The Continuing Voyages of Spirit: Galapagos Day 1

Wakeup was at 0430 followed by a transfer to the airport at 0515. When we arrived, our tour guide could not find the Ecoventura cruise representative, but after about 30 minutes he was found. Meanwhile we had our bags checked in a special line for the Galapagos, checking for fruits and vegetables and a special seal was placed on the bags. Our boarding passes were ready, so after clearing security we headed to the gate where we found most of the rest of the passengers for the “Letty”, our home for the next 7 nights. There is a mix of British (12) and American (4) people among the 16 people we have on the boat. After a short flight to Guayaquil we picked up the rest of the passengers headed to the island and had a smooth flight to San Cristobal Island and the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, just 90 minutes away by Aerogal on an Airbus A-320.

Our Ship, Letty

After relatively long lines at passport control in the open air temporary terminal, and checking our park entry paperwork we had a very short ride to the harbor where the Ecoventura Network Yachts were all anchored. The weather was surprisingly cool, with occasional rain showers. All the passengers and the guides fit into the two tenders, here called “pangas”. Our ship, “Letty” is 82 feet long and was purpose built in 1991 for the Galapagos adventure cruise trade. There was room for 20 passengers in ten cabins on three decks, and is serviced by a crew of 11, including two naturalist guides. Our cabin was on the topmost deck and had a double bed and a nice head. After boarding and being greeted with glasses of water and cold towels, we settled into the salon on the main deck for the briefing on the ship and Galapagos National Park regulations, which took about one hour. After going to our staterooms and seeing our bags for the first time since Quito we then had lunch (with grilled shrimp skewers, salads, chicken lasagna, etc.). Following lunch we had the mandatory emergency drill, gathering our lifejackets from the cabins and going to the upper deck. After a brief break we headed back to shore in the tenders and walked a short distance to a beach littered with Galapagos sea lions, including some pups only a few days old. The youngest were still effectively blind and could only nurse by feel from their mother.

Sea Lions on Beach

Young Sea Lion Nursing

We also saw Darwin’s Finches, Yellow Warblers, Sandpipers, Marine Iguanas and Frigate birds, a few pelicans and some Boobies diving outside the breakwater protecting the beach. On the trail back to the landing the sea lions were laying all over, a surprising distance from the water. Flora included a Galapagos cotton tree. Since the rainy season is just beginning, most of the landscape was still bare, with the occasional cactus sticking up above the low scrub vegetation.

The rain came and went during the walk and about 1700 we returned to the ship via panga for selection of snorkeling gear, wetsuits and a briefing on the next day’s activities, a welcome cocktail toast from the crew, introductions between the passengers and then dinner.

Dinner was served, rather than having a buffet, starting with a fennel terrine and then one of two entrée choices (pork and grilled octopus), and followed by dessert and coffee. Wine was complimentary (included in tour price), with both a red and a white offered. After dinner most passengers retired to their cabins after the long day of travel since wakeup call was set for 0700 the next morning.