Tag: Passion

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: 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.