Category: tourism

Galapagos: Day 7

May 3. We awake to find we are anchored at Bahia Sullivan near Isla Bartolome just east of Isla Santiago. We’re off to another early start. At 6:45 we’re in the pangas heading to the beach. This is a dry landing, so we keep our shoes on.

We’re walking on very rough lava, so shoes are required. I was fascinated by the patterns in the lava and by the few plants that were eking out an existence in the harsh environment. After the morning adventure we’re back on board for breakfast at 8:15. After breakfast we weigh anchor and transit to Isla Seymour Norte. At noon we climb into our wetsuits, grab our snorkels and fins and go for a swim. I wasn’t finding much to photograph so I turned the camera on myself and the fellow swimmers.


Lunch is at 1:00 and at 4:00 we land on Isla Seymour Norte. Here we are able to get quite close to the iguanas, blue footed boobies and frigate birds. The afternoon sun provides nice lighting for photography.

In the evening, we give a toast to our guide and crew for a most excellent cruise.

More photos of the days adventure are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 6

May 2. We awake to find we are anchored off the northeast end of Isla Santiago near Puerto Ergas. At 8:45 we are in the pangas heading to the beach for a wet landing. After getting our feet wet, we put our walking shoes on for a hike around the northwestern tip of the island.

Our walk takes us past volcanic tidepools with sea lions, and we see a number of birds including Oystercatchers along with the colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs.

After our walk it’s back to the ship and then off for another snorkeling adventure. The underwater world is just so amazing with brightly colored angel fish and parrot fish.

Lunch is at 12:30, and at 3:00 we’re snorkeling again. At 4:30 we get our chance to kayak, paddling around the little bay in which the Passion is anchored.

We paddle past some amazing formations of volcanic rock. One of the formations is called The Apostle. At 6:40 we have a briefing reviewing the day’s events and hearing about tomorrow’s adventures. At 7:00 dinner is served.

More photos of the day’s adventures are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 5

May 1. Another early start. At 6:45 we’re in the water snorkeling with penguins. The penguins feed in the morning, hence, swimming with them requires an early start. Our swim took us around the ship looking for penguins under the ship. I wasn’t lucky enough to catch a photo of the penguins.

Breakfast was served at 8:15. At 9:15 we were back in the pangas for a short ride to Tagus Cove on Isla Isabela for a dry landing. From there we take a short hike up the mountainside to a view of Darwin Lake.

It’s always a delight to return to the ship where we’re handed cool washcloths and refreshing juice after hiking in the sun. If we’ve been in the water, it’s a hot shower on the deck and hot chocolate. We don’t dally around much though.

At 10:00 we’re back in the pangas exploring the coast, watching iguanas, penguins, blue footed boobies and poking into sea caves.

At noon we are back in the water snorkeling with marine iguanas and turtles.

Back onboard, lunch is a delicious soup, coleslaw, lasagna, grilled octopus and avocado salad. Hot soup hits the spot after being in the water.

3:00 we’re on another panga ride. This time we land on Isla Fernandina near Espinosa Point, where we walk among the iguanas, sea lions and some unusual lava cactus.

We’re back onboard at 5:30 with a briefing at 6:40 and dinner at 7:00. After dinner we’re underway heading towards the north end of Isla Isabela. At 8:08 PM we cross the equator. A number of us assembled in the pilot house to watch the GPS count down to zero degrees of latitude. More photos of the day’s adventures are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 4

April 30. The day starts with an early morning swim before breakfast. At 7:30 we climb into the pangas for a short ride to our snorkeling location.

We’re swimming with sea turtles. What an amazing adventure! They don’t seem to mind our presence. They take their time swimming and munching on the algae growing on the rocks.

We’re back onboard the Passion for breakfast at 9:00. Then it’s back in the Pangas to explore the mangroves and the volcanic coast. We see a few sharks and rays as well as flightless cormorants and iguanas.

Our original itinerary called for a kayaking adventure, but with lava flowing into the ocean at nearby Isla Fernandina it was a unanimous decision to go visit the lava flow. From the pangas we were able to get quite close to the action. Red hot molten lava flowing into the steaming ocean water.

The chef fired up the BBQ on the upper deck and we enjoyed an amazing dinner with a view of the lava flow.

To top off the evening the chef presented us with a cake to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. Never mind that the date of August 25, 2023 had passed. We had told the tour operators that the cruise was part of our anniversary celebration. More photos of the day’s adventure are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 3

April 29. Wakeup call is 7:20am with breakfast at 7:40. I’m getting quite used to the fresh fruit for breakfast: watermelon, pineapple and papaya, not to mention a variety of other selections including pancakes, rolls, yogurt, granola, eggs and sausage.

At 8:30 we climb into the pangas for a ride to the beach. We’re going to the Post Office. This is not your ordinary post office. In 1793 James Colnett, a British sea captain put up a barrel. The idea was that lonely sailors could deposit mail here and passersby would pick up mail they could deliver at their convenience. No postage required.

We dropped off three postcards and picked up three postcards we could deliver. One card with an address in Benicia caught my attention. I have a good friend in Benicia, and I thought this would be a good excuse to get together. So, once we’re back home I send my friend Dan an email saying I have a piece of mail from the Galapagos Post Office to deliver to somebody in Benica. Dan writes back and asks if it is addressed to Jane. Sure enough! Jane is his granddaughter and Dan had deposited the card on a recent trip to the Galapagos. What a funny coincidence.

Our panga ride included traveling along the shoreline to watch for wildlife.

Pelicans, sea lions, crabs, blue footed boobies and iguanas. I was also intrigued by the cactus which looked half Saguaro and half prickly pear, the Galapagos prickly pear.

At 10:30 we were back in the water snorkeling. We were hoping to find turtles, but we did not have much luck.

After lunch the ship weighed anchor and we made way for Isla Isabela. More photos for the day are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 2

April 28. We awake to find that we are anchored just off the north end of Isla Floreana at Punta Cormorant. After a hearty breakfast we board the pangas for a short ride to a beach. This is a wet landing, meaning your feet get wet when you step out of the panga onto the beach. Once on the beach we have our first encounter with Blue Footed Boobies. It just seems so odd to see birds with blue feet, to watch their antics as they prance around, and sky point as they carry out their mating rituals. We’re able to get quite close, but Rafa, our guide cautions us be aware of sea turtle nests that are also on the upper reaches of the beach. Then it’s off to a short walk to a lagoon to see Flamingos. The flamingos are a fair distance from the viewing area so I’m happy I have my big Nikon D850 and a 200-500mm lens.

While we’re walking along the beach Rafa is alerted to a sea turtle nest. The giveaway is the Frigate birds that are wheeling around overhead. The birds are attracted to the turtles as they emerge from the sand. You can see Rafa in the photo pointing to a baby sea turtle just emerging from the nest. Walking along the beach and the rocks we see a number of brightly colored Sally Lightfoot Crabs.

We’re back on board by mid-morning and at 10:30 we’re in the water with mask and snorkel swimming with a multitude of brightly colored fish.

After our adventure with the fish, it’s lunch time. Lunch is served on the upper deck with a panoramic view of the azure waters and islands in the distance. After lunch we weigh anchor and move to the west side of the Floreana. We go ashore at Puerto Velazco Ibarra where we climb on an open-air bus for a bumpy ride up the mountain to a tortoise breeding preserve.

We see a number of tortoises on the preserve and then we hike up the mountain a short distance to explore some caves carved by early visitors to the islands. The bus returns us to the small town of Puerto Velazco Ibarra where be buy popsicles before climbing back in the pangas for the ride back to our ship. Back onboard we have lovely dinner and view of the sunset.

After dinner Rafa shifts into story telling mode regaling us with the mystery of Floreana. More photos of our adventures for the day are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Day 1

April 27. Our day begins early. At 5 am the twelve of us on the tour assemble in the lobby of the Patio Andaluz hotel in Quito for a van ride to the airport. We land at the Seymore Airport on the tiny island of Baltra. By noon or thereabouts, we arrive at the El Chato Ranch Giant Tortoise Preserve in the highlands. It’s lush and green here, a contrast from the more arid lowlands. After a delightful lunch we trade our shoes for rubber boots for a walking tour of the preserve.

We spend an engrossing afternoon walking around the preserve, learning about the natural history of the tortoises, and exploring a lava tube.

Then it’s back in the van to drive to Puerto Aroya where we have a look at some baby tortoises. Then we hop in a panga for a ride to out to the Passion, our floating home for the next week.

After a safety drill where we learn out to don our life jackets we are introduced to the crew before our first dinner onboard. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Galapagos: Summary

From April 27 through May 4 we participated in a Wilderness Travel tour of the Galapagos Islands. The tour started with a day exploring Quito and on April 28 we flew to the Galapagos. With many stories to tell and adventures to share I’ll start with a brief summary.

Those of us on board the Passion for our Galapagos adventure were in unanimous agreement that the highlight of our tour was our guide Rafael Pesantes whom we called Rafa. His depth of knowledge, passion and concern for the guests made for an extraordinary experience. Rafa is a native to the Galapagos, having fished the waters with his uncle when he was a kid. He brings 30 years of experience as a tour guide, having guided tours all over the world including National Geographic tours. He also worked with David Attenborough. His knowledge of the natural history and the cultural history of The Galapagos is extraordinary.

Here he is using the scull of a sea turtle to talk about how the turtles navigate and how they can return to the exact spot where they hatched. You can also see him enticing a giant tortoise to extend his neck by mimicking a fluttering bird. In the third photo he’s pointing out baby sea turtles that are just emerging from a nest.

Our base for our Galapagos adventures was the Passion, a 160 foot yacht, chartered by Wilderness Travel. We were on board the passion for a week, with daily trips by panga to snorkeling and hiking location. There were twelve of us and we became one happy family shortly into the adventure. Meals were prepared by a gourmet chef with lunch served on the upper deck.

Our cruise took us from Isla Santa Cruz, to Floreana, Isabela, Fernandina and Santiago. Among the highlights of the trip were tortoises, swimming with marine iguanas, watching Blue Footed Bobbies and watching molten lava spew into the ocean on Fernandina.

Each day was a rich adventure. I’ll be posting blog entries for each day of the trip so stay tuned.

Quito Travel Diary: Hearing Aid Chargers and Cultural Encounters

Our Ecuadorian adventure started with a search for a hearing aid charger. It seems that somewhere in our travels my hearing aid charger must have slipped out of my day pack. My guess is that it slipped out in the overhead bin of the airplane. With a quick Google search, I discovered that Quito, with a population of 2.8 million people, had an audiologist that carried Oticon, my brand of hearing aids. With some help from our hotel concierge at the Patio Andaluz, I was able to confirm that the clinic had a charger in stock. Amazing, since my local audiologist doesn’t stock these. The concierge found me a driver to take me to the clinic. Carlos, my driver was amazing, taking me to a part of town that was not on any tourist route, navigating impossible traffic and what looked to me to be nonexistent parking, maneuvering his car in ways that seemed impossible. Once parked even finding the clinic was a challenge. Calos led the way, asking for directions and acting as my interpreter. We were back at the hotel within two hours, with time left to explore parts of the Central Historical district on foot, including some delicious food.

We also visited a number of churches including The Gold Church, Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, plazas and a Panama hat factory. Panama hats are made in Ecuador.

Some of our explorations were with our fellow Galapagos tourists, and one of our stops included chocolate tasting. Who knew the subtleties of chocolate. Kind of like tasking fine wines. What amazing journey from coca pods to chocolate and so many flavors. We left with bars to bring back as gifts.

On one of our free days, we hired Carlos again to take us to some of the sights including the Centro Cultural de los Artes Museum with many examples of pre-Columbian art, a stop at the equator, and dinner of Cui Asado at a restaurant in Parque Mitad del Mundo.

So much to see and do in Quito, museums, churches and restaurants. Wish I could share more, but I’m having trouble keeping up with my own adventures. You can see more photos are available in an online gallery.

Emeryville to Pt Isabel

Seven of us assembled on the boat ramp at the Emeryville Marina for a 10:30 departure to paddle to Pt Isabel. This was a great turnout considering I had only announced the paddle 24 hours ahead. The plan was to paddle along the east side of the bay to avoid the current which would be flooding most of the day. Maximum flood at Emeryville was predicted to be 0.29 knots at 12:30 pm, negligible as far as our group is concerned. Weather predictions were for light winds in the morning (8 to 10 knots). I had a sense that it might be too warm for my drysuit, so I opted for my farmer john and a long sleeve rash guard. We were on the water at 10:35 and paddled out of the marina in calm water.

We paddled out past the defunct HS Lordships Restaurant, closed since June 2018, speculating on what the future holds for that facility. Then under the Berkeley Pier, past the Albany Bulb, and east towards Point Isabel, looking for the windsock that marks the landing. You can’t see the ramp from this approach since it’s hidden behind a short breakwater. Some care is required to land here when the tide is low since there are rocks that are not all that visible, and the wind tends to push boats into the rocks.

As we were eating lunch the wind started to freshen, and we were anxious to get back on the water before the wind increased. Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us powering into the wind and the chop with our boats bouncing over the waves and spray flying over our decks. I would occasionally pick up my camera to try to capture the action, and immediately lose all forward progress, having to paddle hard to get some speed back. Our group got spread out a bit, but we remained in radio contact. Again, using the radio meant I was not paddling and was pushed backward by the wind.

We gathered up once we were inside the breakwater at the Berkeley Marina. Two paddlers opted to bail out at this point. They paddled into the Berkeley Yacht Club dock. It seems their boats were not behaving well in the wind and chop. The remaining five of us paddled back to Emeryville. After passing HS Lordships, we turned eastward a bit and that eased the angle of wind. The wind also dropped, making for a leisurely paddle back to our launch side. It was 2:50 when we landed. We had a good workout and logged 9.27 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.