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During our Celebrity Xpedition cruise to Galapagos, we boarded the zodiacs and headed for Bartolome Island. Here we observed Galapagos Penguins on the shore. I was in heaven since I'd never seen penguins in the wild before.
I hope you enjoy this video. Be sure to check out my other videos on YouTube as well as my Blog posts on our trip.
Day 10 (Sunday, September 7th) was disembarkation day from Celebrity Xpedition. We had breakfast in Darwin's Restaurant, went back to our cabin to get our bags, and went up to deck 4 to wait for our departure. The Zodiacs took us back to the same pier where we had begun our cruise just a week earlier.
When we arrived at the pier dock, there was a sea lion resting on the bench. It was almost like he was waiting for us to arrive and had fallen asleep. People (including yours truly) were sitting next to the resting sea lion and having their picture taken while we waited for our buses.
The buses took us to Baltra airport where we had some time to shop in the local stores before being called to go through security and into a VIP waiting lounge. Once inside the lounge we were able to get refreshments while waiting for the charter TAME flight to arrive from Guayaquil.
The VIP lounge didn't have enough room for all of the passengers, so the airport staff opened another lounge which wasn't currently in use so everyone had a place to sit. It was quite warm in the building since it is not enclosed.
People were standing around outside the building watching for our plane. My husband even took a video of our plane landing. Once the plane landed, the airport personnel did ask people to go inside so that the disembarking passengers could make their way into the airport building.
The plane was serviced and it was time for us to board for our flight to Guayaquil and then on to Quito. Just as we did on the flight to Baltra, we had a refueling stop in Guayaquil. That is where the Xpeditions staff that were on our flight departed for the most part. We all clapped for them as they exited the plane. They really were a fantastic group of people.
Celebrity Xpeditions staff and the hotel staff handled all of our luggage. The luggage was delivered to our hotel room at the Quito Marriott shortly after we arrived back at the hotel. We picked up our additional bag from the bellman and went up to our room.
I'll talk more about the rest of our day in Quito in my next post.
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Back onboard after our morning excursion, we had lunch which consisted of a Mexican buffet. Following lunch there was a video presentation about the Galapagos Islands in Discovery Lounge.
The afternoon activity that we chose was the zodiac ride to Dragon Hill where a wet landing was made. We landed on a small beach which offered access to two different snorkeling spots. I stayed on the beach and took pictures while my husband got into his wet suit for the last time and did some snorkeling.
The water was warm near the beach but as you made your way futher out towards sea, the temperature dropped considerably. This is due to the various currents that run through the Galapagos Islands.
The water was also pretty murky. My husband did manage to see a stingray, a white-tipped shark, and some other fish. The visibility wasn't the best, so he didn't stay in the water very long.
We all boarded the Zodiac for the return to the ship. Since this was the final snorkeling activity for the week, once we got back on deck, we took out our personal belongings from the bag and turned in our gear. It had served us well during the week.
The events of the morning of day 7 changed my afternoon plans. We had a wet landing for our morning excursion. I wore my Teva shoes which worked out well for the excursion. When leaving the island, the waves were preventing the Zodiac from getting completely to the beach, so we had to wade out a bit to get back in. I decided to keep my Teva shoes off.
When we returned to the ship, I still had my shoes off and didn't think much about it. Unfortunately, while disembarking, my foot slipped and I managed to stub my toe. I didn't break it or anything but it was sore. I didn't think it would be a good idea to go hiking any distance with the sore toe, so I decided to change to the low intensity activity instead.
The low intensity activity consisted of a Zodiac ride along a channel between Isabela and Fernandina islands. We saw flightless cormorants, green sea turtles, sea lions, and iguanas. I was enjoying myself despite my sore toe. What happened next would become the highlight of the day.
One of the naturalists spotted Orca whales and announced it on the radios. Even on land the groups were aware that Mother Nature had blessed us with a special treat. Just a few feet from our Zodiac there was an Orca whale breaching the surface. We started to follow nearby, staying just far enough away not to invade its privacy. Before we knew it, there was a pod of 4 whales in the area giving us quite a show.
It was a pleasant surprise to see Orca whales just a few feet from our Zodiac. All of us, including the naturalist, got some amazing pictures. The most amazing picture was when one of the whales had a sea turle in its mouth. This was definitely a rare occassion. In fact, rarely are Orcas seen in this area.
So, my misfortune earlier that day turned out to be a great fortune after all. I would have been on land and missed this amazing sight. View pictures from my Zodiac adventure: Galapagos - Zodiac Ride Fernandina
I obviously can't say that you'll see Orcas if you go to Galapagos, but no matter what Mother Nature has in store for you during your visit, I can say you will cherish that for the rest of your life. I have many memories from this day and from the entire trip.
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Day 6 (Wednesday, Sept. 3rd) continued with our afternoon activity. This day turned out to be be one I was waiting for all my life. It was the day that I saw penguins in the wild for the first time. I love penguins, but up until now, I'd only seen them in captivity or on the television or movie screen.
Bartolomé Island (Spanish: Isla Bartolomé) is a volcanic islet in the Galápagos Islands just off Isla San Salvador’s Sullivan Bay coast. The tiny islet of Isla Bartolome is among the younger of the Galapagos Islands. With a total land area of just 1.2 sq km, this island offers some of the most beautiful landscapes in the archipelago.
One of the most famous landmarks in the Galapagos can also be found here, Pinnacle Rock, which is among the most frequently photographed vistas of this volcanic island chain.
Shown recently in the Hollywood movie ‘Master & Commander’, this towering rock face is actually an eroded lava formation. Formed when magma was expelled from an underwater volcano; the sea cooled the hot lava, which then exploded, only to come together and form this huge rock made up of many thin layers of basalt. Pinnacle Rock is considered to be the emblem of the Galapagos to many, and is one of the most recognizable sites here.
Tourists can get off on the island opposite Pinnacle Rock and then proceed to climb a 600m trail to Isla Bartolome’s 114m high summit. From here one is treated to some truly stunning views of Sullivan Bay, Isla San Salvador (Santiago), Pinnacle Rock and Islas Daphne.
Though a pretty desolate island with mostly dried shrubbery like candelabra cacti and a few lava lizards running about, what makes this island so special besides Pinnacle Rock is the fact that out here, one can spot the ever playful Galapagos Penguins, which are the second smallest penguin species in the world. They are the only penguin to cross the Northern Hemisphere which means they live more north than any other warm weather penguin.
Found near Pinnacle Rock’s shore or swimming in the waters around the Rock, these penguins are a joy to watch as they can be found nowhere else on earth, especially in such warm climates.
Our afternoon activity was a Zodiac ride along the coast searching for penguins and enjoying the geological formations. We saw several penguins on shore and playing in the water just a short distance away from our Zodiac.
After cruising along the coast we made a wet landing on the beach. We proceeded to cross the Isthmus that separates the two beaches found on Bartolomé. The Blue-Footed Boobies were diving for food on the other side of the beach. It was an amazing site to watch them dive into the water.
Following the hike, we had time for swimming and snorkeling with the penguins, sea lions, and tropical fish. So far, this was the best day of our cruise yet.
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All of Day 5 (Tuesday, Sept. 2nd) was spent on Floreana Island. Our afternoon activity was a Zodiac ride, wet landing and hike to Baroness Lookout.
In the 1930’s Floreana became a setting for intrigue and mystery. A German dentist and his mistress, a young family (the Wittmer family who still live on the island) and self proclaimed baroness with three men came to settle in the island. Shortly after the baroness and her lovers arrived chaos began. They terrorized the other inhabitants while planning to build a luxury hotel.
Eventually, the baroness, her two lovers and the dentist all turned up missing or dead. There has been much investigation searching for what really happened on Floreana, but there have never been any hard answers. For this reason, Floreana is referred to as the “island of mystery”.
The landing site in the afternoon was supposedly used by the baroness to spot ships that would come to visit these “eccentric” residents of Floreana. From there we had a hike to the lookout. Due to the wet landing, we had our Teva shoes on. We definitely suggest footwear such as that since the last portion of the hike is along a steep incline with stairs built into the path that are quite a distance apart. Make sure to bring your hiking stick with you for this activity.
Once arriving at the lookout, we had a magnificent view of the surrounding area. There is a wooden platform at the top so you can rest a bit before returning to the Zodiacs.
This was one of the more picturesque spots that we visited during our Galapagos journey. Be sure to visit Galapagos - Baroness Lookout and our other photo albums for more pictures.
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