Expedition to Galapagos

Ahoy Mates!  Batten down the hatches and secure your booty in a comfortable seat.  We are about to embark on an adventure on the high seas and land that takes us to distant shores to a Land Beyond Expectations.

This is the captain, gather ‘round to learn about our vessel, Celebrity Flora®, before we depart on our expedition to a land beyond expectations, Galapagos Islands.  She is a beauty, the first of its kind built specially to traverse the Galapagos archipelago.   Alas, only 100 souls can make this journey on this ship along with the naturalists that are familiar with the terrain and its inhabitants.

Each of your suites provide an outward-facing view of our surroundings.  Be vigilant throughout our journey so you do not overlook anything.   When we stop to go ashore, we will board landing craft while our ship remains stationary without even weighing our anchor.  This way the natives will not even hear us coming.

Over one hundred sixty years ago, a man wrote about his quest that took him to a place where he would discover how life evolved thousands of years ago.  We are about to follow in his footsteps and discover a land that is inhabited by species that can be found nowhere else on earth.  Sit back, relax, and watch this briefing. 

Captain, Isn't travel here dangerous now?   

No Mates, we have safety & health protocols in place:

(Click images to enlarge)

Why Visit Galapagos

The Galapagos Islands contain a unique combination of land and oceanic ecosystems, with many distinct habitats found in each. The Galapagos are located at the point where major ocean currents meet and the islands straddle the junctions between several shifting tectonic plates. This area is truly unlike any other place on earth.

The Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR), one of the world's largest protected areas, has more than 2,900 reported marine species and over 18% of those live nowhere else on earth. Some of the best-known coastal animals of Galapagos include sea lions, fur seals, flightless cormorants, albatrosses, three species of booby, two frigatebird species, sea turtles, the marine iguana, and penguins.

 

Stopping at Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is the most famous beaches in the world and one of the most popular stops on the Sydney Big Bus Tour. It can be reached by the Blue Route, which is currently suspended, but was in operation when we were in Sydney. This is a must see attraction in our opinion.

We had about an hour to get something to eat and explore the town and beach before the next Big Bus came along and we were able to continue our journey.

 

click images to enlarge

According to Wikipedia "Bondi," originally "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word which had the meaning of "noise made by sea waves breaking on the beach," which is essentially the definition of "surf" in contemporary American English. As you can see from images captured during our visit to Bondi Beach, this is quite an appropriate name.

Lunch Break & Beach Time

The Big Bus dropped us off near some restaurants and shops which were just down the block and across the street from the beach.  Since we only had an hour, we opted for a quick lunch at McDonald's.  We were in the mood for a taste of home anyway since we'd been gone over 14 days at this point.  After lunch we crossed the bridge, seen in this photo, to the sprawling beach.  It would be a great place for a picnic or just to hang out and enjoy the surf and sun.  As you can see, the beach was quite crowded, but no one seemed to mind as there was plenty of room.

We got to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus and resume our tour.  We still had plenty to see before the tour was concluded.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Bondi Beach

Big Bus Sydney




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Where is Chris - Bartender And Mixologist Day

Today is  Bartender And Mixologist Day.  We were on a cruise when this picture was taken.  We booked a shore excursion which included a tour of this popular destination.  Before the tour you can enjoy a welcome drink in this tropical setting. Can you guess where we are?

Make your kids favorite "kiddy cocktail" today.  Why should they be left out during this time?  Rumor has it that liquor sales have really sky-rocketed.    #KeepTheKidsEngaged.

We hope you are enjoying this series of  "Where is Chris" posts.  We'd love your feedback on our social media.

Where is Chris?

Where is Chris    Learn More

Here is today's destination  can you guess where we are? As promised, we've updated yesterday's post, Where is Chris - National Food Truck Day, with the answer to the puzzle.  Revisit that post and just scroll over the image to reveal the answer.  You can also click on the link below the picture to read more.    

Make sure to follow us on our social media, so you don't miss any destinations. 

If you can't wait for tomorrow for the answer, you can take my quiz in my Instagram story.

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Where is Chris - Museum Comes to Life Day

In our Where is Chris mini series, we've often written blog posts related to one of the day's themes as featured on checkiday.com.  We couldn't resit "Museums Come to Life Day" which occurs on June 24th each year.    The first thing that came to mind when seeing this day, was the "Night at the Museum" movies.   Wouldn't it be cool to be in your favorite museum when the "inhabitants" came to life?   Before reading the text, can you guess Where is Chris?

Click to enlarge - National Museum Album

We've visited many museums around the world, so we thought we'd feature some of them here and you can let your imagination bring them to life.

National Museum

Let's start our journey through museums of the world in one of our most recent visits. While on a Southeast Asia cruise we visited Kuala Lumpur, or commonly known as KL, Malaysia. Our first stop was at the Malaysia   National Museum, which was built in the style of a Malay palace. Can you just imagine if these pre-historic figures came to life during your visit?   Visit the virtual gallery where the museum comes to life.  (flash enabled)

Sabah Museum Album

Sabah Museum

Next stop on our journey today is the Sabah Museum in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The first thing that greets you as you enter the museum are enormous skeletal remains. My first thought was dinosaur! It was only when I walked closer and read the information that it was a Bryde’s whale.

As you walk through the museum, you come across a Bajau horsemen in full regalia. These horsemen perform as outriders for ceremonial and state functions. Imagine he comes to life and takes you through the rest of the museum,  just like in "Night at the Museum". He'd probably lead you to the Galleri Busana Textile Gallery, where some of his friends were waiting to tag along.

Salesian Museum

Salesian Museum Album

Our final stop on this museum tour today is in South America.  After seeing penguins in their natural surroundings in Punta Arenas, Chile, we explored the city.

The tour took us to the Salesian Museum. One of the most visited rooms is the one devoted to Southern Patagonia, which displays a faithful recreation of the Cave of the Hands.

The objects and documents from the Salesian days, the handicrafts and tools made by the natives, along with the fossils and petrified animals from the area are also part of the displays in the museum.   Imagine if these cave men or the animals came to life.

These are just a few of our candidates for museums that could come to life.   If you've not found enough inspiration, explore many more museums in our Cruise Diaries posts.

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New Zealand Manuka Honey

click to enlarge image

Mossop’s Honey

After leaving Hobbiton, our tour guide said that if we didn't have any delays, we could make a quick stop to view the local bees and taste New Zealand Manuka honey or try one of their delicious ice-creams before we headed back to Tauranga port. We got there shortly after 5 PM, thirty minutes before closing time.

We toured the live honey bee display, tasted some honey, and had an ice cream cone.

Mossop’s is a family business that has been producing and packaging top quality honeys for over 70 years. Mossop’s Honey is delicious liquid gold produced from the nectar of flowers within

the beautiful South Pacific setting of New Zealand’s native bush and pasture lands with its crystal clear lakes, rivers and oceans, and snow capped mountains often forming a clean, green picturesque back drop for the beehives.

Returning to Port

We headed back along the inner harbor past the local fishing boats, over the Harbor bridge to the Port of Tauranga.  Since it was after 6 PM when we returned, we didn't go to dinner in the main dining room, but decided to have pizza in Alfredo's Pizzeria.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Tauranga
McLaren Falls Park
Hobbiton
New Zealand Honey



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Where have you explored? 

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