- We had really good weather, two full days of sun and a couple of partly cloudy day instead of all overcast days as I expected.
- We had a good boat, good crew, and good group of passengers. We had a roomy cabin, in the front, with lots of windows.
- Our boat had a good itinerary. We sailed to the far way western islands. For two whole days, we were the lone boat at sea.
- John got seasick - heaving his lunch and dinner over the stern to be exact - the first evening, as he suspected. After that he took medication regularly and was 100%.
- I had expected the sea water to be cold and did not plan to snorkel. However, I was not expecting the air temperature to be cool as well. At times we had both our fleece jacket and windbreaker on!
- Also unexpected was the rugged beauty of the landscape. No wonder they were also known as the Enchanted Islands.
- We saw all the obligatory animals: giant land tortoises, sea lions, sea turtles, pods of dolphins, land iguanas, marine iguanas, penguins,sharks, blue-footed boobies, finches, etc. They really have no fear. On the last morning we woke to a sea lion resting on the bench in the rear deck of the boat.
- The highlight for me was seeing whales - killer whales and humpback whales - which was something totally unexpected and we could never manage to see before.
Our cabin on the Seaman II.
Giant Tortoises cooling off at Santa Rosa Highlands
Sun-Ling with Giant Tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Center on Isla Santa Cruz.
Blue-footed boobies on Isla Isabella.
Blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas on Isla Isabela.
Penguins - Isla Isabela.
Trudging across the lava on Isla Isabela.
Sea Turtle - Isla Isabela.
Land Iguana - Isla Isabela.
Marine Iguanas returning to land after feeding in the ocean - Isla Fernandina.
Marine Iguana - Isla Fernandina.
Tidal pool with sea lion, crabs, iguanas, and flightless cormorant.
Marine Iguanas - Isla Fernandina.
John and Sun-Ling on Bartolome Island.
John and sea lion enjoy the early morning.
Sea lions.
Sea lions at The Plazas with our boat in the background.
In this photo, the boat was less that a kilometer from the Equator yet most of us had on fleece and windbreakers. [Sun-Ling is seated center.]
The beautiful landscape of The Plazas.
So you'd recommend the outfitter that took you there?
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such a good time! Will definitely want details on the outfitter.
ReplyDeleteVivian Spielbichler, Jeanne's mentor as a Sierra Club leader, leads a GI outing http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/national/brochure/11500a.aspx Far too pricey for us, it usually sells out >year in advance, only 1 opening now. Love to visit GI, just gotta get there by canoe;-}
ReplyDeleteWe are enjoying the pictures!
ReplyDelete@Susan, I remember coming across a kayak cruise when I was researching. Maybe you want to look into that.
ReplyDelete@Ed, our boat is a higher class boat than the Sierra Club boat. Going over Christmas made it all the more expensive.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! And what a nice boat -- your cabin was so spacious and with those large windows for viewing everything. I don't think you've mentioned the food on the boat yet... But I'm guessing it was very good, too.
ReplyDelete@Dayle, you are right about the food. There was one other lady who was vegetarian. The chef always made something extra for the three of us, tofu or soy meat based, even though there were always lots of veggie sides, salads, and fruits that John and I would have been perfectly happy with. It was good chow!
ReplyDeleteJohn expounded on the costliness of this trip at the CS potluck last week. It looks like a lot of fun, how did you feel about the expense in relation to the experience?
ReplyDeleteNate,
ReplyDeleteEven though the expense is high compared to traveling around on land in Ecuador, it's mitigated by the fact that you are already going to be in Ecuador and can shop around for a last minute deal, a situation that is unlikely in the future. So go for it!