Hola from Quito, Ecuador. Gary and I have just completed Beguiling Outdoor Observations By Yacht (BOOBY) onboard the Isabel II in the Galapagos Island. We opted for the 4 day itinerary. The ship was sold out (21 cabins, 40 people max).

I have no basis of comparison for this ship versus the other Galapagos only cruises, but can compare the expedition nature of the trip to a few other trips we have completed. This was more in keeping with a Yangtze river type of cruise than a Silver Explorer multi-day adventure. The food was quite good (tho the waiters were quite keen on clearing your place quickly - no closing the restaurant after dinner on this line) and the cabin stewards did a fabulous job of keeping clean, dry towels in a tiny cabin following wet landings and/or snorkeling.

The passenger mix was international - we were the only Americanos on board. One third did not use English as a functional language. Let's just say that made landing tours a challenge for everyone.

The one unique experience was the 'tortoise transfer'. A giant tortoise (think teenager) was blocking the roadway out of the restaurant. Our leader decided we had to move that tortoise to keep to our schedule. The men gamely put their backs into it and moved that tortoise out of the way. This, of course, led to 'how many tourists does it take to transport a tortoise?' and 'why does the tortoise cross the road?' conversation. These jokes do not translate well in a diverse group. At least we tried . Our fellow passengers tried, too. They started with trying to come up with the word for 'tortoise' in their functional language, followed by lots of confusion as to why we pronounce "tortoise" as tor-tus. They kept saying it 'tor-toys' so it rhymed with 'poise'.

Important things to know:

- wet landings are best handled with flip flops or open toe sandals. Bring walking shoes if needed with you
- this is a pretty $$$$ trip. We had 3 nights in Quito + 4 nights on ship. Metropolitan's service includes a much better luggage transfer option than what the other ships offer their passengers. I think Metropolitan's tours are among the best of the small ships plying the Galapagos waters with expedition itineraries. Was this worth the cost vs. Celebrity Expedition or one of the less expensive ships? I'll never know for sure, but the question is spinning in the back of my head.
- I've found the food a challenge for digestion, so expect I'd find that to be the case on any ship in this area.
- The best part is walking within a few yards or feet of the animals and reptiles without having them bolt out of the way.
- study the time of year you are considering going. We were there for sea lion pupping, with lots of moms and babies. Giant tortoises are gearing up for mating season in December.
- water is COLD. Real expedition members rent wet suits!
-Red footed boobies have it all over the blue footed or Nacza variety. Blue footed boobies must have a better marketing department, since they are the #1 thing emblazoned on the T-shirts, mugs, bags, etc.


Cheers, Anne

Anne, sounds like a prize itinerary. :) Someday, we would like to get to Galapagos; I wonder if it might be easier on the landing tours if Mother Superior could find 38 faithful to join her and Ken? ;)

Hi Marc - I think you'd enjoy a tour of the islands. It is REALLY remote and largely uninhabited by humans. The residents of the Galapagos Islands have first dibs on the jobs, so you interact with the human native population, too. Lots of time on paperwork is needed from what we could tell. We really liked our captain, who stuck his head out for about 1/2 an hour on 2 of the 4 days. It's similar to a safari - up early and a siesta time between lunch and the afternoon landing. All of the landings are via Zodiac (pangas to the locals) a la Antarctica.

For me, 4 days was enough. We had the option of a 3, 4 or 7 night itinerary. I believe the Ecuadorean authorities are tightening up access to the islands starting in 2012. That's why we decided to go this year.

Cheers, Anne

Sounds like a great trip!
Galapagos is surely on our list.
Hope to do it one day soon.

Thanks for the post, Anne!

Doug

Always enjoy hearing about your adventures, Anne! Thanks,

WOW Anne...what an adventure. I'm afraid I'd be lost without hearing English, glad you're having fun. I like Marc's idea! Thanks for the update.

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?"

Your wildlife sightings sound great. We did the Galapagos with Xpedition a couple of years ago. I would definitely do it again, and would repeat with Xpedition as we were overall pleased. All passengers were American, Canadian or British, which helped with no language issues. And the guides let us walk around on our own without a lot of commentary as long as we stayed on the prescribed paths.

boobies. love it. boobies, boobies and more boobies.

Anne, welcome home and thanks so much for sharing your experience. I have always enjoyed your writings!!! Would love to see pictures...

anne, your boobies (reports) did not disappoint :) welcome home! seems like so recently you wrote telling me you were getting ready to leave for this trip. i hope it was all you hoped for and so much more.