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Live from the Galapagos on Silversea November 5-12


RachelG
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We are off on a new adventure. This time to the Galapagos aboard Silversea Galapagos.

 

As a bit of background, we have been there once before on celebrity xpedition. We loved the nature, hiking, etc, but we both agreed we would not go back until there was a better option. Our cabin was just ok, but we spent most time outside, so that was not a huge deal. The main issue was the quality of the food. Food has to be pretty much locally sourced there by law, so that is limiting. But you should still try for quality.

 

When we learned about the Silversea ship a few years ago, I started kind of keeping an eye on things, and it appears they have their act together now. So it is time for a return visit.

 

We are with a great group of friends who we have traveled with before, so it will be a fun trip.

 

Currently in Miami at the airport Hilton. Our flight to Quito is in the morning.

 

I will try to post daily if the Internet cooperates. If anyone has specific questions, just ask!

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Thanks for starting this live review Rachel. I have enjoyed reading your previous cruise blogs.

 

Doing a Galapagos cruise with Silversea around this time of year is on our to do list so it will be great to follow along with you.

 

Julie

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November 4,2016--Quito Ecuador

 

 

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. And no, I don't mind answering questions.

 

An amusing anecdote to start the day. We spent the night at the Miami airport Hilton. We were upgraded to a huge suite. (Why does that always happen when we are staying 8 hours or less?)

 

Anyway, George laid out his clean shirt for today on the coffeemaker. No idea why he put it there, but he did. So this morning he goes to put it on and says "omg, I smell like coffee." I agreed, but it's not a bad smell so he kept it on.

 

We get to the airport, through security, and are headed up to the centurion lounge in the elevator. A lady who got on with us says "wow, I smell some really good coffee!" George and I just started cracking up, and I said "that's just my husband. It's his new cologne."

 

Despite a 1hour delay in taking off from Miami, ostensibly due to the pilot getting stuck in traffic, but I bet he overslept, we actually arrived in Quito ontime.

 

Silversea puts everyone at the Marriott precruise. We had stayed there previously, and the hotel has definitely been updated. Very comfortable room. Public areas are quite nice.

 

After dinner with friends at the theatrum, an Ecuadorian restaurant that is located above the national theater, we had an early evening as we have to be up tomorrow at 5 am for our flight to the Galapagos.

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November 5,2016--embarkation--Baltra Galapagos

 

We were up early as our luggage had to be out in the hall for pickup at 5:30 am. We had a good buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant included. Made to order omelets, bacon, sausage, all sorts of bread and pastries, fresh fruit, and the addition of several South American dishes.

 

We were transported by bus to the airport. Limit of one checked bag and one carry on per person, though some people had more than 1 carry on. The flight was in a commercial Latam plane. While our group took up most of the seats, there were locals on board as well. All flights from Quito have to stop in Guayaquil to refuel as there is no place to refuel on the islands. So that was about 40 minutes on the ground. We had to sit on the plane with our seat belts off in case of fire.

 

After taking on a few more passengers, we flew on to Baltra, which is an island not part of the national park. It is a airbase for the Ecuadorian Air Force and a coast guard base, as well as being the location of the airport. Very arid island with just scrub around. No scenery here except for other islands in the distance.

 

Buses took us the short distance to a dock where we took our first zodiac ride to the ship, accompanied by our hand luggage. The ship personnel brought over the rest of the luggage.

 

Quick check in and we were off to lunch at the grill, the outdoor eating area at the stern on deck 5. It is a really nice large space, much larger and with much more seating and serving area than the similar area on Silversea Explorer. They have an very fresh salad bar, then you place your other orders at your table. Today's choices were grilled seabass with veggies, hot dog and French fries, grilled octopus with veggies, margarita pizza, and spaghetti pomodoro. I had the seabass which was perfectly cooked as were the vegetables.

 

After unpacking, we attended mandatory orientation and lifeboat drill. Then those who want to snorkel were fitted with their gear. I worked out in the gym instead. The gym is on the top deck, and is very adequate for this size ship, with 2 elliptical, an exercise bike, and weight machines. Way larger than on explorer. And has big picture windows. My only complaint is that it was very hot for working out, and I could not figure out how to adjust the temperature.

 

We are in a terrace suite. There are two of these right at the front on deck 5. Larger than most of the others cabins on the ship but no private balcony. Instead, the two share a very large terrace at the front of the ship. In theory, anyone could go up there, but so far, no one else has found it. There is a lot of comfortable lounge furniture out there.

 

Bathroom is small but adequate with a decent sized shower, single sink, and enough storage space. The cabin itself has two good sized wardrobes and a sitting area which can be separated from the sleeping area by a curtain. There is a couch and two chairs in the sitting area as well as a long desk that runs the length of the room. The windows look out toward the front of the ship.

 

Delicious dinner in the dining room. It is a different style venue in that it is very long. Very narrow. Largest tables are for 6. But the food and wine (all South American) was very good. It was like Silversea with a South American accent.

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"We are in a terrace suite. There are two of these right at the front on deck 5. Larger than most of the others cabins on the ship but no private balcony. Instead, the two share a very large terrace at the front of the ship. In theory, anyone could go up there, but so far, no one else has found it. There is a lot of comfortable lounge furniture out there."

 

Rachel, thanks for your posts. I believe we were in the same terrace cabins on our cruise, and we really enjoyed the extra space and location on the ship.

 

We were unfortunately on one of the first cruises with Silverseas, and they had several issued that I am glad to see have been resolved. The grill was our favorite eating venue, and the only one we were consistently happy with. It sounds like the main dinning room has had great improvement. You will certainly enjoy the cruise. The island and animals are really special here. Are you going on the Eastern or Western island cruise? We were on the Eastern leg which includes the "older" islands and has much more vegetation than those on the Western side.

 

Looking forward to you next post.

 

Charles

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November 6, 2016--Genovesa Island, Galapagos

 

After a nice slight rocking sleep, we arrive at Genovesa Island. It is volcanic, with the caldera in the middle where the ship would anchor today, the most northern of the islands that we will visit. We crossed over the equator during the night.

 

Lots of us were up to view the sail into the caldera at 6 am. It was bright and sunny with temps in the upper 70s. Birds were flying all around, and the sun was completely up, so very scenic. Tall cliffs on 2 sides, a sandy/rocky beach with mangroves behind on the far side, and the opening of the caldera behind us. Very arid as it is the end of the dry season. There are deciduous plants (I wouldn't really call them trees) on the tops of the cliffs, but right now they have no leaves and look dead.

 

There are 100 passengers on the ship, so we are divided into two groups and will stay in the same group number for the entire cruise. You have to tell them if you want to be in a group with friends. Since there is a limit on how many can land at a site at a time, group 1 goes to one in the morning and another in the afternoon, while group 2 does the opposite.

 

For the morning, we were on the easy walk, which was so easy anyone who could walk well enough to get on and off the zodiacs could do it. It was a wet landing, and while we have done many of these, some had not so needed instruction. Totally flat sandy path from the beach in a circle. I wore my water shoes the whole time without difficulty.

 

We saw boobies--all varieties of them. Red footed, blue footed, Nasca, brown, white. There were lots of adolescents and some still in nests. I am not a person who likes to wear hats, but with all the birds flying, I could see the utility.

 

We also saw some frigatebirds and a bunch of different types of gulls. There were several sea lions on the beach and in the little sheltered pools formed by lava rocks. On the rocks were lots of orange and red crabs, some really big ones, and a single iguana.

 

After this, we went back to the ship. Those who wanted could go deep water snorkeling off the zodiacs, while others went snorkeling off the beach. The deep water group reported excellent sightings of all types of fish and a shark. Off the beach, there wasn't that much to see as the water was more murky.

 

Water temp was chilly. George did it without a wet suit, but most people wore wet suits. They do have them, as well as snorkeling gear, on the ship, and it is in pretty good condition. So unless you needed prescription lenses, no need to bring your own.

 

We had another great lunch at the grill. Today's feature was lobster. It has to be locally sourced and was a little tough, but had a good flavor. They also had some amazing avocado and chicken soup as well as the usual salad bar.

 

In early afternoon, they showed a movie about the Galapagos which I had seen previously, so I went to the very warm gym instead.

 

Our afternoon excursion was to the top of the cliffs. A dry landing then up some very steep rocks for about 35 feet to the top. Once at the top if was flat though pretty rocky at places. We saw lots more birds including an owl that only lives here. There were also a lot iguanas but we weren't able to get very close to them due to the terrain. We will see many more up close in the coming days. It was a good walk though not strenuous at all except at the very beginning and very end.

 

After a low key captains welcoming, which was just to my liking, we had a great dinner in the restaurant. Wonderful day with wonderful friends, did I say I love this ship!?

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Rachel

The expedition sounds wonderful. Your travelogue is enticing, well written and chock full of detail. Delightful!

Thank you so much.

While I was reading it I had a visual of George, in his big hat, snorkeling!

Which of course I am sure he didn't do, but it made me smile.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Before I forget, someone asked if laundry is included for people with over 100 nights on Silversea. It is my understanding that it is not, though I will find out for sure. We have less than 100 on Silversea.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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November7, 2016--north Seymour island and Santiago Island Galapagos

 

After a nice rocking sleep, we awoke off north Seymour island, having crossed the equator yet again during the night. It was overcast with the temps in the low 70s. As the morning progressed, it did clear up and become bright and sunny with temps rising to the high 70s.

 

For the morning, the options were a zodiac cruise along the shore followed by a short walk or a longer walk. We chose the latter. After a short scramble up to the beach, it was nice and flat. However, you had to be really careful as the sea lions use this as their public toilet, so lots of land mines around. On the walk, there were lots of sea lions, land and marine iguanas, blue footed boobies and frigate birds. We saw the male frigate birds trying to attract females. They are so funny, trying to strut their stuff.

 

On the zodiac ride back to the ship, we had a bit of an incident. I was at the back of the zodiac, closest to the motor. As the driver turned, I got splashed with water, and my self inflating life vest took off to rescue me. There was a loud pop, like a gunshot, and i was immediately encased as the vest insufflated. Everyone in the zodiac was laughing as soon as they knew I was ok. The ship people say it has never happened before. They are glad to know the vests work.

 

In the later morning, there was a deep water snorkel which George said was the best snorkel ever. Lots of fish, and sharks all over. He came back very cold though.

 

We had lunch in the restaurant as it was way too windy for the grill. My shrimp was delicious, but George hated his sweet and sour chicken. The grill is definitely better for lunch.

 

In The afternoon, you could either go to the beach or on a lava hike. This was a proper hike, rated hard for good reason. No significant elevation gain, but completely over rough uneven lava. Any person with a waking or balance issue should not do this. Too dangerous. There were cracks and crevasses all over, just the right size to break an ankle. But the views were outstanding.

 

Dinner was excellent. Best chicken I have had in a long time, and George loved his tuna. After dinner, we had a star watch which was good as well.

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