15. January 2024

Day 20: Galapagos - On the Cruise

Writing this blog is sometimes a breeze and doesn’t take any effort. Then, there are days when I struggle a bit to get started. Today was one of these days.

It’s strange because a lot of things happened. It could be because of this, so I have anxiety about missing or leaving something out and, therefore, prefer not to start at all. Classic procrastination, even during my holidays 👍🏻

Our schedule today was tight. It started at 07:00 with Breakfast and ended at 19:00 with Dinner. Nearly all the hours between these two points were packed, besides a bit of time after lunch.

But first, I want to tell you about last night. I had a struggle to fall asleep because it was, on the one hand, bumpy, rough, and noisy. In the end, I started listening to a Sherlock Holmes Story, and then I was gone quickly. Overall, I slept decent, and Garmin gave me 71/100 😴

To have some time before Breakfast, we got up around 06:30. Breakfast itself was good, and overall, the cruise’s food is delicious.

After Breakfast, we had our first activity, starting directly at 08:00. We had a dry landing at Tagus Cove, where we did a short hike (1.75km) and had some excellent views. Before returning to the Boat, we quickly rode along the shore and saw some Flightless Cormorants and Galapagos penguins.

Then, I quickly returned to the Boat and directly Kayaked at the Tagus Cove anchor spot. After that, we drove a little bit out with the Dinghy and went snorkeling. Our highlight there was the Penguins, one we even saw underwater 🐧

We were back a bit late, as initially 12:00 was planned for lunch, but it was more like 12:30. After lunch, we had some time for ourselves, which we used to sort through the pictures and relax on the sundeck.

Then, at 15:00, we landed at Urbina Bay, where we saw some Iguanas, Giant Galapagos Tortoises, and a Hawk! After the short tour, we were free to snorkel a bit. A lot of Sea turtles were here.

It’s unbelievable how used we already get to all the wildlife. It starts to feel “normal” because it’s normal here to have such a variety of wildlife that is not afraid of humans.

On the Boat, we then had a quick demonstration by our Barkeeper, Fernando, on how to do a Caipirinha (Ecuador Style). The Caipirinha could then be won by answering a question about the Giant Tortoise (list three differences between male & female), which Nicole rocked and then enjoyed her drink!

Answer: