We got home late last night, and I'm shaking off the remnants of a head cold, getting back into my groove and reconnecting with our pets. Mail will hit the desk mid-afternoon.

The twice-a-day tours were all conducted in English; but when one passenger sort-of understands English helps out the others who don't, the one who understands starts talking in local language to the rest of their group - LOUDLY. We had some tours where the naturalist was trying to drown out the German and Italian simultaneous translations. I imagine it was like that at the famed Tower of Babel.

We did have two kids (9 and 7) onboard. There was next to nothing for them to do other than play in the hot tub onboard. For those who snorkeled, the hot tub helped them get the feeling back in their extremities. I heard the record was 10 people fitting in that hot tub one day on the trip.

With a full ship, the public space was tight when we were altogether at daily briefings and meal times. Tables were for six people and not reserved. That messed up groups who came together in sizes other than six. We learned pretty quickly which tables were staked out for which languages, but forget about dining in your suite or dining a deux. We slipped right into the group who had not traveled with a group and we easily managed to rotate tables & appreciate one another's company.

The tours were generally slow speed. Some were walking and some were from the zodiac as we went in close to the coast. The zodiac tours were better, as the naturalist really couldn't talk over the engine noise (nor could the other passengers). As an example, one afternoon tour on flat land took 90 minutes to cover 1 mile, stopping every few hundred feet for 5 to 10 minutes for more information simulcast in three or more languages.

For my taste (and we were definitely in the minority in this view), less chatter and more time to simply observe wildlife or photograph them every few hundred feet is a better way to tour the Galapagos. The detailed geological theories, or the specifics of the various bird species, goes in one ear & out the other. Hard core birders would be well advised to book a tour with a birding enthusiast group.

Coolest stuff we saw:

-a whale fully breaching out of the water (kudos to John from Ediburgh getting the photo shot);
-a great frigate bird grabbing a booby by the base of the beak and dive-bombing with it for the beach to steal its fish;
-Red footed boobies starting their courtship. Males whistle and females honk as they start to assemble a nest
-A spotted owl on the wing taking down a small bird for dinner;
-Lots of subadult and baby frigate birds, gulls and boobies looking for their free meal from their parents. Those waiting were so close - within 4 or 6 feet - and didn't flinch at all when we walked by
-Marine iguanas riding the surf on an open ocean from a rocky outcropping
-Thousands of bright red sally lightfoot crabs scuttling to and fro among the animals and birds
-Several of the Galapagos penguins (similar to Magellanic variety) on the rocks and porpoising in the the water
-November/December is the end of the dry season. The waters are very clear that time of year, making it easy to see the turtles, rays, schools of fish, etc in the bays and cliffs off the islands.
-a zodiac run tracking a big pod of dolphins, who were running alongside and popping up directly alongside the sides of the craft.
-sea lions pups at Isabela island swimming right up to the snorkelers, nipping playfully at their flippers and twirling nearby, inviting them to play.
-the group who did the 7 day tour saw a young sea lion mother give birth
-one sea lion mom and pup having a lengthy (and contentious) barking session about when and for how long she was going to let the pup nurse. Lots of biting involved!

That said, this line has worked out a formula that's leading to a full ship with a largely international passenger list. From their perspective it's a case of "If it isn't broke, why fix it?"