I woke up several times throughout the night to a ship that was really rocking. By the time it was time to get up and get ready, we were still moving a lot and it was drizzling and cloudy out. As I sat and enjoyed my coffee in our suite, the closet door next to the table where I sat opened, out rolled our large suitcase, and then with the next rock back the other direction, the closet door closed again. It was quite the morning and we were a bit concerned for our zodiac ride to town.
After breakfast, we went down to the Discovery Lounge to get our zodiac number and then gather by the Beagle Grill to get ready for the ride into Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island. It was raining at this point, so we all put on the ponchos Celebrity had left us.
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| (I wore my life jacket under the poncho.) |
Today would be our only chance to see an inhabited part of the Galápagos Islands. Only three islands have a population (Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristobal). We boarded a bus for our morning excursion to the Charles Darwin Station where we would learn about the breeding and conversation program for land tortoises.
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| The tortoises with the really long necks come from islands that have vegetation that is higher up so they have adapted to be able to reach what they need. |
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| These juveniles are almost at the size to be released. |
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| Lava Lizard |
The rain stopped while we were at the Charles Darwin Station. After our tour, we were given free time to explore the small museum and then walk to town and do a little shopping. We found a small painting by a shop owner's husband of a Blue-footed Booby that we purchased. We then walked past the fish market which is a stop often recommended to watch the wildlife interact with the sellers at the market.
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| Lava Gull |
We then met back at the pier to catch a bus to the highlands and El Manzanillo Ranch where we had a buffet lunch, enjoyed a cultural dance presentation, and then had a chance to walk among giant tortoises in the wild.
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| They even got Paul to dance! |
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| Ground Finch |
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| Yellow Warbler |
Our bus then took us back to the pier where we could either return to the ship or spend more time in town to shop or find a bite to eat or something to drink. We decided to head back to the ship. The seas were still a bit rough so getting on and off the zodiacs were a bit challenging but the naturalists, zodiac drivers, and staff were amazing in making sure everyone was safe.
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| Galapagos Sea Lions keeping us company while we waited for the first zodiac. |
Back on the ship, we enjoyed some time on our balcony and in our hot tub.
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| This is a research ship that sails world wide. It hosts scientists at no cost to the scientist as long as they agree to make their research public. It is called the "Falkor (too)" and is owned by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. |
That evening, we were supposed to have another dinner under the stars with the chef's grilling for us but the drizzle had picked up again. So instead, we all just went up to the Beagle Grill, filled our plate with sides and then proceeded to the grill where the chefs were grilling salmon, lobster, shrimp, octopus, chicken, beef, etc. They were happy to pile as much on your plate as you wanted. Staff then carried our plates down to Darwin's Restaurant where we could be dry while we ate. It was really good!
There was another dance party that night which we decided to skip. Instead, we headed back to the cabin to relax and finish up packing. Our suitcases had to be outside our doors by 6:30 a.m. the next morning.
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