Dave & Claire´s Travels: Galapagos Islands here we come...

Galapagos Islands, 29 September - 5 October 2007

The following morning our adventure started in earnest. On Saturday 29th Sep, we made our way to the airport with Peter and Carol and caught the 9.30am flight from Quito to Baltra Island (touching down for 30mins in Guayaquil). On arrival we were greeted by our naturalist guides. A quick 5 minute bus journey and we were at the dock where we piled into dingy´s (or panga´s as they are more frequently called), 12 people at a time, to be ferried out to our ship... The Eclipse.

Whilst on the dock we got our first taste of Galapagos's "wildlife". There were sea lions hogging all the benches. They seemed to delight in spreading themselves along the full length. There were blue-footed boobies and pelicans diving for fish, and there was the occasional marine iguana warming himself on the rocks.
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On arrival aboard the luxury cruise ship, "Eclipse", we were greeted by staff members who formed a guard of honour. The captain (Manolo) shook everyone´s hand and seemed genuinely happy to welcome us aboard. Impressed with what we had seen so far it was time to do some reconnaissance of this fine ship, which coincidentally, had spent the last 6 weeks in dry dock getting a full service/sprucing up.

The Eclipse is a 210ft expedition vessel that accommodates 48 passengers in staterooms, all with sea views. Fully air conditioned, the cabins are provided with fresh towels daily and complimentary bathrobes. (Picture of our room left).

There is a well equipped lounge for relaxation & for the nightly (powerpoint presentation) briefings on the days discoveries & the following days activities. In addition to the elegant indoor dining room, there is an al fresco dining area located on the weather deck around the jacuzzi. There is also a well stocked library for quite study and reading.

One of the most popular areas on board is the observation/sundeck, ideal for star gazing, searching for whales, or simply relaxing in the comfortable sun loungers. The ship has an indoor bar, outdoor bar and a boutique for purchase of souvenirs. And yes, most of that info was taken directly from their brochure!!!!

The ship was amazing. The only way I could describe the luxury on board is to say we travelled on a floating 5 star hotel.

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Breakfast was served at 7am & all meals were of a buffet style. Waiters would supply you with fresh juices, teas & coffees. We disembarked at 8am & were generally back on board for 11am when hot snacks were served in the al fresco dining area.

Lunch was at 12.30pm & was generally eaten outside by the jacuzzi. There was always a choice of soup & then we would help ourselves to the buffet & the waiter would escort you back to your table with your dinner plate. Afterwards there was always an excellent choice of desserts. Afternoon excursions started at 2.00/2.30pm and we would be back on board between 4.30pm and 6pm when more hot snacks would be served......

They would sometimes show movies between 5 and 6 pm in the main lounge. Over the course of a few days we watched the BBC´s latest documentary on the Galapagos Islands. The evening briefing was always at 7pm & the four, level 3, naturalist guides took it in turns to deliver this.

Dinner was at 7.30pm in the main dining room. Again the foods prepared were incredible and the dessert table got 2 visits on more than one occasion......

Each evening when we returned to our bedroom there would be a new towel sculpture waiting for us. We had turtles, octopus, and other Galapagos creatures. It was always funny to hear people enter their rooms as there would, invariably, be a gasp of surprise and delight. Another bonus was that the towel sculpture was decorated, quite frequently, with small chocolates.

The other guests on board were considerably older than us, the majority of them retired Americans. Everyone was exceptionally nice & friendly, we enjoyed the company of some entertaining couples. Those we dined with most frequently included: Graham & Margaret (from outside Dorchester in England), Peter & Karen (from California), Espie, Trent, Harriet & Ben and por supuesto Carol & Peter!

All in all a great ship with a great crew & a really nice bunch of guests. We had all the ingredients we needed for a great week in the Galapagos!!!!!