Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 10 can be found here.
Up at 5:40 am – but there’s been a time zone shift, so that’s practically 6:40 am, right? Right?
It was an early start, no matter how you look at it. But at least we had this incredible view:
Early this morning, we had anchored inside the harbour of Genovese – which, practically speaking, meant that we were currently inside the flooded crater of a volcano.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around that.
We also had a delicious breakfast waiting for us:
There aren’t really any a-la-carte breakfast options, but you can place your omelette or egg order at the chef’s station and they will then bring it out to you. It’s a simple enough system, but it works quite well.
It also gave me the chance to try Ecuadorian white pineapple
We were done breakfast in about 20 minutes, and then back to the room to get ready for our adventurous hike on Prince Philip’s Steps.
I have to say, I really like the ‘base camp’ system used on the Origin – it’s a lot better than the mudroom on the Cloud – where we inevitably would end up sitting at the restaurant, waiting for our Zodiac group to be called. This way we can sit right by the loading deck, taking much of the guesswork out of the process
Before we knew it, it was time to return to a familiar feeling – the thrill of climbing into a Zodiac and pulling up to a brand-new location.
The wildlife here is absolutely incredible:
A Nazca boobie – just a few feet from us, immediately after we landed
They tell you to keep six feet back from the wildlife for a reason. We immediately saw red footed boobies, Nazca boobies, and frigate birds – many of which were nesting – and we hadn’t even taken off our life vests.
A red-footed boobie – also within arm’s reach from the path
We continued along the rough, volcanic path until we were walking along the far cliffside.
Lava tubes and earthquakes have left the island streaked with crevasses
It was at this point that our guide, Carla, managed to spot a Galapagos short-eared owl through the scope. But unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a good shot of it.
A nesting frigate bird
The scale of the seabirds on this island is remarkable:
And on the return trip, a true treat – a short-eared owl almost close enough to touch:
A Galapagos mockingbird
Then back to the Zodiac and return to the ship. It was a nice, short excursion.
Back to our staterooms, and we had a few minutes to relax before it was time to change into our snorkelling equipment.
Thankfully, my wife had thought to pick us all up ‘dive skins aka stinger suits’ – full body nylon suits that go on underneath our wetsuits – so we were going to have an extra layer of protection from both the sun and the environment. It also made it much easier to get the wetsuit on and off.
Silversea had provided bags for the snorkels and fins, so it was simply a matter of heading down to Base Camp to grab towels and await our Zodiac down to the beach.
We weren’t the only ones there, however.
But the sea lions seemed content to share.
Our expedition guide took us through the process of fitting and sizing our masks and straps, and then cleaning the glass with baby shampoo so as to prevent it from fogging once we were underway. We also went through a refresher on snorkelling signs – from the hand-on-head ‘okay’ symbol to the straight arm ‘come get me’, to the waved-arm ‘I’m in trouble’.
We then entered the water still in water shoes so that we could field-test our equipment before fully committing. It was a careful approach, but it worked well for all involved, including the kids.
Then we were off and away – free to explore, provided that we didn’t go beyond a large rock about 50 metres out from the beach.
There wasn’t much to see initially. How little we knew about what was to come.
We went back for our fins – being careful not to step on any sea lions in the process – and then got underway.
The sea was hazy, but we still saw a range of fish:
(Meanwhile, a sea lion tried to grab my daughter’s flipper. We think it was just having fun – though we’re not entirely sure.)
We were just about ready to head in when we saw a guide checking out a spot near one of the closer rocks. We went to have a look – and found ourself amidst a school of white-tipped sharks:
They look menacing, but they’re no threat to humans. As our guide pointed out, there was another sea lion just a few feet away, playing. If they weren’t a threat to the sea lion, they weren’t a threat to us.
All too soon, it was time to head back to the beach and get ready to return to the Origin. I’m glad that we took some time to refresh our snorkelling skills rather than head directly to the deep-sea dive – but we were also quite pleased that the guide said we should have no issues doing the deep-sea dive next time around.
Back aboard the Origin, we went through the bio-security protocol to rinse and hang our dive gear, and then wrapped ourselves in pre-heated robes, grabbed some mugs of hot chocolates and Canelazo, and then headed back to our staterooms to shower and hang up our stinger suits.
On that subject, the crowd is definitely a lot younger than it was on the Cloud. Our daughter is still the youngest on board by at least a few years, but there are a fair number of 12 to 15 year olds, as well as older teenagers and young adults. Everyone’s been well behaved thus far (even the adults).
Time for lunch at the Grill, where the kids each had a hamburger while I had the octopus ceviche accompanied with popcorn and plantain chips (in the Ecuadorian fashion), followed by the grilled cod with cassava fritters and profiteroles.
All of it was very good.
We definitely notice the limited menu here on the Origin, but I wouldn’t say that it’s affecting our enjoyment of the cruise at all (perhaps apart from the lack of rare steak, though that’s a minor complaint). The dishes are all very well done, and we’ve had plenty of fuel to see us on our excursions.
I then retired for a brief nap and after that headed off for the kayak briefing, which was much the same as the ones on the Cloud for British Isles and Greenland – the main difference being the lack of a drysuit being required in Galapagos.
However, some kind of top-cover is required if for no other reason than to prevent transferring a massive amount of sunscreen to the Silversea lifejackets.
They asked if anyone was a ‘solo traveler’ (which I am not, but I presumed their intent was to find ‘solo kayakers’ – which I am). I raised my hand, along with another passenger. The kayak leader essentially said that we’d need to coordinate amongst ourselves to figure out a time to go as it was too much work for expedition staff to play matchmaker. This seemed a bit strange, though thankfully – when I went to sign off the briefing attendance sheet – one of the other kayak guides said they’d figured it out on their end.
I’ll be interested to see how the supply and demand works out for kayaking – previously, it was done via a kind of lottery system, but here they seemed to think that they would be able to have enough room for most guests. I’ll report back – but first I’ll need to find a time slot in which I would rather kayak than take in the land-based expeditions. And that might be a tough bar to reach.
Then off to the observation lounge to sit and relax for a while. The kids both enjoyed a lovely hot chocolate, while I had a coffee – and an in-depth conversation.
You see, the onboard cruise manager on the Origin is offering a discount of 10% compared to the usual 5%. Factor in Venetian savings, and we might be able to save as much as 15% off a future cruise.
The downside? The offer is only valid for cruises before December 2025, and we already have a 40 day cruise booked for earlier that year.
Counterpoint – 10% discount.
Seriously, though, there’s a really good deal available on a [destination redacted by my wife so none of you poach our staterooms before we commit] expedition cruise, and we’re supremely tempted. But it would require us to completely rejig our trip planned for early 2026.
But that decision would have to wait until later, because it was time to head down to Base Camp for our nature walk.
We saw much of the same wildlife as we had during our morning walk, with the addition of a few new spottings:
You genuinely have to be careful not to accidentally get too close to a sea lion
A yellow-crowned night heron
Baby frigate bird
We were also thrilled to watch a ‘nest handover’ between a female and male Nazca boobie.
And some adorable sea lions frolicking in the tidal pools:
We then waded deeper inland along a shallow stream. With the sun poised to set, it was a truly beautiful view:
Our guide explained that the towers were there as a navigation aid dating back to the pre-GPS era, when ships’ navigators would line up the towers so they could enter the harbour safely.
There’s also some pre-1950s ships’ graffiti:
But it was soon time to head back to the Zodiac for a wet-water exit back to the Origin.
Off to the showers to rinse off our feet, and then back to the room to enjoy a small amouse-bouche of breaded shrimp and crostini with guacamole.
Again, delicious.
We had a bit of time, so we took care of a few mid-trip errands like putting laundry away and making our initial contribution to the crew fund.
We also investigated some unexpected notes that had been left into our room inquiring as to whether we would be stopping in Guayaquil or carrying on to Quito.
This struck us as unusual, as we thought that Silversea would be flying us back to Guayaquil and no further – so we had already gone ahead and made our own arrangements to fly back to Quito. But now it looks like Silversea might be flying us instead – which would be fine with us, as our tickets are 100% refundable.
To be frank, we’re not holding our collective breaths on this. There have been many different changes on this trip, and it was only recently that we found out that we would be offered another night stay at Oro Verde in Guayaquil on our way out. (Which we will be declining in favour of immediately travelling back to Quito.)
So maybe we get a refund on our flights, and maybe we don’t. We’ll wait and see.
We also received an update regarding the Champagne situation, in which we learned that Champagne is not, in fact, included as part of the regular wine list. It’s only available on the premium wine list.
I found this surprising, but on a cruise-related importance scale of 1 to 10 I’d that Champagne vs. Prosecco weighs in at about a 2, while access to free laundry weighs in at an 11. So we’re not going to make a big deal of this.
Even so, our butler very kindly offered to find us a top-notch bottle of French sparkling wine, so we’re going to check that out to see if we prefer it to the delicious prosecco we’ve enjoyed thus far.
I’d also been having issues with my key card, but learned that I’d been holding it too close to the lock. So another minor issue resolved by our well-informed butler, Jaoa.
Off to the Explorer’s Lounge, where expedition guide Ernesto put on a fantastic lecture on volcanic formations – apt given the origins of the Galapagos, and our presence in a volcanic crater earlier today. It was really well done – we’ve visited quite a few volcanic destinations before, from Iceland to Montserrat, but we learned a lot about the different type of volcanoes and lava flows.
The crew also put together some delicious drinks, including the Cerro Dragon:
And they managed to find a few extra cookies for the kids:
Then it was time for tomorrow’s briefing, where we learned that we would be sailing to North Seymour island for tomorrow morning.
(We’ll be passing the equator again around midnight. Fernando offered to host a midnight equator party – no takers, given the hours that we’re currently keeping.)
Fernando then showed a video of the trail we’d be walking tomorrow, and why it was given the grade of ‘Adventurous’. This sort of tools is immensely helpful, but as mentioned earlier I feel like it would be better if it was provided further in advance.
He also told us that we expect to see blue footed boobies tomorrow, as well as the Galapagos land iguana. We’d initially been planning to take the Zodiac tour instead, but how do you turn down blue footed boobies?!
There will be another opportunity to snorkel – deep water this time, and then we will be heading to Santiago to explore the relatively brand-new lava flow of this island.
Then off to dinner at the grill.
We had tuna tartar:
And the tenderloin on hot rocks:
The kids went to bed at this stage, so I swung down to the Restaurant for a quick dessert – Pavlova:
We then retired to our stateroom to enjoy some of the French sparkling wine – good, but the Prosecco is equally good – and to watch the swallow-tailed gulls match pace with the ship.
Continue reading Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 12.