Each evening, our guide Carlos would gather the “San Jose Family” together in the ship’s lounge to discuss the plans for the next day. He would have a map and a whiteboard and would walk us through the ship’s travels and our proposed excursions. Daily Activity Board (Kevin Moore)
Each ship in the Galapagos has a very strict schedule to keep. The National Park Service has divvied up all the potential landing spots, snorkeling areas, and points of interest amongst the 60+ small ship cruise operators in the Galapagos, on a 15-day schedule, in roughly half-day increments. This keeps each destination from being over-run, or environmentally degraded, and prevents skirmishes between rival boats that might otherwise be jockeying for limited space and resources.
Within this national park schedule, each ship’s captain and naturalist can create their own plans for a given day’s activities. Our naturalist quickly got the sense that he had an adventurous, wildlife-loving crew of travelers, who would stay in the water until their lips were blue when snorkeling. So he inserted a few pre-breakfast walks, scheduled back-to-back snorkeling sessions, and generally kept us busy. Jen, Isabela, Skull (Kevin Moore)
Each time we got back on the boat, we were offered fresh squeezed juice and a snack. After our morning snorkeling sessions, we were able to sit down straightaway to warm homemade soup as the first course of our “almuerzo” or set lunch. After other excursions we had time for showers or a drink on the top deck. Dinners and breakfasts were buffet-style meals on our boat, and our group managed to trade seats so many times, it seemed we were just one big family by the end. A family representing Paris, Vancouver, Missoula, Los Angeles, and the UK… but a family none-the-less. Swimming, San Jose (Kevin Moore)
The ship would hoist anchor after dinner, and head off for the next day’s destination. Some evenings we’d only move a couple hours, while a couple nights we were still motoring well after midnight. These nightly movements were the only time I ever felt the movement of the boat. (Not bad for a notoriously weak-stomached sailor.) We’d awake in a new location each morning, ready to explore it all over again!
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
