Our Galápagos cruise was on the Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour II. That’s a mouthful, we just called it the Endeavour once we were on board. We flew into Guayaquil, Ecuador the day before embarking, arriving late enough that we only stopped to eat dinner before going to bed. We were met at the airport by Lindblad staff who happily ferried our luggage to the hotel and presented us with a rundown of the next morning’s activities: early morning wake-up, luggage outside the door 15 minutes later, and a buffet breakfast before dashing off to the airport for our flight to Baltra for embarkation.
After our short flight, we walked out of the back of the plane (or front, depending where you were seated), queued up for immigration and a bag check, then waited with snacks and shopping in the VIP lounge while the rest of the cruise-goers made their way through the lines. We then loaded into buses to the dock so we could put on life vests to ride the Zodiacs to the ship. Our luggage, tagged with our cabin numbers, would follow separately.
After a brief view of the cabin and introduction to our housekeeper for the week (Kelly), we mustered in the lounge for crew introductions and emergency procedures. Oh, and more snacks, then lunch in the dining room soon afterwards. Somewhere in there, I found time to unpack before our first wet landing of the week, where I followed our naturalist, Jason’s, example and walked barefoot for our mostly sandy nature walk.
After that, most of the week is a blur. I spent a restless first night on the boat arguing with something that didn’t agree with my stomach, missed a nature walk and the first snorkeling opportunity then next day, then rejoined the activities for a late afternoon walk. Over the next few days, we were taught about plants and wildlife in the Galápagos, with many up close and personal encounters. The basic guideline is to stay six feet away from the animals, which most people attempted to do. The animals, who are unfortunately illiterate, followed no such rule, which certainly made for better photos.
Most days followed a similar route: breakfast, morning excursion choices (usually splitting into shorter wildlife walks and longer, more scenic ones), lunch on the ship and an education talk (photography, geology, and Charles Darwin were among topics covered) while the ship moved to another location, afternoon excursion choices that frequently involved being in the water, then a daily recap and the next day’s plan before dinner. Among the options we tried were jumping off the back of the boat (into 65 degree water! BRRR!), stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking (not recommended right after paddle boarding, uses too many of the same muscles), and deep water snorkeling, in addition to many scenic walks across sand, lava, and uphill both ways in one case.
Over the course of the week, we ended up on at least one excursion with each naturalist. It didn’t really matter, they were all awesome, but they each brought a slightly different perspective and unique stories to the adventure. When we visited the Darwin Research Center and learned about Lonesome George, we happened to be with Socrates, a naturalist who has helped out at the center for years. The next day, we saw a giant centipede and heard from Christian how he was bitten by one as a child.
We spent a day in Santa Cruz, visiting the Darwin Research Center and shopping in Puerto Ayora before visiting the Tomás de Berlanga School, which is supported by the cruise line, while another group visited a coffee and sugar plantation. We reconvened at a local restaurant for a delicious lunch, then drove to a farm that lets Galápagos tortoises wander freely. As it turns out, they’re fond of guavas, which grow at the farm and are allowed to fall freely for the creatures. After a bit more shopping, we carefully avoided the sea lions wandering the docks and found our Zodiac back to the ship.
That was the second night we were delighted by live music on board. The night before was a performance by crew members, including the captain (making for a stellar line in La Bamba… “yo no soy marinero, soy capitán”). A local music group came on board with a dance group with assorted instruments, keeping us entertained – and dancing for some of it – for quite a while.
By the time we disembarked on Saturday morning, we were wiped out, yet sad to leave. We flew back to Guayaquil, where Cassandra and I ignored the city tour option in favor of the heated pool and a pair of coconuts with straws, followed by a stroll through the hotel in search of a chocolate shop. An early dinner followed, anticipating the 2:30am wake-up for our flights returning us to reality.