Day 7: Galapagos

Day 7:  - Galapagos

Quote of the day:  Just whose picture were you taking?

Weather:    Overcast, mid 70s

Pics:   Snorkelers in masks, sea lions, Malena, cotton flowers, two Russians (one posing with a sea lion, one taking the pic), between-activities activity, blue-footed booby, hermit crab in hand, a rare pink flamingo, yellow warbler at rest, ani bird, live meal and diners

Today the first event is at 8am so the wake up call over the loudspeaker is at 6:45am. Or, as is discussed by all those at breakfast, the wake-up call was when the boat started to pitch and yaw in the middle of the night: doors banging, creaking, moaning, clanging all reported. THB somehow, even with a long history of seasickness, managed to ignore it by counting and sorting the movements, and for most part slept through and felt pretty good in morning. He also managed to figure out how to combine a moccachino with espresso to turn out a decent wake-up coffee,  and served it up to DB in bed along with oreo cookies!

Panga ride to Floreana Island where we hear some of the history of Eurpoean settlers and get a great show of juvenile (2-3 month old) sea lions cavorting beside the panga. That is followed by a visit to the “Post Office” where people drop off postcards and look through the 100s left to see if they can deliver one in person. We snorkel from the beach where THB and DB spend time with a very large green sea turtle (3 footer, at least) eating algae in the shallows. There was also sighting of penguins, we hear about it too late to find them. As we’re getting ready for panga ride back to the Eclipse, a substantial sea lion decides to come ashore and mingle with our group (see pics).

There’s a ceviche demo before lunch, THB passes. Lunch is hamburgers, hot dogs (THB), chicken, small spare ribs (THB), pizza (THB), French fries, salads (THB – corn) and for dessert ice cream sundaes (THB – 2, 3 scoops total) with cookies (THB – 3). THB shows such enthusiasm that the other 5 decide to join in despite their ”just say no to dessert at lunch” campaign.

Barely time for a nap when we’re off for the 2pm snorkel: more ballet with sea lions, many large schools of fish, and a calm drift after we get past the initial roughness near the entry point where the waves are crashing against the rocks. Some see turtles, we don’t. Still a very nice drift snorkel event.

Another brief rest and it’s off to Cormorant Cove where there are no cormorants. We see three flamingoes, yellow warblers, and frigate birds waiting to snatch new turtle hatchlings before they hit the water. Sure enough, just before our group gets to the beach, a frigate has snatched a hatch-ling and then dropped it (probably because another frigate was trying to get it away from the original owner). And, a convoy of women are escorting the hatch-ling to the safety of the water and are doing a great job until the last moment when a bird, hovering barely about the heads of the escorts, snatches dinner right off the beach. A National Geographic moment!

Dinner of calamari and double helping of rice, small green salad with small brussel sprouts, baked tomato and half a slice of apple strudel, and Malbec supplied by S&A.

Now for a bit of gossip: there are three Russians aboard, supposedly a couple and the brother of one of the couple. However, the couple are Amazonian twins: very tall, blond, buff, shapely (see pic where he is taking a picture of a sea lion with her in the background, or is it vice versa?). The third person is short, dark, and nothing like either of the other two. So, are the brother and sister the couple? Doesn’t seem likely. We also saw the Amazons at our hotel in Quito, and there they were accompanied by a two person film crew. Hmmmmm…maybe the third guy is a bodyguard? He’s always at the bar drinking and smoking when not with the other two (actually, when he’s with the other two he is always drinking, he only smokes when they are outside). He also appears to be the only one on the boat smoking (though THB thinks several crew members smoke as well). The couple are the only ones aboard that have internet connection (the Canadian connector told me they bought some card in Russia for $20 and it works everywhere). They leave after five days and THB learns that the two men are lawyers and the short dark one introduced the tall blond to the female Amazonian (who is in finance).