Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 14 can be found here.
Good morning, Espanaola!
Leisure time and snorkelling at the beach begins at 7:30 am today, but we’re planning to do both beach snorkelling and open water snorkelling in the hopes of encountering some sea lions – so we’ve decided to start later so as to avoid getting too chilled or water logged.
This means that we’re up at a very reasonable 7:15 am this morning. Off for another delicious breakfast, and then into our stinger suits and wetsuits for a landing on this beautiful sandy beach in the hopes of snorkelling with sea liions.
There are plenty of sea lions about, but few of them seem intent on swimming.
Nevertheless, we hop into the water and enjoy a brief spot of snorkelling.
And our perseverance is rewarded:
Back to the beach to lounge in the sand, warm up, and get ready to head to our open water snorkelling. Some of the Zodiacs are departing from the Origin, while others are leaving right from the beach. We leave from the beach, and are the first group to arrive at the dive site.
Thus begins the most incredible dive I’ve ever experienced:
There are no words for what it’s like to be swimming in the ocean like this, surrounded by playful sea lions. It was an absolutely incredible experience – perhaps the top highlight of this trip.
The water was again cool, and a few of us got out a bit early. But the rest of the group carried on into a cave filled with fish and sea lions alike:
But they too soon boarded the Zodiac.
Back to the Origin, where we took place in the ‘equatorial’ plunge – we did the polar plunge when we were in Greenland, so we were excited to carry on the tradition.
Plus, this time the crew didn’t feel the need to tie a line to my daughter so that they could haul her in like a fish if needed. (Though we completely understand why they did so last summer, given the temperature of the Arctic water.)
Fingers are firmly crossed that we’ll be able to complete the ‘trio’ (Arctic, Antarctic, and equatorial) when we go on our Cape-to-Cape cruise next February.
After we had drank the Origin out of hot chocolate, we returned to the Restaurant for a delicious lunch:
I started with the tuna and peanut ceviche:
And then went on to the salmon and French fries:
While my wife had the chicken tikka masala:
My son had fettucine Bolognese:
And for dessert, the tamarillo cheesecake and dark chocolate mousse:
I took a brief power nap, and then we went up to the bridge for a tour.
When they say ‘Restricted area’, they mean it
We learned that swells in the Galapagos are generally around 1 metre, but can get as high as 2.5 metres. The draft of the Origin is only 4.5 metres, which seems surprisingly small given the size of the vessel.
There are always two officers watching the bridge. Much of the sailing can be done automatically, and they have multiple systems for propulsion – main propulsion and maneuvering thrusters. In addition to the regular safety drills, they do large safety drills monthly – these include simulations for fire safety, medical emergencies, and so on.
It takes four years of merchant marine training to become a bridge officer, or even longer if they want to specialize – for example, in navigation.
It was really informative for the kids, and we’re really glad we did it. They don’t really advertise bridge tours but they are often available upon request.
We then landed on Punta Suarez for a ‘challenging’ nature walk.
There was an absolute ton of marine iguanas, plus nesting waved albatrosses:
And even a Galapagos hawk:
This was the first time our guide, Andy, had come this close to a hawk eating a fresh kill
The views were stunning:
And there was a natural ‘blowhole’ where water would blast up from the surf:
We spotted some of the nesting albatrosses engaged in their courtship ritual – not currently available due to technical issues, but please check back later to for when it’s reposted.
Even when not mating, the albatrosses continue to clack beaks – this is believed to help strengthen their bond.
We were there for almost two and a half hours before heading back to the ship.
Back to the room where we munched on snacks – a cheese plate, and chips and guac – left by our butler:
Shower and change, and then off to the Explorer’s Lounge where I had an Old Fashioned:
Then the briefing – we’d be back at San Cristoble tomorrow. There’s an early morning hike on offer, but we’re going to go with a Zodiac cruise instead. Then my wife and daughter will go snorkelling, while my son and I will try stand-up paddleboarding. There’s also a beach visit in the afternoon. Sounds like a nice, easy wind-down to a hectic trip.
Then off to dinner at the Restaurant:
I had the tuna carpaccio:
And my wife had the cannelloni:
Then we both had the seafood stew:
This was okay, but not as good as many of the other seafood offerings aboard the Origin.
Then tiramisu:
Back to the room, where the bag tags have sadly arrived:
We’re not sure of the significance of the colour, however – we’ve been blue group throughout the cruise. Does this mean we’ll be switching to green group for our departure? Confusingly, there was also a blue and yellow group during the initial transfers.
But that is a problem for tomorrow.
First and foremost – we needed to figure out a way to burn off our excess stateroom credit. Solution: Moet.
We’ve also upgraded our internet, which has been particularly helpful these past few days while uploading video.
Off to our verandah, where we watched the moon turn a golden orange before sinking below the horizon:
Continue reading Ecuador and the Galapagos – Day 16.