Ecuador, Quito and M/V Galapagos Explorer II

[luvmytigs]

We just arrived home today. We were booked through General Tours and thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

 

Our itinerary (B trip, 4 nights, 5 days) was as follows:

Quito, late night arrival, city tour, view from Lady of Quito, two churches, the President's palace, museum, dinner at La Rhonda. Very good experience with General Tours in terms of transfers and guides. We had "Henry" who was fantastic. We stayed at the Swisshotel which was fabulous and very well located.

 

On Friday we flew from Quito to Guayaquil (1 hour pick up stop) and then on to Baltra. At this point, we were questioning the trip--is all of the drama getting to Galapagos worth it? The hours spent traveling are as much as the trip itself. (It was!) We ferried to a bus (about 45 minute ride complete with simple bag sandwich lunch) and then to Charles Darwin Center on Santa Cruz. Our guide (Park Naturalist) was Remy and he is excellent. (Lonesome George passed away June 24th-he has been embalmed and should be displayed soon). CDC was a very good starting place to orient us to the special nature of the species you will see on the Islands. Dont waste too much photo time here...just wait to see the creatures in the "wild". We had about an hour to walk through the "town" for a chance at souveniers or refreshments. This is a last chance for several days to pick up hat/toiletries or other must haves :)

 

Back on the bus and then we experienced our first Panga (Zodiak) ride and boarded the M/V Explorer II. With only 100 passengers and a crew of 72, service is impeccable. Staterooms are standard-we were a triple which is always a challenge on a ship. Life boat drill was actually timed, we came to the main lounge and then were dismissed to retrieve life jackets, come back to the lounge and crew out to the deck for life saving instructions. The crew takes this very seriously but made it fun-they have never had a power outage or evacuation and are proud of this record. Dinner was about 8pm that night-normally it is at 7:45 for everyone. There are 3 main course choices, a vegetaqrian option and a childs option. I will say the food was excellent. Local shrimp and Sea Bass options appear regularly at lunch and dinner. Cebiche is offered daily-try it with the popcorn at least once. We had an early night and were refreshed for our 6:30am wake up announcement over the intercom.

 

 

Day 2, we assembled with our newly formed group of 11 (five of us and 6 more plus a guide) at 8am as the Flightless Commorans and were introduced to our 4 day naturalist Cesar. After a quick panga ride, Cesar walked us on Santa Cruz beach- we saw Sally Lighfoot Crabs, Four Flamingos, Herons. and our first Marine Iguanas. Back on the Panga for lunch and a quick rest.

 

At 3pm we took off for Santiago. Santiago had a tremendous number of marine iguanas as well as our first opportunity to enjoy Sea Lions. The walk on Santiago is difficult-lots of walking on lava rocks. My Dad fell on the rocks, Cesar quickly patched up his gashes and we continued on.

 

Day 3 was Genovesa which has never been inhabited and is a pristine environment. More Sea Lions-up close opportunities for photos, nesting birds, (Galapagos gulls, Frigates, Red Footed Boobies with chicks). It was an easy walk and one of our favorite hikes. After the walk we snorkled off of the beach-sting ray, parrotfish, lots of colorful fish. We hunted for sharks but found none here. My son encountered a mama SeaLion who swam right at him and then veered off. Great photo of that! Back on the panga for lunch and rest.

 

Day 3 afternoon was a more strenuous hike along a trail and cliffs. Here the footing is uneven and it is a fairly difficult ascent to the top. We saw Masked Boobies and more in flight birds than I have seen in my life at the cliff. Cesar actually located two barn owls- the only predator on the island. Back to the pangas for a ride next to the cliffs. (Sealions, marine iguanas, nesting birds).After a quick change on ship, we rode a pango and were guided for a snorkle along the cliffs. Here we swam with a sea turtle but were disappointed not to see hammerheads.

 

Day 4 morning-North Seymore.After a very difficult climb to the top of the Prince Phillip Steps, Blue Footed Boobies, Nesting and Courting Frigates were everywhere. We also saw land iguanas. There were Sealions along the beach area and a beautiful ocean view. (A glass bottom boat ride was offered for those who were nervous about the hike difficulty).

We took a panga for a long snorkle along the cliffs and were treated to seeing a sting ray, 4 reef sharks and plenty of other gorgous tropical fish. Sealions played along the shore and "barked" at us.

Day 4 afternoon, we rode a bus on Santa Cruse to a private family ranch/farm where we saw tortoises everywhere. Coffee was grown on the property as well as corn. There was also a hike into a lava tube--not much to see as it is empty. If you have seen one lava tube....well you get it. There is a small souvenier area--hold off if you can for more selection and better prices tomorrow.

 

Day 5 disembark. Bags out by 6:30am and leave the ship for San Cristobal at 8am. We rode a bus to the interpretation center and then had about an hour for shopping in town. The interpretation center gives a history of people (and the effect) on the islands as well as information on where things are today. It is actually very good.

 

Short bus ride to San Cristobal airport, long wait then retrace the flight to Guayaquil (one hour) and then Quito. We arrived in Quito about 4pm. In Quito our reps picked us up and delivered us to Swisshotel. We arranged for a van to take us to the Equator Museum (not the monutment) which was about a 40 minute ride from the hotel. It was a good decision. We stopped by the Artisans Market before heading back to the hotel to prepare for our overnight flight home.

 

If anyone has questions about the ship, please let me know. Activities were small, latin dance lessons, star gazing ( you can see the Southern Cross AND the Big Dipper from Galapagos), kareoke. I must say the towel animal/things were the most inventive I have experienced. The Ecuadorian crew is genuinely friendly and fun. The ship is well maintained, all excursions are included in the price, and drink prices are reasonable. If you want room service there is a charge of $5--really to discourage too many from using since we all have to be off on the Islands early to maximize the days. The rest in the middle of the day really is necessary.