Galapagos Excursion April 19

[NJ Cruiserman]

Laurie - thank you so much for your posts. Appreciate you taking the tie out from your busy schedule. We are going in June and very excited. (This is also our first Silverseas cruise.) Your posts are helpful and increase my excitement. I just purchased some Teva water sandals and am going to be walking around in the house to see how comfortable they are/ aren't.Love Zappos since I can always send them back if I don't think they will work.

 

Joanna

You should also think about Merrell Moab light hikers for walking around. My wife and I each bought a pair, and we recognized them on quite a few other cruisers on the ship. Very light, comfortable and sturdy.

[Photogirl]

Glad to hear the food is good. I have had some worries after reading all of the restrictions the Galapagos has on what can be imported to the islands.

 

Joanna - You mentioned you are going in June. What cruise are you on. I will be on the June 14th and the June 21st departures. Doing a back-to-back to see all the islands.

 

Liz

[findacruise]

Glad to hear the food is good. I have had some worries after reading all of the restrictions the Galapagos has on what can be imported to the islands.

 

Joanna - You mentioned you are going in June. What cruise are you on. I will be on the June 14th and the June 21st departures. Doing a back-to-back to see all the islands.

 

Liz

 

We are on June 7 - will just miss you. We are going to Quito first for 2 days before cruise and then 5 days post cruise trip including Machu Pichu. Doing this with a small group that our TA arranged.

[findacruise]

You should also think about Merrell Moab light hikers for walking around. My wife and I each bought a pair, and we recognized them on quite a few other cruisers on the ship. Very light, comfortable and sturdy.

 

Thanks! All ideas welcome. I have other Merrell sandals that I like. I am all for comfortable and light.

[Lauranne]

Wednesday started out with a zodiac ride to Post Office Cove on Floreana Island. It was a wet landing. We walked up the trail to the "post office" and left our postcards while looking for those that we could hand deliver. Further along the trail was the Lava Tunnel. This was an activity not for the faint of heart or those who were unfit. You go down a ladder of sorts into a cave like tunnel. Everyone receives a head lamp to wear and we proceeded to a small pond. If you choose you could go in the water and go to the other side. We went up past our knees and returned as it would be over my head to get to the other side. A number of brave souls made it across. Back to the beach landing where you could enjoy the beach or go snorkelling. As there was deep was deep water snorkelling in the afternoon, we choose to enjoy the beach. Back to the ship for lunch, a brief rest we were off to deep water snorkelling. Today was about the sea lion and numerous fish. There was quite a bit of a current so it wasn't as easy as the proceeding day. We were rushed back to the ship as there was a medical emergency. The plan was to go to Punta Cormorant for nature walk but it was announced that due to the medical emergency we would be preceding directly to San Cristobal Island. This gave us a chance to go to the afternoon tea and listen to Braulio on the piano. Lovely! Dinner was in the dining room where the food was once again well done. Tomorrow we will be seeing the iconic Galapagos Tortoise.

Just a comment about shoes. At least 75% of the passengers are wearing Keens for the wet landing as well as for hiking. They work well in most situations.

Laurie

 

 

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[Lauranne]

Thursday was a visit to San Cristobal. We went to the tortoise breeding area. We saw the incubation area, the babies and numerous adults ranging in size from large to giant. We had some free (shopping) time and then back to the ship for lunch at the grill. Time for a rest before the afternoon activities. We had a chose of going to the beach or kayak so of course we went kayaking. This time it was about the amazing geographical formations of the island. We went into narrow coves that had vertical sides that seemed to reach the sky. After our briefing and dinner it was early to bed to be well rested for our last full day here at the Galapagos.

Laurie

 

 

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[Lauranne]

Friday was all about the the Galapagos Giant Tortoise. Santa Cruz is the Island with a settlement of about 30,000 residence. We were bussed to first see the sinkholes and then backtracked to see tortoises in the wild at Manzanillo Ranche. This is an amazing place. We saw many, many tortoises eating, breeding :-) and just hanging out. The owner of the Ranche provides wonderful juice, fruit and empanadas to enjoy while you check out the gift shop. Back to the ship in time for lunch and then we toured the area around Darwin Research Centre. Once again a number of tortoises including saddlebacks. Interesting fact. Galapagos is saddle in Spanish and this is how the islands got their name, from the shape of this tortoises shell. We walked into town for a bit of souvenir shopping and then back to the ship for the final briefing and dinner. We quickly packed up so that we had time for a final visit under the stars with our new found friends. We are sad to leave but feel very fortunate to have this experience. I will write some final thoughts when we return home. Thanks for your interest in my journey.

Laurie

 

 

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[duct tape]

I really enjoyed it. Thanx for taking us along!

[57 varieties]

Thank you so much. We are doing this cruise in November and getting very excited!

 

 

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[spinnaker2]

Thanks for taking us all along with you!!

 

 

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[Lauranne]

Forgot to mention the very nice captains toast last night. All crew was introduced and we enjoyed a nice sparkling wine. A DVD that was made was presented for us to watch and consider purchasing. Really well done and it also includes 300 professional quality pictures of our week.

Laurie

 

 

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[llam]

Laurie, Thank you for taking time from what seems like a wonderful trip to inform your cruise critic friends of your daily adventures.

I am enjoying reading your posts and you are helping me prepare for our Galapagos adventure this August.

 

Keep the posts comming-Lori

[RachelG]

I really have enjoyed your reports, especially since we have been there before. And I am now determined to return, knowing that I can have reasonably goo food and wine selection!

[NCCruzQueen]

Lauri, Your detailed daily reports are really helpful. They give a nice overview of each day. Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

 

and you are helping me prepare for our Galapagos adventure this August.

 

Lori, which August cruise are you on? My friend and I are cruising on the August 9th sailing.

[llam]

Lauri, Your detailed daily reports are really helpful. They give a nice overview of each day. Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

 

 

 

Lori, which August cruise are you on? My friend and I are cruising on the August 9th sailing.

 

Oh Beth, so close: August 16-Lori

[NCCruzQueen]

[quote name='llam']Oh Beth, so close: August 16-Lori[/QUOTE]

Well, darn. I'll wave as I get on the plane. :D