Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

SUN., APRIL 9, 2023 thru MON., APRIL 17, 2023

On Easter Sunday, April 9th, we headed from our hotel to Quito Int’l Airport to board a chartered Celebrity Cruise flight for a 2-hour jaunt to Baltra Island in the Galápagos. From there we took a short bus ride to the pier and boarded a tender to our home for the next 7 nights, Celebrity Flora, a 100-passenger mega-yacht. Our stateroom came with complimentary bubbly, chocolates, re-useable water bottles and backpacks plus a very nice balcony. The large bathroom even had a separate faucet to fill those water bottles. It is much warmer in the Galápagos than in Quito… and humid! We were officially able to put away our warm clothes! 

A short video Gary put together of our arrival to the Galápagos…

The Galápagos are located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The 19 islands and 42 islets (or small islands) are a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can only visit the majority of these islands accompanied by a guide and only in small numbers. We had one naturalist for every 12 to 14 guests. The islands stretch 174 miles from east to west. Only four of the islands have human inhabitants. The Galápagos were formed from repeated layering and lifting of volcanic action, and the evidence is everywhere. We were frequently walking on volcanic rock formations and ancient lava flow throughout our time here. It is a wondrous place filled with iguanas, sea lions, various endemic birds, brightly colored orange Sally Lightfoot crabs, and giant tortoises. All of these species are indifferent to humans. We could walk amongst them freely being careful not to accidentally step on one of the creatures! Like no other place we’ve ever been. Remarkable. 

This is not your typical cruise. We will be waking at 7 AM for breakfast, then head out at 8:30 AM on tenders/zodiacs for the morning’s excursion. Then back to the ship for a shower, lunch, and rest before heading out for another excursion in the afternoon. Then back to the ship about 5:30 PM for our second shower of the day, adult beverages, a briefing in the Discovery Lounge about the next day’s excursion options and then dinner at 7:30. No night life on this cruise except for a walk to the upper deck after dinner to look at the amazing array of stars. Because we’re at the equator, we can see stars from both hemispheres in a completely dark sky. Magical! 

Also the majority of the crew are either from the Galápagos or from the Ecuadorian mainland. All food and beverages (alcoholic and otherwise) served on board ship must be sourced from Ecuador or the region. We had lots of various kinds of fish, fresh fruit, lots of avocados, and some very good meat options as well. 

Day 2: Española Island

On Monday, April 10th, Gary’s 65th birthday, we visited Española Island. It is considered one of the oldest islands at 4 million years. There were tons of sea lions on the beach including babies nursing. In the Galápagos there are no seals… only sea lions. The sea lions can live 20 years, dive as deep as 300 feet for food, and spend many hours sleeping on the beach. We were able to walk amongst them taking photos. After the morning’s 1.5 mile beach walk, we were able to swim in refreshing Gardner Bay. It felt fabulous! 

Our afternoon excursion was to Punta Suarez on Española Island… a short difficult walk over rocky terrain. It was hot, humid and buggy. Every group had someone who was in difficulty with the heat, glaring sun and humidity. We had an older woman who had to be helped back to the ship by staff. Thankfully the four in our pod were ok, but we were all glad we had chosen the short walk rather than the long one. For our efforts, we were treated to seeing more sea lions, marine iguanas and Nazca Boobies and their babies. The Nazcas have a black featherless mask around the face, contrasting with their white feathers. Quite striking! We were grateful to return to the ship later in the afternoon for a cold adult beverage! We enjoyed a fun dinner with the staff singing Happy Birthday to Gary and a walk to the upper deck for stargazing. 

Day 2 of our Galápagos adventure… compliments of Gary…

And here are photos of our Day 2 adventure. We had 5 more islands to visit after Española… amazing!

Day 3: Floreana Island

On Tuesday, April 11, we visited Floreana Island. It’s the southernmost island named after Juan Flores, the first president of Ecuador, whose government took possession of the archipelago. We did a “wet landing” off the tender, meaning water shoes were the footwear of choice. The morning’s excursion was a walk on the beach at Punta Cormorant on Floreana Island and walking inland to see American Flamingos and Blue-footed Boobies. Half of all Blue-footed Booby breeding pairs live in the Galápagos. To attract a mate, the male blue-footed booby dances, raises his tail, spreads his wings, and whistles towards the sky. We were able to witness this behavior… well, maybe not the whistling at the sky. After the hot walk we swam in the ocean, which felt amazing. While in the water, we were treated to a pair of Blue-footed Boobies flying just above us to their nesting spot, and a large pelican flew inches above our heads. I almost ducked under the water. A big wow.  

In the afternoon our excursion first included a tender ride to see birds and sea lions. Afterwards we did another “wet landing.” This one at Post Office Bay for a walk on the beach to the “post office.” This is a very unusual post office. Back in the 18th-century whalers made this island a pit stop. They would be away from home for months, even years, and developed an ingenious system of getting letters to their families. They erected a barrel on the island and left their mail for sailors on passing ships to deliver. No stamps required. The practice remains today with tourists leaving unstamped postcards in the barrel for other tourists to sift through and deliver in person if a postcard recipient happens to live in their town. A nice idea, but based on the number of cards and diversity of addresses, I think the chances of my two postcards being delivered within this century are slim and none! We sifted through a bunch of postcards ourselves and didn’t even find one from Texas, and that’s a big state. Our naturalist for this afternoon’s excursion was Manuel aka as Manny. He’s from the islands and has been doing this for 30 years. 

There are “Darwin Finches” all over these islands. Some of which we saw today. They are named in honor of Charles Darwin who spent 5 months on the Galapagos when he was 26. He honed his theories on evolution by studying various finches on the Galapagos. What’s more, all the specimens he collected across the Galapagos would go on to be the same ones that he used to illustrate his controversial theory of evolution.

A delightful day exploring Floreana Island followed by a wine and cheese get together in the lounge before our briefing for tomorrow’s excursions.

Here’s the Day 3 video of our Galápagos adventure compliments of Gary… some cool footage of blue-footed boobies and close-up underwater scenes of sea lions. Be sure to have sound up to hear, Orlando, the naturalist talking about mating rituals of the boobies… quite entertaining!

And some photos of our Day 3 adventure…

Day 4: Isabela Island

Wednesday morning, April 12th (Day 4) of our Galapagos Cruise, we were feeling a bit lazy (or the guys were) so we settled for a tender ride around Punta Moreno on Isabela Island. Isabela is the largest island of the Galápagos, larger than every other island combined, and is shaped like a seahorse. It was formed by the merging of five volcanos, leaving extensive lava fields. We saw hundreds of black marine iguanas… it was shocking how many there were. These black marine iguanas eat a less colorful algae than some of their more colorful marine iguana cousins so are black in color. Also they have a white head because of the salt from the ocean. They “sneeze” out salt. Charming. We witnessed them sneezing many times!

We also saw a mamma pelican and her baby, and saw our first Flightless Cormorant which are found only in the Galápagos. The cormorants have no natural predators so have lost their flying wings. Back on board ship we listened to a talk on Charles Darwin before the afternoon’s excursion.

Since Linda & Phil and Gary & I aren’t big snorkelers, we tended to do the walking tours and swimming rather than the snorkeling adventures… some of which were deep ocean dives. Also, they recommended only doing the kayaking if you were experienced since you were on the open ocean so we avoided those as well. 

In the afternoon we did a walk at Urbina Bay on Isabela Island and saw the colorful land iguanas and our first sighting of Galápagos Tortoises. The beach at Urbina Bay had a darker blackish sand. Skies threatened but the weather held and the captain even joined us for an afternoon swim in the ocean. 

On board ship we continued to head up to the upper decks after dinner and enjoy incredible stargazing opportunities.

Here’s Day 4’s video…  some cool wildlife imagery… pelicans, tortoises, iguanas oh my.

And photos from our Day 4 adventure…

Day 5: Fernandina & Isabela Islands

On Thursday (Day 5) we visited Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island, the third largest of the islands and no humans living there… only wildlife. Walking on ancient lava flows, we saw hundreds, if not thousands, of marine iguanas. There were so many that we practically stepped on them!

In the afternoon we did a tender ride around Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela Island. No landings were possible as we were faced with a 2,000 ft. high volcano called “Ecuador” where we saw Blue-footed Boobies, frigate birds, more Flightless Cormorants and our first Galapagos Penguin. Cold waters can be found in the Galapagos even though it is close to the equator. The Humboldt current brings cold nutrient-rich waters from the southern tip of Chile and the Southern Ocean all the way to northern Peru allowing the penguins to migrate this far north. 

Day 5 video compliments of Gary…

An amazing time in this tropical wildlife paradise…

Day 6: South Plaza & Santa Cruz Islands

Friday morning, April 14th, found us on South Plaza Island doing more walking. We were told to be very careful as the “Galápagos Marble” was very slick. As one fellow cruiser told us “it’s slick as snot.” Lovely. Galápagos Marble occurs when sea lions poop on the rock, clams eat the poop, then sea lions rub themselves on the rocks and the rocks get shiny and slick. This contrasts nicely with Galápagos Carpet Weed which is found all over the islands and is a vibrant green. That concludes today’s naturalist lesson. You’re welcome. Luckily nobody went down on the ground because of the slippery “marble.” 

On this morning’s walk we saw baby Swallow-tailed Galápagos Gulls with their parents. The adult gulls were steps away feeding their young or laying on eggs. Amazing. The gulls are quite eye-catching with their red eye-ring. We also saw Galápagos Cactus Trees. We’ve seen our fair share of cacti traveling out west but never these trees. 

Land and Marine Iguanas co-mingle in this area and share the same nesting sites so it’s possible to have a baby who is half & half…. half marine and half land iguana. These are called “weirdos” believe it or not. Unfortunately they don’t live as long as their full bred counterparts. 

Typically when it’s time to get back on the tender after an excursion. It’s a fairly quick process. We don life jackets and hop aboard. Linda was busy taking a few last photos of sea lions frolicking and didn’t notice we were all boarding. Apparently the naturalist didn’t notice Linda was missing either. He hopped on board and we were about to take off when Phil says “ah… we just have one little problem… my wife is still on the island.” Edwin, our naturalist, quickly got the attention of the remaining naturalist on the island, and Linda was able to hitch a ride back to the ship with him and his group. Phil was heard to be muttering something along the lines of “mercy.” 

After our lunch break back on board ship, it was time for the afternoon’s excursion. The guys bailed on us as it was supposed to rain. The girls plowed ahead. We weren’t gonna let a little rain stop our adventure. The guys waved to us from the ship with drinks in hand as we left on our tender. We were headed to Dragon’s Hill (so named because of the impressive population of land iguanas who resemble Komodo dragons) on Santa Cruz Island. Dragon’s Hill has a very rocky coast… picturesque but a little challenging to walk on. We didn’t see all that many land iguanas but did see Black-necked Stilts and there was a beautiful shell beach. Towards the end of our outing we did get caught in an incredible rainstorm and were soaked through! The guys laughed themselves silly as we got back to the ship. We were the last tender to return!

In the evening, Gary had talked to Stephenson, the Beverages & Restaurant Manager, who had the Espiritu de Ecuador aperitif (the same one that Gary & I had in Quito) brought to our table for the four of us to enjoy. For that Gary gave Stephenson a kiss on the cheek, and Stephenson gave him one back. A hoot! That night was also “Silent Disco” on board ship. Our Dining Room Server, Amada, brought headphones to the table after dinner to entice us over to the Discovery Lounge. Gary heard “Abba” coming through the headphones and got up and started dancing in the dining room. It didn’t hurt that he’d had a few glasses of wine! A crew member started dancing as well. We headed over to the lounge to continue dancing and the crew joined in too. So much fun!

Here’s the Day 6 video with baby swallow-tailed gulls, iguanas in trees, and some fun clips of the girls getting soaked and Gary & Linda dancing during Silent Disco.

And photos of our next-to-last day in this island paradise!

Day 7: Santa Cruz Island

Saturday, April 15th, was Day 7 and our final day in the Galápagos. We were headed to Santa Cruz, the most populated island in the archipelago with 12,000 inhabitants. It’s also the home of the Charles Darwin Research Station which was our first stop. It has a breeding center that protects giant tortoise babies until they reach 2 years of age. Then they are released. We were able to see baby tortoises at different stages of development. Puerto Ayora is a tourism hub with shopping and restaurants. We walked into downtown and passed a fish market near the harbor. Fish were being prepared for sale while pelicans, iguanas and sea lions watched and waited. Amazing scene. 

Once in town, we caught the Celebrity Cruise bus to take us to the Highlands area of Santa Cruz… very lush and remote. Once there we donned mud boots, walked into a forest clearing, and planted 2 endemic Scalesia trees each. Guests from Celebrity have planted 60,000 trees thus far in a Scalesia Restoration Effort. It was actually a very cool experience. From there it was a buffet lunch at El Manzanillo Ranch. The food was delicious but we were seated outside on the patio and it was hot! Afterwards there was a fabulous show put on by local dancers in costume with children and adults. Extremely impressive! 

Finally it was time for what we’d all been waiting for… to see the Giant Tortoises living in their natural habitat on a tortoise preserve. Females can weigh between 250 and 300 lbs. Males are over 500 lbs. and can be 5 ft long. They can live 100 years. Just incredible. Walking in their habitat was very much a Jurassic Park experience and humbling… some were hiding under bushes and others out in the open. The size cannot be overestimated. Big wow on this last adventure in the Galapagos.

In the evening we enjoyed a final get together in the Discovery Lounge where there was a video presentation of our week’s adventure and a “parade” of all the staff amongst much cheering from the guests. Since the ship only held 100 passengers, we saw the staff frequently including the captain who was extremely engaging. A final dinner concluded the evening’s festivities where we said goodbye to Amada, our server. She was starting her vacay the following day. She actually watched for our arrival at Baltra Airport the next day to hug us goodbye. Soooo sweet! 

On Sunday, we had a 2-hour wait at Baltra Airport before our flight to Quito. Gary almost left his wallet behind on a seat. Thanks to Linda for catching that. Could have been a disaster!!! 

Once we landed back in Quito, we said our goodbyes to Linda & Phil who were headed back to Boston. Such a great adventure we shared together! Gary & I were able to rest at a hotel near the airport and get dinner before our red-eye flight to Houston. We arrived in Houston on Monday morning, April 17th, and that night were having dinner at Chez Hannaford. Big thank you to C&J for dinner, which was delicious, and doing a mini-celebration for Gary’s 65th birthday, plus keeping an eye on our tiny home while we were gone. We love you guys!

Here’s the final video of our trip and the day we saw the Giant Tortoises plus a pelican symphony of sorts!

Final photos! I know… you’ve seen more than enough already! Heehee. 

Note: A friend, R.E. Burke, wrote a delightful children’s book entitled “Adventure in The Enchanted Islands” about a lovable dog named Buddy who travels to the Galápagos Islands with his parents and encounters a few adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and actually snagged some factual information about the islands and included it in this blog. The book can be purchased on Amazon in soft cover version or via Kindle if interested in reading about Buddy and his adventures!