than in the hot tiny airport benches in Santa Cruz. Other people on the ship start debarking by panga at about 8 AM.

[Familygoboston]

After showering, and getting the luggage into the hallway, we made our way to breakfast. We checked out at the front desk (you have to go and sign, even if you've left a cc number and are ok with your bill) and leave the keys. We get our carry ons and go to the piano bar to wait with the other tour folks. This time is actually quite nice, there is a beautiful rainbow arching over the ocean; and we can see the whole arch. Its as if we are getting special send off from the beautiful Galapagos! We have a little while to socialize, take photos and look at my DH photos on the iPad, exchange email addresses and travel agent recommendations.

 

(photo of rainbow)

 

At 9:30, our 3 guides from the ship load us into pangas for the last time. Once there we board a bus and travel to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. Our first stop is the Interpretive Center. Here our head guide, Israel reviews where we've been on a big map of the islands and then we tour through the center on our own. All of the displays are in Spanish and English and there are lots of pictures and graphics. Our tour guides are with us as always. This place has excellent historical and geological information about how the Galapagos were formed. After our walk through we take the bus back to the port town where we can explore for a while.

 

(photos from the Interpretive Center)

 

Our group is dropped into the port town of Baquerizo Moreno; this port is larger than Peurto Ayora where we embarked and we have a chance buy some last minute souvenirs and some ice cream bars. There are loads of benches by the pier as well as advertised free wifi, but no one in our group seems to be able to access it.

 

The most fun here was all the sea lions that have taken over the town, lolling here and there. The kids were all playing on a playground climber and a seal lion pup was sound asleep right below them even as they shouted and clattered around. It was a most incredible sight! The kids had a ball blowing off steam at the play area while the adults relaxed in the shade. Our guides were all nearby, and any questions or issues were easily dealt with. This place felt very safe, even though I wore my money belt, at no time did we feel unsafe or worried about others in port. There are lots of little gift shops, places to eat and lots of store fronts that sell day tours of the Galapagos islands.

 

(photos of PBM)

 

 

 

 

 

At 12:30 we headed to the airport , literally it's around the corner and we all get our boarding passes from the guides and head to security for our flight.

 

BTW- none of these interior flights require you to sort your liquids and gels separately, the only "rules" are that you can't bring in anything agricultural into the Galapagos Islands. We boarded for the return trip to Quito via Guayaquil again.

[Familygoboston]

After a restful night back at the JW Marriott in Quito at 8 AM, we meet our guide from Ecuadorian Tours, Leonardo, in the JW Marriott lobby after our (included with ABD post night, and huge ) buffet breakfast.

 

(Leonardo and our driver Patricio)

 

 

(this bus just for the 6 of us!!)

 

 

Just to give an idea, here is what I paid for our Ecuadorian tours:

 

Aug 14: Vehicle and guide for a half day (5 hours) for 6 passengers: PICK UP AND DROP OFF AT JW Marriot. Visits to the Teleferico up Volcan Pichincha and the Museo de la Ciudad.

$131.00 TOTAL for 6 guests

 

Aug 22: pick up and drop off at JW Marriott Hotel. Visit to MINDO.

$115.00 per passenger (includes lunch and entrance fees) = $690.00 TOTAL for 6 guests

Price includes: Transportation, English speaking guide, entrance fees and lunch.

Excluded: Tips for guide/driver (optional) and personal expenses.

 

Aug 23: pick up and drop off at JW Marriot Hotel. 3 hour proper visit to include the old town, the gold church, the other churches, El Panecillo and Virgin Mary (Quito’s virgin or Legarda’s virgin)

Cost per passenger = $52 per person = $312 TOTAL for 6 guests (entrance fees included, lunch excluded)

Price includes: Transportation, English speaking guide, entrance fees

Excluded: Tips for guide/driver (optional) and personal expenses.

 

Many people will probably do some research and discover that you can do these tours cheaper, what we found that was Ecuadorian Tours uses certified guides (there are very strict certifications in Ecuador) and were engaged, professional and very knowledgeable. All of the vehicles we were in were safe, clean and in excellent repair, and the drivers were sober, clear eyed, and drove in a safe manner (especially as compared to some local buses). For us this was not an area where we were willing to "save a few bucks" at the expense of either our safety or the enjoyment of the tour led by an experienced guide with excellent English skills. We were extremely happy with Ecuadorian Tours, but I expected them to be since our excellent TA had recommended them!

 

 

After about a 2 hour ride into the Western Andes, we arrived in the Mindo Valley and visited the Mindo butterfly garden, and had lunch and walks around the Sachatamia lodge. We leave the traffic of Quito behind and begin to descend from 9000 feet to about 5000 feet. This road is curvy and dangerous. People pass on corners and it's narrow with a huge ditch on either side, where one misstep will certainly cause you to either fly off a cliff, or overturn the vehicle in the ditch. Most cars and trucks here have to use their engines to brake going down, or risk overheating the brakes and having them fail.

 

We did see an overturned local bus on the side of the road, with all the local passengers huddled next to it. It looked very scary. I would not recommend taking local busses or renting a car here, unless you like to take risks. For all the travel meds we get and worries about muggings in the city, by far the biggest risk is an accident on the road. We were very happy to pay for a good local driver with a reputable company who keeps their buses in excellent repair.

 

As we wind our way down, we see the vegetation change from scrubby arid mountains to mountains covered with lush green vegetation including palm trees. It's an unusual day in the cloud forest- extremely sunny and warm, no low clouds or mists as we expected. But the visibility is excellent all across the valley to the mountains. We are now on the west side of the Andes where the rain, the roads and all the flora and fauna are influenced by the Pacific coast about 2 hours away.

 

(photos of trip to Mindo)

 

(the cloud forest...look at all the trees!)

 

 

[Familygoboston]

We head through the village of Mindo. This has the feel of a back packers town, with lots of hostels, many more like campsites. Leonardo tells us that many locals come out on the weekends to raft during the rainy seasons and we see many tubing concessions as we go by.

 

We visit the Mindo butterfly farm. This has an excellent explanation of the life cycle of the butterfly, and a board with all the pupa hung on it so you can watch the butterfly come out of its chrysalis. Then there are butterflies eating fruit you can put on your finger and pick up the butterfly to eat off your own hand. Many butterfly's are flying around, but there is also a nice display of epiphytes and orchids, as well as a small koy pond, benches and little bridges. It's very pleasant!

 

( photos of butterfly garden)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

There is a small gift shop and a bamboo forest trail. We decided instead to watch the humming bird feeders and saw a few species drinking there. Our guide promised us more at Sachatamia. We walk over by the Mindo River before re boarding our bus. We see some plants and also that the water is too low for rafting this time of year. Our next stop is Sachatamia, where we watch for colorful taningers and humming birds. There is a hummingbird feeder garden behind the lodge with a koy pond and large covered areas to relax on rockers or salas. There are literally dozens of humming birds, feeding and flying, many different species.

 

Mom decides to sit here and read her book, while, the rest of us hike a jungle trail to the river and back. We see no mammals, as they are nocturnal, but we see evidence of the armadillo holes where it looked for ants the night before and many insects and interesting plants. Like most jungles spotting animals here is not like the Galapagos. You must wait quietly and patiently for the birds to come closer. The loop trail we take is no more than a mile or so down hill and then back up. We can't go all the way to the river as several backpackers are skinny dipping in the river, and Leonardo is shy about taking my teen girls down there. (But they seem perfectly willing to do it, should I be worried?? eek!)

 

(photos of hike and hummingbirds)

(racquet tail)

 

 

 

(here is our clan hiking at Sachatamia)

 

[Familygoboston]

After the hike, we enter the main lodge, first removing our shoes to prevent the mud from entering the lodge. They provide little booties, or you can wear your socks. We have an excellent lunch that starts with a corn, potato and apple salad. We can choose from trout or chicken, both come with carrots and broccoli and potatoes and is done with a nice sauce. Filtered water is available as are drinks from the cash bar, but we just had water. Dessert is a tasty cheese cake that is quite different from our US cheese cake.

 

(photos of the lodge and lunch)

 

 

 

(dining room)

 

 

(lodge sitting area)

 

 

(it's all about the birds here, so you can watch them while you are dining!)

 

 

(one of the duplexes spread out along the property)

 

 

We do a little more bird watching at the front of the lodge, overlooking Mindo Valley and the town of Mindo. Several feeders attract several different colorful species of birds. Our guide is helpful, but not as informed as the "driver" guide we had our first day with ET. He only knows a few species of hummingbirds, and refers to all the colorful birds we see as " another species of taningers". But he does look them up for me on the big board in front of the lodge. We will have Leonardo again tomorrow to visit Old Town, luckily, his history and culture knowledge is excellent! He is able to tell the churches apart! :-)

After a little more bird watching, we make our windy way back up to Quito and return to the JW Marriott at about 4:30.

[Familygoboston]

(photos of taningers)

 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

Another couple who were on our trip are also staying here a couple of extra days, and we decide to go to dinner with them. Our group of 8 goes to Crepes and Waffles a restaurant they tried earlier in the week and loved. The restaurant is diagonally across the street from the Marriott, we feel comfortable walking with 8 of us, and we went early while its still light and are home before 8PM while lots of other people are still on the street. If you are just one or two, be careful, while we had no problems, our ABD guide said a guest for an earlier trip had a pocket picked by a young child while on their own in Quito.

Crepes and Waffles is wonderful! We got there early and have no trouble with a table, but this is clearly a hipster place, young Quitanos flock here in their work clothes to have delicious dinners made with crepes and waffles in a place with rickety tables and aluminum chairs. They have an English menu, but it's best to just point to the item you want. The dessert menus is a photo menu, ala Friendlies style, again, pointing works well, as did our limited Spanish food words. The 8 of us have a great time laughing and enjoying the delicious homemade combinations of cheese and ham, or veal and mushrooms, or a sun dried tomato and basil crepe. It's all good! And dessert is even better! About 8 pm we walk back to the hotel, although its dark, with our large group we don't feel unsafe. Police are around, the young Quitanos are flocking into the place and it's only across the street from the JW.

 

(photo of Crepes and Waffles and food)

 

(you can see the restaurant from the JW Mariott)

 

 

(it actually tastes much better than it looks! This one is cheese, pesto, and sundried tomato crepe)

 

 

(a few of us enjoying the Crepes and Waffles atmosphere)

 

 

Tomorrow we tour old town, starting at 9 AM. Leaonardo has let us know that shorts are frowned upon, so we will plan accordingly!

[Familygoboston]

Although this is supposed to be our " sleep in " day, both DH and I are up at 6 AM. I take a peek out our window and see its a beautiful day and on our very last day in Quito, Cotapaxi is out in all her glory for the first time. The snowy peak not only clearly visible, but lit by the rising sun like a spot light. We hurry up to the concierge lounge to use the 9 th floor outdoor observation deck to take several photos of the largest active volcano in the world.

 

( Photo of view of Cotapaxi)