Galapagos Islands

[dileep]

LOL...Our pre-cruise docs showed that we would be on MV Flamingo but when we arrived in Guayaquil we learned we were actually on MV Eric. No biggie since the vessels are identical. We shadowed MV Letty for most of our trip but never saw MV Flamingo at all. :D:D

 

We had no idea which boat we were going to be on until we checked in in Quito. The Flamingo shadowed us the whole way. The Sky Dancer (for scuba divers) was with us in some places.

[dileep]

We studied Lonely Planet's Watching Wildlife - Galapagos Islands to read about the various islands and what you see where. This allowed us to pick our must see islands - Tower, Espanola, North Seymour. Then it was a matter of finding a reputable tour company that had a decent ship and an itinerary that visted those islands.

 

I highly recommend the book if you are seriously considering visiting the Galapagos.

[dileep]

http://www.ecuaworld.com/galapagos/index.htm

[donaldsc]

Sorry, but it is weird (or even dishonest) that 2 pages about the same itinerary are not consistent! If you only read the first page and booked it, you would feel "cheated".

 

We had a glass bottomed kayak, but it was not very good. I do not snorkel either.

 

If you are dumb enough to book a trip after reading only 1 page of a multipage trip description, you deserve anything that happens to you.

 

DON

[dileep]

If you are dumb enough to book a trip after reading only 1 page of a multipage trip description, you deserve anything that happens to you.

 

DON

 

there is such a thing called false advertising!

Edited November 7, 2008 by dileep

[donaldsc]

there is such a thing called false advertising!

 

Even big ship cruises do not always go where advertised. If you do adventure cruising, the destination depends upon conditions and the best knowledge of the captain. We did an Antarctica cruise and changed our landing sites several times because of weather.

 

If you want to be sure where you will be at any time, do a week at a Mexican all-inclusive.

 

DON

[Jade13]

Even big ship cruises do not always go where advertised. If you do adventure cruising, the destination depends upon conditions and the best knowledge of the captain. We did an Antarctica cruise and changed our landing sites several times because of weather.

 

If you want to be sure where you will be at any time, do a week at a Mexican all-inclusive.

 

DON

 

Don, I agree. We went with Metropolitan Touring (owns a few ships) and were on the Santa Cruz (loved it) and there were many changes. I knew beforehand because I was in direct contact with the company, but some did not. First, the Baltra airport was closed for renovations so we did not go to Balta. Second, there was a Volcano on Fernandina Island so we did not go there either. We did however go to a few places that seem to be rarely visited by tourists and each and every Island had different species found nowhere else in the World.

 

Dileep is not correct regarding only really small ships going to Tower Island (perhaps rules have changed), so in a way it sounds like that company could be using that as a sales tactic if they are telling prospective clients that only their small yacht can go to Tower (which by the way was not at the top of our list of favorite Islands it did have a lot of birds, but for our interests our first choices would include the two Islands with the tortoise breeding centers).

 

I thought it more interesting that Dileep did not know which boat they would be on until they checked in. That wouldn't work for most people.

Edited November 8, 2008 by Jade13

[dileep]

I thought it more interesting that Dileep did not know which boat they would be on until they checked in. That wouldn't work for most people.

 

Letty, Flamingo, and Eric are identical (of course with small differences) and I did not care which of the 3 boats we would be on. The itinerary was identical too. We did know which stateroom we had on which deck.

[Jade13]

We did know which stateroom we had on which deck.

 

Well, that's good :)

 

We always book a specific stateroom too.

[Tarheelbelle]

dileep,

Thank you for posting all of this. 3 friends and I are booked on one either the Eric, Flamingo or Letty [the travel agency has not assigned us to a specific yacht yet] in May 2009. We will be doing this portion of our trip after doing Machu Picchu and the Amazon in Peru. We cannot wait!

[dileep]

dileep,

Thank you for posting all of this. 3 friends and I are booked on one either the Eric, Flamingo or Letty [the travel agency has not assigned us to a specific yacht yet] in May 2009. We will be doing this portion of our trip after doing Machu Picchu and the Amazon in Peru. We cannot wait!

 

We did not know which ship we were on until we were at the airport in Quito. The Eric was refurbished while we were out on the Letty, and the Letty is being refurbished now. You will have a great time. Take some Meclzine with you if you think you may get sea sick.

 

all my pictures are now at http://community.webshots.com/user/dileepann

 

long videos of Peru and Galapagos at http://everydayexplorers.nationalgeographic.com/search-results.php?keywords=dileep&search-categories=All+Videos&submit=%3CSPAN%3ESearch%3C%2FSPAN%3E

Edited December 5, 2008 by dileep

[Tarheelbelle]

Dileep, I don't snorkel either. Was that an issue for you regarding things to do? Also, re: "wet landings"--would Teva sandles be okay for that? I would assume it would be as they are good for kayaking etc.

Thanks!

[dileep]

Dileep, I don't snorkel either. Was that an issue for you regarding things to do? Also, re: "wet landings"--would Teva sandles be okay for that? I would assume it would be as they are good for kayaking etc.

Thanks!

 

We had a good time even though we do not snorkel. We were glad that we bought Keen sandals similar to Tevas. They are the best for wet landings and walking on the lava rocks. Don't leave home without them! Make sure to take the ones with closed toes.

Edited December 14, 2008 by dileep

[dileep]

I had posted slideshows before, but now I have real videos

 

San Cristobal

 

Genovesa

 

Genovesa Darwin Bay

 

Isabela

 

Fernandina

 

Bartolome

 

North Seymour

 

Santiago

 

Chinese Hat

 

Santa Cruz

 

Espanola - Gardner Bay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuiNlNw0tKE

 

Espanola - Point Suarez http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRX6ZiSpauk

[Tarheelbelle]

dileep,

Were you in Peru before your Galapagos cruise? If so, did you do any hiking on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu?

[dileep]

dileep,

Were you in Peru before your Galapagos cruise? If so, did you do any hiking on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu?

 

Yes, we went to Peru first and we did not have time for any hiking and besides I am not in good enough shape for it. We lost a day due to a strike.

[Tarheelbelle]

Thanks, dileep. I was just going to ask about hiking boots, etc. I will go to another forum to ask that. How were your hotels in Lima and in Quito and any other cities you visited?

[dileep]

Thanks, dileep. I was just going to ask about hiking boots, etc. I will go to another forum to ask that. How were your hotels in Lima and in Quito and any other cities you visited?

 

 

Hotel in Lima was OK but noisy. The one in Quito was fantastic!

[dileep]

[rosewood jo]

going in may 2015 on the Isabella 2 and soooo excited...any tips or packing advice...watched all your videos!!!!! great thanks...jo