FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands to Lima, Peru
February 26, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands to Lima, Peru
Day 14 – Friday, February 17 – Galapagos Islands to Lima, Peru – via Guayaquil & Quito – hot, humid, high 90’s – lots of sun
View From Top of Isabella Island
- Bad News – 6:15 wake up! Bags have to outside room by 6:30!
Valentine's Day King & Queen!
- More Bad News – have to be off ship by 8:30
- Last Excursion – take zodiac to town – to take bus to see Los Gemelos Craters (more stuff to pass time) – then take ferry to Baltra Island where airport is
- Really Bad News – a totally wasted day! flight is at 2:00! sit at airport in humid, 90 + degree heat for 4 hours!
- Bad News – not on direct flight to Quito – get on that plane and have to get off – arrive Quito 4:45 pm – transfer to LAN for flight to Lima, Peru
- More Bad News – Baggage Police in full force! ticket agent weighs bags – two big ones are OK – carry on too heavy – Chris’ bag is all camera equipment & after pleading she allows his – I start transferring items & told to carry laptop – what is the point? Weight is weight!
- Good News – put it all back in my carryon
- Bad News – this is a domestic flight & still takes over 2 hrs from check in to gate
- Good News – depart 8:55 on time – arrive Lima 10:30 pm
- Bad News – takes an hour to get through customs
- Good News – Ramada Airport Hotel – right across the street
- Bad News – finally get to bed at 1 am
FF (FUN-facts) – I got to swim with “The Galapagos Big 5” – sea lions, penguins, sea turtles, sharks & stingrays in the wild!
Larry the Lava Lizard
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 9 & 10
February 25, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 9 & 10
Day 12 – Wednesday, February 15 – Floreana Island – sunny, 90’s, high clouds
Land Iguana in the Wild
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
Valentine's Day Towel Art & Sweets From Staff
- 1st Excursion – 8:30 to 10:30 – go to Post Office – 1793 sailors left letters – other sailors arriving delivered them – people still leave letters – some they want delivered – others left for friends to retrieve when they visit the island
- Next stop – lava tunnels – created during a lava flow – outer lava cools while inner keeps flowing
- Bad News – down steep steps into pitch black w/bugs!
- Good News – we pass!
- 9:30 to 10:30 – snorkel – 2 sea lions surfing & jumping like dolphins in the water
- 2nd Excursion – 3 to 6 – Punta Cormorant – 1 hr walk
- Good News – see flamingos in salty lagoon on way to other side
- See stingrays in the surf & nests from sea turtles (big, deep, holes in the sand)
- 2nd stop – deep water snorkel at Devil’s Crown
- Really Good News – see more fish than ever – schools in the hundreds & one at least 1000!
- More Really Good News – at end of snorkel 5 reef sharks (6 to 8 ft) circle below us!
Female Vermillion Flycatcher
FF (FUN-facts) – Marine Iguanas eat algae & seaweed. The high salt intake is forcibly expelled by frequent sneezing. Land Iguanas eat prickly pear cactus fruits & pads.
More FF – Tortoises live on land, turtles live in water.
Flightless Cormorant Drying His Wings
Day 13 – Thursday, February 16 – Isabella Island –
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 11:45 – Puerto Baquerizo, San Cristobal Island
- Bad News – have to take bus ride
- Good News – see lots of tortoises in semi captivity
- Good News – have time to see town
- Bad News – not much to see or good shopping
- Good News – back to ship for good lunch
- 2nd Excursion – 4 to 5 – Playa Ochoa – beach walk & snorkel – after yesterday pretty much a letdown!
- Good News – back to ship for happy hour & farewell party
Tortoises in Semi Captivity
FF – Flightless Cormorants adapted to their environment by trading their ability for flying for a more better streamlined body for swimming.
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 7 & 8
February 19, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 7 & 8
Day 10 – Monday, February 13 – Isabella & Fernandina Islands – low, thick, dark ominous clouds shroud the volcano mountain tops – showers all morning
Marine Iguana
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 9 – Zodiac tour around massive volcano cliffs
Galapagos hawk
- Bad News – raining & cold!
- Good News – see penguins, fur sea lions, sea turtles
- 11 to 12 – deep water snorkel
- Good News – put on wet suit – water cold
- Really Good News – swim right next to 2 penguins & a sea turtle!
- Good News – more good food @ lunch
- 2nd Excursion – 3 to 6 – Punta Espinosa – dry landing on lava rocks
- Good News – huge numbers of marine iguanas swimming into shore & plopped on the rocks to warm up
- Good News – see iguana condos – females are nesting – digging holes in the sand to lay their eggs
- More Good News – lots of sea lions & 1 penguin
- Good News – after dinner walk on deck – awesome abundance of brilliant stars! Also forgot, saw almost full moon on sat
Sea Lions Sleeping
- Bad News – dinner wine spill fiasco! – waiter spilled my full glass of wine – never replaces it & brings me the bill – when asked for the replacement glass, told he would have to check – never gets back & now I have to go to head waiter who gives me the same run around – turns out they think I spilled it! Waiter never owned up to his accident – too late to continue to argue & go to bed
Marine Iguanas Warming Up
FF (FUN-facts) – Penguins have white stomachs & black backs. They sun on the rocks w/their backs to the water so they blend in.
Day 11 – Tuesday, February 14 – Isabella Island – central coast – balmy morning turns to high 90’s – blue skies w/distant clouds
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 9:30 – zodiac tour @ Calet Tagus
Polly the Penguin
- Good News – see more blue footed boobies & brown noddy terns
- Good News – more massive volcanic cliffs w/nesting Pelicans & baby chicks
Nestiing Pelican & Chicks
- Really Good News – total National Geographic Moment! – plunge diving – massive number of birds dropping out of the sky – diving straight down like kamikaze pilots having feeding frenzy along w/penguins & sea lions!
- 10 to 11:30 – hike up to top of volcanic rock – commanding views of lava flows & salt water lake – see other side of island
- Good News – lunch on deck – more good food w/Valentine desserts
- 2nd Excursion – 1 hr zodiac ride doesn’t sound that great so have nice siesta
- Good News – Chris & I are crowned Valentine King & Queen as most loving couple on ship!
Plunge Diving Feeding Frenzy
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 5 & 6
February 16, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 5 & 6
Day 8 – Saturday, February 11 – Baltra & Santiago Islands – sunny, humid, high 80’s
Pinnacle Rock
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill (printed sheet read 7 am)
- 4 day passengers disembark – only 6 of us doing 10 days
- 1st Excursion – 10:45 – Baltra beach
Santiago Island
- Bad News – not very nice & not good snorkeling
- More Bad News – sea lion gets comfortable next to my snorkel gear then starts barking & chases me
- Bad News – 12 noon back on ship
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 5 to 7 pm – Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island
- Good News – walk on huge lava formations – only 120 yrs old – see more marine iguanas, lava lizards
Day 9 – Sunday, February 12 – Bartholomew & James Islands – morning high clouds, breezy – afternoon thick gray clouds – showers
Lava Cactus
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
Lave Lizard
- Good News – it’s my birthday!
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 10 – hike up hill – 360 steps
- Good News – complete wooden walk way to top w/stunning views of the distant volcano & lave flows
- Good News – beach snorkel – see 4 penguins sunning on rocks, 4 ft reef shark, stingray, sea lions
- More Good News – most volume of fish ever, clear water & actually swim w/sea lion
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
View From Top of Bartholomew
- 2nd Excursion – 4 to 7 – Playa Espumilla wet landing in soft volcanic sand – big waves breaking on beach
Zodiac Back to Ship
- Bad News – disappointing! short hike w/not much to see
- More Bad News – attempt to snorkel but too murky & rough
- Good News – Surprise birthday party – it’s a surprise who of my new friends on board shows up!
FF (FUN-facts) – There are 13 species of Darwin Finches. They all have different types of beaks. They adapted based on the food source. Some eat seeds, some eat insects, some remove ticks from tortoises, some eat leaves, some eat flowers, some drink blood from sea birds & 2 species use twigs or cactus spines to extract larvae from dead tree branches.
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 3 & 4
February 14, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 3 & 4
Day 6 – Thursday, February 9 – Bahia Ballena, Santa Cruz Island & Rabida Island- billowy white clouds, warm, high 80’s
Lorena the Land Tortoise
- Bad News – same wake up drill @6:30
- 1st Excursion – 8 am wet landing w/walk around main hill
Yellow Warbler or Canary
- Good News – see land tortoise & birds
- Bad News – too rough to snorkel – back to ship 10 am
- Good News – nice lunch w/lots of food options & back to room to siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 3 to 5 pm – Rabida Island
- Good News – 1 hour easy walk – red sand beach caused from iron
- Good News – snorkeling – see 2 fish I’ve never seen before
- Good News – pouring rain starts when we’re back on board
FF (FUN-facts) – Galapagos consists of 19 volcanic islands the straddle the equator 600 miles of the Ecuadorian Coast.
Galpagos Frigate
Day 7 – Friday, February 10 – Santa Cruz & Plazas Islands – billowy white clouds, warm, high 80’s
- Really Bad News – 6:15 wakeup call
Spring Blooms
- 1st Excursion – 7:30 depart for Charles Darwin Research Station
- Bad News – 1 hour bus ride
- More Bad News – arrive Puerto Arroyo (other side of the island – wonder why they didn’t anchor ship here and eliminate bus ride)
- Good News – see massive land turtles weighing up to 500 lbs & land iguanas
- Good News – have time to walk in town
- Good News – freshly caught fish are cleaned & sold in town square
- Good News – local pelicans & seals jockey for the scraps
- Bad News – arrive 12:30 after bus ride back
- Good News – more good food @ lunch & nice siesta!
- 2nd Excursion – 3 pm Plazas Island
Newborn Nasca Chick
- Good News – zodiac tour – see lots of birds, huge sea lion nursery – protected pups playing in tide pools
- Good News/Bad News – nice big 10 ft. shark trolling the waters for some local lunch
- Good News – easy 90 minute walk – see beautiful red, orange, green low lying bushes & huge yellow blooming cactus
FF – Galapagos was UNESCO’s first named World Heritage Site in 1978.