Live from the Flora, 10-night Ecuador and Galapagos Adventure, Dec 8-18

raudacruise · December 13, 2023

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

We were on Xpedition last month which was a smaller ship. It rolled a lot at night while we were anchored. Actually it rolled a lot day or night.

Thanks, it seems I should limit my Galapagos adventures to virtual, following the outstanding reviews and pictures from my living room.

Ken the cruiser · December 13, 2023

Pictures from our morning “long walk” across the Sullivan Bay lava fields. We brought walking sticks with rubber tips and I’m sure glad we did. The ship had wood walking sticks for you to use, but the rubber tips really made the difference as the path is literally walking over lava flows for most of the 2-mile journey.

Our “chariot” has arrived! 😁

Some groups took the high “road” around while we took the low “road”.

Of course, we had a greeting committee waiting for us. 😁

Sometimes the high tide comes up 10-15’ which is why this log was so far inland. But it was high and dry today for our visit.

Lava cactus

Mollugo

This is an example of the grass starting to grow in this “younger” flow.

According to an internet search, this “small, white, diffuse halos surrounding the darkest lava flows are probably sulfur-dioxide-rich snows and frosts that have been vaporized by the hot lava.” I know, who knew! 😂

Candelabra Cactus. This one is around 100 years old.

Tree Mold. This is where a tree was when the lava flow moved around it, then subsequently “consumed” it. BTW in the lower part of the photo is what the bottom of the ship’s walking sticks looks like.

More mollugo

Bartolome Island off in the distance.

Galapago Locus, first jumping away from me (see its hind legs) which I was then able to catch up to and get a better picture (somewhat). What can I say, it’s an iPhone SE! 😂

Our “chariot” has returned!

Lava Lizard

Brown Pelican with Bartolome Island in the background

Can you see the little Lava Lizard in the picture? 😁

Our next stop, Bartolome Island! 😁

Edited December 13, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

mahdnc · December 13, 2023

Just now, raudacruise said:

Thanks, it seems I should limit my Galapagos adventures to virtual, following the outstanding reviews and pictures from my living room.

As I have gotten older, I have become more prone to motion sickness. I was seasick for 3 days during our transatlantic cruise in Oct 22 and I have read numerous reports of Xpedition doing a lot of rocking and rolling.

So for our Xpedition sailing, I was armed with the usual dramamine, bonine, and wristlets. 2 things I have not tried are the prescription patch and these weird glasses.

I couldn't bring myself around to wearing the glasses, so I didn't buy any. However I did get my doctor to prescribe the patch for me. It worked like a charm as I never got sea sick during our 7 night cruise--which I was subjected to the worst rocking and rolling compared to any other cruise we have taken. There was a young woman on our sailing who got very seasick. I had a spare patch (good for 3 days) and I gave her one to try. It cured her instantly--until 3 days later, then it came back. So I am now a big believer in the patch and I have a set of refills that I am bringing to our Asia cruise next week just in case I need it.

mahdnc · December 13, 2023

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

classic pahoehoe!

raudacruise · December 13, 2023

2 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

As I have gotten older, I have become more prone to motion sickness. I was seasick for 3 days during our transatlantic cruise in Oct 22 and I have read numerous reports of Xpedition doing a lot of rocking and rolling.

So for our Xpedition sailing, I was armed with the usual dramamine, bonine, and wristlets. 2 things I have not tried are the prescription patch and these weird glasses.

I couldn't bring myself around to wearing the glasses, so I didn't buy any. However I did get my doctor to prescribe the patch for me. It worked like a charm as I never got sea sick during our 7 night cruise--which I was subjected to the worst rocking and rolling compared to any other cruise we have taken. There was a young woman on our sailing who got very seasick. I had a spare patch (good for 3 days) and I gave her one to try. It cured her instantly--until 3 days later, then it came back. So I am now a big believer in the patch and I have a set of refills that I am bringing to our Asia cruise next week just in case I need it.

I take Bonine and wear a Relief Band for any boat ride and flying (and sometimes movies). They usually work well, but “rocking and rolling” for a long time could be overwhelming. Wouldn’t want to feel sick the entire trip.

Is drinking alcohol contraindicated while wearing the patch? That would interfere with my entertainment. 🥂🍸🍻 If not, I would consider trying it. No thanks on the weird glasses.

And yes, maybe turning 71 has something to do with it. Used to never get seasick.

mahdnc · December 13, 2023

34 minutes ago, raudacruise said:

Is drinking alcohol contraindicated while wearing the patch? That would interfere with my entertainment. 🥂🍸🍻 If not, I would consider trying it. No thanks on the weird glasses.

I don't know the answer to that other than saying I drank a couple glasses of wine for dinner each day and did not suffer from any adverse affects. When I google it (the patch is called scopolamine) there are varying opinions about the interaction with alcohol. I guess you may have to be the judge.

Gardenbunny50 · December 13, 2023

I get seasick - found out on my first crossing on QE2 in 2003. Overnite and first day OK. 2nd morning…ugh. Took me all day in cabin taking dramamine to get equalized. Put on patch that evening. Good thing as we experienced a typical north atlantic storm overnight and all next day…I had NO problems. Always used the patch ever since. But my only side effect was dry mouth, which I endured but didn’t enjoy the feeling.

Then my first world cruise in 2017. Can’t wear a patch for 100 days….Asked cruise critic posters what to do, Recommended the non drowsy dramamine that is 25mg MeclizineHydrochloride. I had patches just in case. But it works great and that is now my go to - and way less expensive than patch. Take 1 at dinner time every day. Only a couple times have I taken a second one during the day if really rough seas.

Gardenbunny50 · December 13, 2023

The lava rock formations are works of art. Have taken short walks across lava fields on Big Island Hawaii, and this looks very interesting. Thanks again for posting - we will put this on to do list for May.

Cannot wait to see what the rock formation is over on Bartolome.

I was reading more about Galapagos in May and referenced after rainy season the foliage will start leafing out and turning green on various islands. Will be nice to compare what difference from your photos to what we will experience.

Ken the cruiser · December 13, 2023

I just wanted to say, while I’m sitting on our balcony watching life go by

as we wait to go on our afternoon excursion:

- If your budget allows it, booking a sky suite with a balcony on the Flora has been awesome so far, and the internet works great, even with the sliding glass door closed. BTW it’s the cheapest cabin category on the Flora.

- We would avoid booking an infinite veranda for one main reason other than the AC shuts off when the window is open. Flys and other flying insects. Yesterday evening we had to eat our dinner inside the cabin rather than out on the balcony as the flies were quite plentiful outside. Hence, unless you like flys in your cabin, you definitely would not be opening your IV window at Tagus Cove or any other stops where they might be flying around.

- When we booked this cruise in Dec 2021, the S2 Sky Suite with Veranda was about the same price as an Xpedition suite, around $8700 pp. By March 2022, our cabin price had gone up by $1000 pp, and by June 2022 it was $1700 pp more than what we booked it for.

So IMHO if you’re looking to book a Galapagos cruise on the Flora, book it as soon as the new itineraries get released.

That’s all I got other than to say the Flora is an awesome ship and the service has been the best we have ever experienced on any cruise we’ve been on before! But then there are only 98 passengers too! 😁

For those interested here is the average monthly forecast for Baltra and probably most of the Galápagos Islands.

https://meteum.ai/baltra-island/month/may

Edited December 13, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

raudacruise · December 13, 2023

4 hours ago, mahdnc said:

I don't know the answer to that other than saying I drank a couple glasses of wine for dinner each day and did not suffer from any adverse affects. When I google it (the patch is called scopolamine) there are varying opinions about the interaction with alcohol. I guess you may have to be the judge.

Thanks, might be worth trying. Maybe have some on hand if needed.

Edited December 13, 2023 by raudacruise

Ken the cruiser · December 14, 2023

This afternoon’s “long walk” excursion up the mountain was canceled due to rough waters at the landing site. If you look closely on the righthand side of the photo, you can see the wood walkway, which starts near the dry landing site, that we would have used to walk to the top.

We then signed up for the zodiac ride which took us to the back side of the island passing Pinnacle Rock along the way. But we did get to see more wildlife on our trek, to include my first sighting of the Nazca Booby flying overhead. 😁

Galapagos sea lions lounging around

A couple of Galapagos penguins

If you look closely in the lower lefthand corner of the picture, you can see where the two penguins were hanging out.

Sally Lightfoot Crabs

Mollugo Lava Flowers

Pinnacle Rock

Blue-footed Booby in its nest on the side of Pinnacle Rock

Nazca Booby flying overhead

Frigatebird resting on a small outcropping on Pinnacle Rock.

By the time we got back to the ship the waves had died down somewhat near the original excursion’s landing spot, but it was still pretty rough.

Then after dinner, there was another beautiful sunset.

Then tonight after 10 pm we are going to go out on our balcony to see if it is clear enough to see some meteors busting through the atmosphere from the Geminid Meteor Shower. 🤞

https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=13&month=12&year=2023

Edited December 14, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

mahdnc · December 14, 2023

Ken, I’m sorry that Bartolomé Island was canceled. That was an island I wish we had visited last month.

dlh015 · December 14, 2023

How on Earth did you get those Boobies and Frigatebirds (as well as the sea lions and Sally Lightfoots) to strike such photographic poses? 😂🤣😂

Ken the cruiser · December 14, 2023

2 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Ken, I’m sorry that Bartolomé Island was canceled. That was an island I wish we had visited last month.

The views from the top definitely would have been awesome.

We were also told at the beginning of our cruise that Puerto Pitt on San Cristobal Island, where the Red-footed Boobys hang out, as well as some other areas such as two sites on Espanola Island where the Waved Albatross breed, have been temporarily closed starting last Sunday to visitors due to Avian Flu.

The Galápagos national park activated emergency health protocols on Sunday following the report of dozens of dead and sick birds on two islands, Wolf and Genovesa, in the northern part of the Pacific archipelago, which lies about 1,000km from the South American continent.

That would really have be a bummer if we were scheduled to visit there as that’s one of our fondest memories from our Xpedition cruise 8 years ago. Hopefully they will be able to get the Avian Flu under control soon.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/20/galapagos-islands-avian-flu-outbreak

Ken the cruiser · December 14, 2023

16 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

How on Earth did you get those Boobies and Frigatebirds (as well as the sea lions and Sally Lightfoots) to strike such photographic poses? 😂🤣😂

It took a lot of multiple clicks from different angles using my iPhone SE camera. Today wasn’t too bad. I think I only averaged 150 pictures on each excursion! Yesterday, I think I averaged around 500 on each excursion! 😂

Ken the cruiser · December 14, 2023

I take it back when I said we haven’t anchored overnight yet at a port. It’s 9:15 pm and we just dropped anchored at Santa Cruz where we have a morning excursion tomorrow, and the ship feels a little wiggly right now! 😱

Ken the cruiser · December 14, 2023

Day 6 - Dec14 (Thursday) - Santa Cruz Island (wet) and North Seymour Island (dry)

In the morning we’re doing a walk along the beach excursion. Then at Seymour Island, the excursion will be a long walk.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

Ken the cruiser · December 14, 2023

Our morning walk was at Las Bachas on Santa Cruz Island, which mostly included walking along the beach observing a variety of wildlife. 😁

On the zodiac ride we saw a group of Frigatebirds flying overhead, the most we’ve seen flying together at any one time.

Galapagos Sanderling

Galapagos Brown Pelican

who definitely has a lot of feathers to keep clean! 😂

Marine Iguana

My DW found this cute Galapagos Lady Bug on her hand. I know, who knew! 😂

Prickly Pear Cactus

A Green Sea Turtle had been napping early in the morning and this was the path it took back to the water.

Ghost Crab and its nearby nest. They were all along the beach, but quickly slid back into their homes if anyone got too close.

A flock of Blue-footed Boobys flying by.

Finally, I was able to take a photo of a Galapagos Finch. Those little birds are quick and don’t stay in one place for very long!

Galapagos Sanderling

Sally Lightfoot Crabs crawling on the rocks

Yellow Warbler

Marine Iguana

Galapagos Black-necked Stilt

Galapagos Carpenter Bee!

A Galapagos White-cheeked Pintail Duck racing against a Marine Iguana. 😂

This small island was loaded with various types of birds just hanging out.

Another yellow warbler

Sally Lightfoot Crabs playing king of the rock! Guess who won? 😂

A Galapagos Dragon Fly! 😁

Great Blue Heron

Another Frigatebird wishing us well as we headed back to the ship. 😁

Edited December 14, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

Ciaranaman · December 14, 2023

Loving your pics! Your second one of the dragonfly makes it look huge in comparison to the people in the background! Great catch getting that one!

~Bernadette

prmssk · December 14, 2023

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

My DW found this cute Galapagos Lady Bug on her hand. I know, who knew! 😂

There is a story behind that lady bug. That lady bug is native to Australia and was introduced to the islands in the early 2000s to counter an invasive and quite damaging insect. It was so successful the lady bug is seen as the hero in the Galapagos.

Ken the cruiser · December 15, 2023

Our afternoon excursion was to North Seymour Island which was basically a nursery for young Frigatebirds, Blue-footed Boobies, Swallowtail Gulls, and Sea Lions.

Our first stop was to visit some sea lions.

Among the rocks where the sea lions and their pups were, there were also some young Swallowtail Gulls with one adult near by.

There was also a Lava Heron

Along the way to the Frigatebird and Blue-footed Booby “nursery”, we came across a very small Green Finch.

and a Galapagos Sandpiper

Now on to the nursery!

Young Blue-footed Booby stretching its wings.

Blue-footed Booby with her young baby

Blue-footed Booby sitting on her nest on top of the leafy mound.

We came across some Galapagos Land Lizards along the way as well.

Juvenile Frigatebirds practicing their flying techniques.

An adult male Frigatebird with its puffy red neck!

Young Frigatebirds just hanging out!

Young Blue-footed Booby

The same Blue-footed Booby from a different angle.

Juvenile Blue-footed Booby

Opuntia Cactus

Young Frigatebird

Baby Frigatebird

Of course, there were some Brown Pelicans hanging out along the shore as we headed back to the zodiac

Then there was this cute little lizard I had to take a picture of. 😁

Another Brown Pelican letting us know our ride was here! 😂

Then after we got back to the Flora and had dinner, we got to witness another beautiful sunset! 😁

Edited December 15, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

mahdnc · December 15, 2023

Although our time on the island was shorter than yours, I really liked North Seymour Island. Nice photos.

prmssk · December 15, 2023

I'm a little jealous you got to see some swallowtail gulls. I only ever saw them in the middle of the night as they flew with the ship. I kept hoping I would get to see one up close.

By the way, your photo labeled a Galapagos Sandpiper is actually a Ruddy Turnstone. They are a very long-distance migratory bird. I think some of them make it up all the way to northern Canada to breed and then head south for the winter.

Ken the cruiser · December 15, 2023

4 hours ago, prmssk said:

I'm a little jealous you got to see some swallowtail gulls. I only ever saw them in the middle of the night as they flew with the ship. I kept hoping I would get to see one up close.

By the way, your photo labeled a Galapagos Sandpiper is actually a Ruddy Turnstone. They are a very long-distance migratory bird. I think some of them make it up all the way to northern Canada to breed and then head south for the winter.

Thanks! To be honest, I’m just going by what the naturalist tells me. But thanks for the correction as i don’t think I’ve taken a photo of a Ruddy Turnstone prior to this. 😁

Ken the cruiser · December 15, 2023

Day 7 - Dec 15 - San Cristobal Island

Our morning excursion included a bus ride to the highlands to a Breeding Center with time afterwards to walk around the harbor before tendering back to the ship for lunch.