We got up really early this morning, caught our taxi to the Quito airport for our plane to the Galapagos Islands. Our touring company
Metropolitan Touring Company (the owner of our floating home for the next week, the yacht
La Pinta), couldn't have been more efficient and organized in getting us to the plane and in getting us to our ship on the islands. And the Quito airport is a lot better run and organized than it was last year.
After a brief stop in Guayaquil, the plane took us to Baltra Island, the nicest airport in the Galapagos. We immediately boarded "pangas" -- rugged motorized boats that I call zodiac boats at home -- for a short, pleasant ride across the harbor to where the La Pinta was moored waiting for us. After a brief orientation, we relaxed in our cabin for the trip to our first excursion on North Seymour Island. We were now at sea level and a few miles south of the equator -- warm and very dry, but surrounded by the vast Pacific Ocean.
Our cabin is nicer than most large cruise ship cabins (not that I've had a lot of cruising experience). It is spacious, nicely appointed and comfortable, a decent bathroom and a large window. La Pinta holds 48 passengers in 24 cabins, with a crew of 31, including 3 naturalists licensed by the national park service -- Gabriel, Kiki and Pablo. The ship is quiet, and the staff is friendly and professional.
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| Cabin looking seaward |
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| Cabin and girlfriend |
North Seymour Island is dry, even in the current wet season. We had to step around numerous sea lions, land iguanas, lava lizards, frigate birds (red, balloon-like throat in males), and blue footed boobies (my favorite creature on the whole trip), and learned some interesting stuff about the santo paulo tree (incense tree). None of the creatures here are afraid of humans. Our naturalist Pablo was full of fascinating, interesting stories about what we were seeing. A great way to end our travel day, although the Captain's Reception awaited us when we got back to La Pinta. Our first meal aboard was really good, and our waiter for the week (Jose) was efficient, fun and helpful.
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| Baltra Island (where plane landed) from the boat. These oldest of the Galapagos Islands are slowly sinking into the sea. |
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| Cruising to North Seymour |
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| Embarking on North Seymour (the rubber boats are "pangas"). Note the young sea lion underfoot. |
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| Wow. Those were some ugly humans walking all around me! |
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Our first land iguana. They were so plentiful that we had to step around them everywhere.
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| Land iguana -- more golden brown -- making a lunch out of a cactus |
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| Iguana after his lunch |
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| Lava lizard - small, very quick, eats loads of flying insects |
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| Frigate birds -- pirates of the air -- side view |
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| Frigate birds - front view |
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| Blue footed booby -- my favorite creature and an incredible diving fisher. This is his nest -- a large circle which he marks with his white guano -- flat on the ground. |
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| Sea lion at cocktail hour, after a hard day of playing, fishing and mating? |
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| Sea lions at leisure |
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| Captain introduces crew, first night aboard |
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