Galapagos 2021

9/26/2021: Today we said goodbye to the amazing Galapagos Islands and boarded our plane back to mainland Ecuador where we will spend a day in Quito before heading home to the US flying through Miami then on to San Francisco. This trip was truly unforgettable and worthy of a top spot on the bucket list!

Saturday 9/25/2021 Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos: Today is our last full day in the Galapagos. This morning we embarked on an early morning zodiac ride to Santa Cruz Island where we boarded a bus for the Charles Darwin Research and Tortoise Breeding Centers. As this is one of the 1st populated areas we have visited […]

Friday 9/24/2021 San Cristobal Island, Galapagos: The morning was spent cruising around the iconic Kicker Rock. This is supposed to be the best dive/snorkel spot in the Galapagos, but alas we were only cruising by on our way to the beach at Punta Pitt on San Cristóbal island. We had a wet landing on the […]

Thursday 9/23/2021 afternoon North Seymour Island, Galapagos: Dan had a nice deep-water snorkel off the island before joining Sue for a walk through the bird nesting areas of North Seymour. Just WOW! It has to be experienced! Young and old blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, land iguanas, and sea lions abound. Pictures cannot convey […]

Thursday 9/23/2021 morning Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos: We began the morning with a wet landing on Las Bachas beach on the island of Santa Cruz. During our stroll along the beach, we were greeted by Sea Lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, American Flamingos, Oyster Catchers, and Marine Iguanas. We also visited a sea turtle nesting area. […]

Wednesday 9/22/2021 afternoon Bartolomé Island, Galapagos: The boat remained anchored by Santiago Island this afternoon and we turned our attention to the other side of Sullivan Bay to the island of Bartolomé . Here Dan climbed the 365 steps to the top of the Island to enjoy the sweeping views while Sue enjoyed an extended […]

Wednesday 9/22/2021 morning Santiago Island, Galapagos: This morning we found ourselves back at Santiago Island. This time anchored in Sullivan Bay and went ashore to explore the relatively new lava fields (~150 yrs old) that dominate this side of the island. The field pahoehoe type lava was formed around the 2nd half of the 19th […]

Tuesday 9/21/202 Isabela Island, Galapagos: This morning we boarded the zodiacs early this morning and set out in search of the wildlife that inhabit the shallow mangroves of Elizabeth Bay on the island of Isabela. We were not disappointed. As our zodiac pilot expertly navigated the narrow rock filled channels and tricky currents of the […]

Monday 9/20/2021 afternoon Rabida Island, Galapagos: This afternoon we journeyed via zodiac to the red sandy beaches of Rabida. The island gets is red color from the ”rusting” iron rich basaltic lava that comprises a majority of its soil. After another “wet landing”, we proceeded to take a walk around the coastline and interior trails […]

Monday 9/20/2021 morning, Santiago Island, Galapagos: Today we boarded the zodiacs to make the short journey from the ship to make a wet landing along the beach. This trip has 2 kinds of zodiac landings, a wet landing is where you must wade through the water to get to shore & a dry landing you […]

Sunday, 9/19/2021: Today we flew from Quito, Ecuador to join the ship in Baltra Island in the Galapagos! We started the morning with breakfast and a COVID antigen test and health screening followed by a quick ride to the airport for a 2-hour charter flight to the Galapagos. After passing through the entry formalities (all […]

Spent a great day exploring Old Town Quito, Ecuador as well as the Intinan Museum (Museum of the Indigenous Peoples) Some of the notable highlights of the old town were: Basílica del Voto Nacional (Bacilica of the National Vow), Monastery of Saint Francis, The La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús ( Gorgeous Jesuit Church, […]

The day is here. We are boarding the plane for a flight to Quito, Ecuador where we will spend a couple of days touring before continuing on to the Galapagos Islands. We are flying from SFO to Miami and then on the Quito. It is a very long (over 24 hour) travel day. We obtained […]

Saturday afternoon happenings at the land home. If all goes as planned, we will be leaving late next week for an 11 day adventure to explore the Galapagos Islands! This is another of our bucket list trips. Sue spent the day organizing the various travel documents, reservations, itineraries, health records, etc. while Dan tried on […]

Tuesday night happenings: Ankle deep in planning our last big trip for 2021, we went way “North” with Iceland, now time to explore “South”…. More to follow, planning to go to Peru and Ecuador (Galapagos and Machu Picchu). We have technically been to these countries via big cruise ships, now we will have the time […]