Live from the Flora, 10-night Ecuador and Galapagos Adventure, Dec 8-18

[Ken the cruiser]

They also provide a Daily that covers the entire 7-day cruise on embarkation day. So for those that are curious, here it is, all 6 pages. 😁

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

[Ken the cruiser]

And we definitely can’t complain about the internet speed cruising around the Galapagos!

 

[dlh015]

Ken...I find myself speechless...an unusual condition for me 😁

 

Thanks for doing yet another great 'Live'...

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Ken...I find myself speechless...an unusual condition for me 😁

 

Thanks for doing yet another great 'Live'...

Thanks! This is one awesome place. It was funny this afternoon when I was on the balcony editing my photos on my iPad when around 7 Frigatebirds all of a sudden showed up within 10 feet of me. I almost fell off that big chair I was sitting in grabbing for my iPhone to take some pictures of them! 🤣
 

Edited December 11, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[JFontaine]

Thank you for the report. Small point, am I reading this correctly,  that there's no food available from 1:30 when lunch closes until 7:30 dinner,  other than the occasional wine and cheese?  7:30 dinner seems late for us early risers. Thanks 

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 4 - Puerto Egas (Santiago Island) and Rabida Island, both wet landings

 

In the morning we have an 8 am long walking tour at Puerto Egas (option 1). Then after lunch we have booked another long walking tour at Rabida Island (option 3). On both excursions we will be opting to return to the ship rather than snorkeling.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here’s what one of the “tenders” (aka zodiacs) look like.

  

 
And here is our wet landing spot at Puerto Egas.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, JFontaine said:

Thank you for the report. Small point, am I reading this correctly,  that there's no food available from 1:30 when lunch closes until 7:30 dinner,  other than the occasional wine and cheese?  7:30 dinner seems late for us early risers. Thanks 

I checked this morning with the maitre d’, Miguel, and your observation is correct. There is no place to get snacks other than the dining times and places listed on the Daily, other than the occasional afternoon wine and cheese offerings.

[prmssk]

20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I checked this morning with the maitre d’, Miguel, and your observation is correct. There is no place to get snacks other than the dining times and places listed on the Daily, other than the occasional afternoon wine and cheese offerings.

They don't have snacks and drinks waiting for you after each excursion?  Room service isn't available?

 

The Xpedition had snacks set up as we came back from excursions and one afternoon I remember ordering some hummus from room service.  I also later discovered that if you ask the bartenders in the discovery lounge, they have chips (potato chips, plantain chips, and one other kind) they can go get from the back.  I never lacked for food on the Xpedition.

[Norwaylady]

Looks like you're going to have a fantastic sailing!

Can't wait for the rest of this adventure😍

 

I have some news.... I hope you will keep Star in good shape.... Maybe we can have a coffee in Reykjavik......🤭

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, prmssk said:

They don't have snacks and drinks waiting for you after each excursion?  Room service isn't available?

 

The Xpedition had snacks set up as we came back from excursions and one afternoon I remember ordering some hummus from room service.  I also later discovered that if you ask the bartenders in the discovery lounge, they have chips (potato chips, plantain chips, and one other kind) they can go get from the back.  I never lacked for food on the Xpedition.

 

13 hours ago, JFontaine said:

Thank you for the report. Small point, am I reading this correctly,  that there's no food available from 1:30 when lunch closes until 7:30 dinner,  other than the occasional wine and cheese?  7:30 dinner seems late for us early risers. Thanks 

You are correct. When we got back from our morning walk, they had prepared snacks once we got back onboard. As far as room service goes, there is no mention of room service written anywhere in our S2 cabin nor is there a button on the phone to place an order.  My suggestion is if you want room service, ask someone once you board your cruise. Now maybe if you’re in a penthouse or royal suite, there may be something available for those cabins.

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

As far as room service goes, there is no mention of room service written anywhere in our S2 cabin nor is there a button on the phone to place an order.  My suggestion is if you want room service, ask someone once you board your cruise. Now maybe if you’re in a penthouse or royal suite, there may be something available for those cabins.

 

I am surprised.  Even on Xpedition we had room service and we were in a suite but not the PS or RS.  Perhaps this is a benefit of only having 48 passengers max.  

[Ken the cruiser]

Pictures from our 1.5 mile walk that took about 2.5 hours.

 

As we were approaching our wet landing on a black sandy beach at Port Egas.

 

 
Masked Booby diving for lunch while the Brown Pelican watched.

 

 

 

 
Then once on the beach we saw this cute little Galapagos Lava Lizard

 

 
A Galapagos Sea Lion with her brand new pup that was only a day or two old.

 

 
Then off we went! 

 

 

And right out of the shoot, we saw the elusive Santiago Island Galapagos Dove! 😁

 

 

A Galapagos Land Iguana, just to the left of the cactus.

 

 
Darwin’s Finch

 

 

Galapagos Land Iguana

 

 

Galapagos Mockingbird

 

 

Another cute Lava Lizard

 

 

Sally Lightfoot Crabs

 

 

Galapagos Marine Iguana  

 

 

Galapagos Fur Sea Lions

 

 
Brown Pelican flying near some Galapagos Fur Sea Lions

 

 

 

 

 

 
Some Galapagos Green Turtles getting a little frisky out in the water.

 

 

Three Galapagos Marine Iguanas, a male and 2 smaller females

 

 
Another Sally Lightfoot Crab that just looked picture ready!

 

 
Brown Pelican heading up the coast

 

 

The marine iguanas all seemed to want their picture taken! 😂

 

 

Galapagos Yellow Warblers

 

 
Sea lion with a great blue heron and a brown pelican off in the distance.

 
A large male Galapagos Sea Lion

 

 
A couple of birds I couldn’t identify

 

 
Great Blue Heron

 

 

You guessed it, another marine iguana! 😁

 

 

 

American Oystercatcher

 

 

Galapagos Hawk

 

 

Folks snorkeling right off the beach we landed on

 

 

The very friendly Galapagos Fly! 😂

  

Arriving back at the Flora!

 

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

36 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

I am surprised.  Even on Xpedition we had room service and we were in a suite but not the PS or RS.  Perhaps this is a benefit of only having 48 passengers max.  

There maybe room service on the Flora. I’m just not seeing any written evidence of it. But then after requesting it with the maitre d’ last night because of health issues, we’re having dinner delivered every night at 6 pm to our cabin. 😁

 

Like I said, if someone is truly interested in finding out if room service is available on the Flora, just ask a crew member once you board the ship.

[mahdnc]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

But then after requesting it with the maitre d’ last night because of health issues, we’re having dinner delivered every night at 6 pm to our cabin. 😁

 

 

Do you have a doctor's note for this?!

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

There maybe room service on the Flora. I’m just not seeing any written evidence of it. But then after requesting it with the maitre d’ last night because of health issues, we’re having dinner delivered every night at 6 pm to our cabin. 😁

 

Like I said, if someone is truly interested in finding out if room service is available on the Flora, just ask a crew member once you board the ship.

I just checked with the head of housekeeping and they do offer room service. You just dial 0 and the menu is in the “brown folder” in the cabin. 

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Do you have a doctor's note for this?!

No, my DW does not. 

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW, mostly for me, the first “unknown” bird was a whimbrel, and the third “unknown” bird was a Ruddy Turnstone. 

[Ken the cruiser]

34 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just checked with the head of housekeeping and they do offer room service. You just dial 0 and the menu is in the “brown folder” in the cabin. 

Here are the room service menus.

 

Breakfast menu

 

 
All Day menu

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

This afternoon's 1.5 mile walking excursion is on Rabida Island.

  

 
Here’s where the Flora is currently located.

 

  
Here’s a photo on Santiago Island, which we were just at this morning.

 

 

[vickykay]

Amazing photos of the wildlife!

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 4 - Dec 11 (Monday) - Afternoon excursion walk around Rabida Island

 
We had our 2nd wet landing of the day and had a greeting committee awaiting us! 😁

 

Male and female Galapagos Sea Lions

 

 

Then we walked a short way to a small lake where we saw flamingos and White-cheeked Pintail Ducks.

 

 

 
Then it was time to head inland and uphill where we ran into a couple of Galapagos Lava Lizards.

 

 

 
along with some dormant plant life, to include Incense Trees, that come back to life starting in February during the January - March rainy season.

 

 
And a Hidden Mickey! I know, who would have thought one would be way out here in the Galapagos! 😂

 

 

 
We also saw a couple of Frigatebirds and a Brown Pelican along the way flying overhead.

 

 

 

 

 
Once we got back to the beach, we saw a Blue-footed Booby flying back and forth along the shoreline looking for something to eat.

 

 
The next sequence is of a Brown Pelican flying by. I posted all 4 shots to show what some of the Santiago Island terrain in the background looks like.

 

 

 

 

 
Then it was time to head back to the ship. The beach area was also used for snorkeling on the lefthand side.

 

 

 
Then finally after relaxing back in the cabin for a short while, it was time for another sunset dinner on our balcony. 😁

 

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[mahdnc]

Looks like you had very nice weather today.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Looks like you had very nice weather today.

We did! It got a little warm in the afternoon, but all in all it was a pretty day! 

[Gardenbunny50]

The Mickey cactus was so funny 😂.  Great spot!! You need to send that to Disney LOL.  

So amazing all the wildlife you are seeing.  And I really like the pictures looking out to Flora.  Seems so peaceful in the isolation and solitude - is it quiet or do the birds make some noise?