Day 9: Galapagos

Day 9:  - Galapagos

Quote of the day: See that rock at the end of the pond…that’s a male tortoise.

Weather:    High 70s and overcast, very humid as well

Pics:    The latest from our steward, in and around the Darwin Research Center, tortoise farm, the tallest and shortest members of the cruise using cameras, THB enjoying a fresh banana (THB rarely eats bananas), DB art shots from Punta Ayora

THB did not succumb to sea sickness, he did however succumb to someone getting up in the middle of the night and trying to re-arrange his room: moving pillows, opening and closing doors, and turning on an i-pad. THB shows valor and compassion: he goes back to sleep. Just toast for breakfast today. At least the toaster is working; the moccachino machine is out of milk. Espresso anyone?

It’s a land-based day on the island of Santa Cruz. The morning is a visit to the Darwin Research Center where we watch tortoises (turtles go in the ocean, tortoises don’t?) and visit a tortoise “farm” higher up on the island. THB will not repeat that mistake: he’s staying on board and skipping the afternoon outing in town: shopping.

Lunch: chicken Malaysian (sweet and sour), rice, sweet potato pie

One couple is leaving the boat today to spend 3 nights in a hotel (this is Porto Ayora, big city of the Galapagos, maybe 20K live here). THB thinks maybe they knew something because they could be off doing something interesting (like swimming with rays or sharks?) instead of visiting tortoise farms. It does mean the day trips are on little boats. Hmmmm….consensus of the group is that this day was okay and it would be tough to get in good day trips from here.

Dinner of salad, beef stroganoff and pasta, crepes with ice cream and chocolate sauce and each cabin prepped a “creature” for Wilbur, the steward. Wilbur was a no-show!