Trips: |
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2009 Galapagos Cruise on the Celebrity Xpedition--“The Xpedition of a Lifetime” |
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Nov 6 We landed at Quito, Ecuador at 11:10pm, arriving at the JW Marriott about 12:15am for a welcome drink. Our bags were delivered to our room at 1:15am, so we got to bed after 1:30. Yawn. |
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Nov 7 The elevation at Quito is 9,500’, so our bodies literally dried up. Even the fresh pineapple, cantaloupe and watermelon on the breakfast buffet were shriveled up. After breakfast, we were taken on an all-day city tour, visiting some churches, the Presidential Palace, the Equator line, and a few other sites. We learned that blackouts were common. Electricity is generated by water, and Quito was in a drought. Most hotels and businesses have supplemental generators. At our lunch stop, the topic of discussion was the “knockers” on the restroom doors. On our walking tour, I found a way to sneak a few flash photos of interesting people walking by. At midnight I was awakened by a ricocheting boom-boom-boom. This noise was repeated several times. Next morning we learned it was fireworks launched beside the hotel for a Sweet 16 party. |
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Nov 8 Celebrity chartered a 737 AeroGal jet for our cruise group of 84 people. Upon transferring from the Baltra airport to the dock, a half dozen sea lions greeted us on the dock. A Zodiac "panga" took us from the dock to the ship because there are no ports deep enough in the Galapagos for ships to dock. In our double-wide 2-bath stateroom on the Celebrity Xpedition ship, a Magnificent Frigatebird flew right over our veranda. Our Xpedition through the archipelago had begun! Our first excursion was to North Seymour Island where we saw sea lions, both kinds of Frigatebirds (including a male Magnificent with his bright red pouch fully extended, and young birds in nests), a Blue-footed Booby, Marine Iguanas and Swallowtail Gulls.
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Nov 9 The next day we took a panga around Kicker Rock and then to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island where we bought a supply of Booby T-shirts and watched a multitude of interesting creatures on the rocky shore—Sally Lightfoot Crabs on the shore, Marine Iguanas, Magnificent Frigatebirds eating carrion on the shore, Ruddy Turnstones, Sea Lions including young ones nursing and one so young it still had its umbilical cord attached. Unfortunately, this one had died or been stillborn. We watched its mother pick it up by the neck and drag it aside and then cry, finally lying down beside it. I was given a free massage in the top-deck health spa. Ooh-la-la! The massage really helped my legs and feet cope with the rocky hike on Espańola Island (the oldest in the Galapagos) in the afternoon. Upon exiting the panga, we were greeted by a Blue-footed Booby, some playful Sea Lions, Sally Lightfoot Crabs, and lots of red variations of Marine Iguanas. On the trail we saw Blue-footed Boobies with chicks, Masked Boobies with juveniles, a Galapagos Hawk, and Red-billed Tropicbirds.
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Nov 10 Another day, another adventure. The panga took us to a wet landing on Floreana Island. A Sea Lion was waiting for us on the beach. On our hike, we stopped at a pond where we saw adult and juvenile Flamingoes and a Black-necked Stilt. Continuing to the beach on the other side, we saw two American Oystercatchers, some boobies, Sally Lightfoot Crabs, sea turtles, sting rays and sea urchins. We also saw a half-eaten baby lobster. I found the skull of a female Sea Lion on the beach and brought it back to where our naturalist and group were congregating for the cruise back to the ship. The afternoon panga ride took us to a different beach on Floreana Island where we saw Flamingoes, Pacific Green Sea Turtles, White-finned Sharks, sting rays, Blue-footed Boobies, a Galapagos Penguin, two types of herons, Frigatebirds, sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs and magnificent views of the clear aqua water. We were invited to have dinner with the ship’s hotel director. After dinner the ship’s spotlights were turned on to invite pelicans and sea lions to do some night fishing alongside the boat. We watched from above in our 5th deck veranda.
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Nov 11 Next morning we boarded the panga for Santa Cruz Island for a one-mile hike to Bachas Beach and an attempt at snorkeling in the strong currents where one tour mate got injured and another lost her glasses. We saw Shearwaters in the water en route, then Greater Flamingoes, Black-necked Stilts and White-cheeked Pintail ducks in a pond, and Marine Iguanas beside the pond. We also saw sea turtles mating, turtle nests and tracks, Blue-footed Boobies, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and pelicans catching fish and being attacked by Sooty Terns that landed on their heads. Back on the ship, we observed a few sharks and an albino shark and sea lion swimming below our veranda. The afternoon panga took us to Bartolome Island. We were able to get close shots of the little Galapagos penguins—the second smallest penguin species in the world and the only penguin found north of the equator; more Blue-footed Boobies, frigatebirds hovering over a fishing boat, sea lion on the beach, and a Galapagos Hawk flying over. We also found pieces of sea turtle shells on the beach. After dinner we crossed the Equator and the ship hosted an equatorial party with King Neptune and other characters. Some audience members were selected to act like penguins, iguanas and boobies. What a hoot.
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Nov 12 Our first excursion the next morning was a panga ride to Isabela Island to see the Land Iguanas and their nesting area as well as more sea turtle nests and a Galapagos Hawk perched on a short pole by the beach. Our guided tour took us by poison apple trees with their dried apple pods, cotton plants with their yellow blooms, white cherry trees with yellow blossoms, and even some iguana guano. Our lunch was served on deck and included a 3’ baked red snapper. We were in great whale-watching waters. Some of our tour companions got photos of an orca whale with a sting ray in its mouth. We borrowed an SD adaptor from the cruise director Karina so we could watch the underwater shots taken by Joe with our camera mask. The sea turtles were all around the snorkelers. Our afternoon event was a panga cruise to Fernandina Island where we walked on hardened lava flows and saw some really gorgeous scenery with crashing waves from the aqua water and volcanic islands in the background. Marine Iguanas were all over the lava rocks, as well as sea lions, frigatebirds, pelicans, lava lizards, an American Oystercatcher with chick, a Pacific green sea turtle, and a handful of flightless cormorants. We also walked by skeletons and carcasses of a sea lion, a cormorant, a rat, a right whale and an iguana.
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Nov 13 Next morning we took the panga to San Salvador aka Santiago Island. We observed sea turtles mating with three males waiting in line, surrounded by three of our pangas. We saw fur seals in the rock crevices where they keep cool. Also saw boobies, frigatebirds, sea lions and a shelter from an old salt mine. After our Mexican buffet lunch on board, we took a tour of the bridge, which had been prohibited on other ships since 9/11. This is the only Celebrity ship that has an open (drop-in) bridge—except when it is maneuvering. Very impressive! Our afternoon panga cruise was to Santa Cruz Island for a short walk to a pond. No flamingoes were present, but there was one sandpiper, one White-cheeked Pintail duck, and one black-necked stilt. The snorkelers were entertained by sea turtles, sea lions and some beautiful fish while we sat on the lava rocks and enjoyed watching sea turtles and sea lions from above the water. |
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Nov 14 Our panga cruise the next morning took us to Port Ayora on Santa Cruz Island where we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station. There we saw baby Galapagos tortoises being raised, as well as grown ones. We only got a distant glimpse of Lonesome George, the only one left of his specific sub-species (from Pinta Island). On our long walk back to town, we checked out the shops and then noticed a fish-cleaning stand where several pelicans and a nosey sea lion were inching their faces close to the exposed fish flesh. Their behavior was hilarious. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the ship. While we were in the hot tub, the captain asked if we wanted something to drink, so John gave him his beer order and it was delivered within seconds by a bartender. Prior to dinner, the waiters entertained us with their terrific musical talents. Then the cruise director played a slide show of photos the naturalists had taken this week. They made a CD for everyone and placed them in our staterooms while we were having our delicious grilled lobster dinner on deck.
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Nov 15 While waiting on board for time to disembark the next morning, our entertainment beside the ship included sharks, tuna, blue-footed boobies and pelicans. When the panga took us back to the Baltra airport, a penguin and a couple of sea lions greeted us at the dock. A perfect send-off. With only 84 passengers on board (and 72 crew members), the cruise director Karina got to know everyone by name. This was the best cruise we have ever taken, and it was a unanimous feeling throughout the group. Once we returned to Quito, we had a final day on our own at the JW Marriott. We relaxed, swam in the beautiful pool surrounded by gardens, and visited the fabulous gift shops in the hotel’s shopping mall. In the mall were contestants for the upcoming Reina de Quito (Queen of Quito) competition. They were posing for photographs individually with the tiara and its designer. That night, we were picked up at 9:30pm for our midnight flight back to Atlanta before transferring to Savannah. After 38 hours without sleep, we were glad to hit our own bed. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
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