A dear friend suggested that I try to blog about our wonder filled trip to the Galapagos Islands a little more. At the very least that sounds like a good exercise in memory recall. I think I’ll give it a try. You are invited along if you like.
It was the evening of Monday, November 29 when Clair opened her email to discover an entry informing her that, if indeed we were still interested, there was room for the three of us on board the National Geographic Cruise Ship the Islander which would depart from Quayaquil, Ecuador on Sunday, December 4th. Clair apparently even hesitated mentioning this to us being such short notice. But she did, and we slept on it for the night. On Tuesday we checked flights. Of course being last minute there was not much to chose from. We thought for a moment, talked about it and then hit the confirm button. MYGosh, we need to leave on Friday, very early Friday.
Traveling light has it benefits. We each had one carry on. Thanks to Joanna we arrived at CVG on time. Flew from CVG to Miami - to Quito – to Quayaguil. Clair guided us through the airports. Jerry and I are certainly not frequent fliers. She was accustomed to Customs and saw us safely through. Her Spanish was impressive at least to the two of us who knew none – besides parents are easily impressed. In Quayaguil we met Rodney at the airport. From that point on we were safely in the hands of a National Geographic employee. That was a relief. He managed a cab for us that delivered us to the Hilton in the city. Although once again, hearing Clair carry on a conversation with the taxi driver in Spanish was encouraging, reassuring and entertaining.
We arrived a day early and spent two nights at the Hilton. Never stayed at a 5 star Hotel before. We made use of the complimentary drinks and breakfast. Used the workout room and the heated pool. We did not however use the ‘wet bar’ (is that what they are called when the bar is in the pool?) We visited the river front area of the town. Driving, or rather riding, is an experience beyond description. It’s amazing how quickly prayers arise in the mind when put in a scary situation. The river had oil slicks floating on it and water flowers. The area itself was nicely developed and felt somewhat safe. We stopped in at the cathedral where the crib scene had life size statues of the manger animals. The people however were somewhat smaller giving it a different perspective. There was a city park in town where there were hundreds of iguanas. They were everywhere hanging from the trees, under bushes, under foot. It was impressive and it was the first time we were seeing these strange looking creatures.
Sunday morning found us with other people leaving the hotel heading on a bus for the airport, saying goodbye to Rodney and flying on to the island of Baltra. After we landed we boarded another bus and headed for the dock and our first glimpse of our home for the week, the Islander. We were in the Galapagos Islands!
First lesson was how to put on a life jacket correctly. We traveled from the dock to the ship by way of a Zodiac. Throughout the week the Zodiac would be our means of getting from here to there and back again.
Our first order of business was lunch – oh, the food! Later in the evening we went on shore for a walk of a little over a mile. We saw our first taste of the wild life – sea lions, frigate birds, crabs, blue footed boobies, swallow-tailed gulls. Then there was the sunset! Where were we and what were we doing there?!? What a gift!
There were 44 passengers on board and 32 crew. This was truly to be an experience like no other we had ever had.
Later on ship there was the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail Hour, with snacks, followed by appetizers and then supper.
Our room – upper deck with a private glassed in balcony with a lounge chair and bench. Queen size bed, desk and a bathroom where you could sit on the toilet, wash your feet in the shower and brush your teeth at the sink all at the same time without moving – too much information?!?
Then there were the chocolates that we found on out pillows at the end of each day. Really good chocolates!
Thus ended day 1.
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