OUR CRUISE OFFICIALLY BEGINS

WEATHER: Beautiful, blue skies and 25C

HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: SHOPPING

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Saying goodbye to 98% of the passengers

BUYS OF THE DAY: Too many to list, it was a productive shopping day

WORD OF THE DAY: ‘Newbies’

So it official.  Today is the ‘official arrival’ day of the cruise.  Even though we have already done 3 nights, we didn’t get the safety drill, welcome drink with the group, overview of the ship, services, how to get on and off zodiacs etc….  We get all that today – which is a little weird, but I can guarantee we will find out things we didn’t know, even after being on board for 4 days.  As we know, most people get on and off at San Cristobal.  So today out of the 42 people on board, 40 of them were departing today and we were going to be the only 2 left on board from the old group and we found out at breakfast that there was only going to be a further 20 people joining us for the next 4 nights.  So neatly half the people to what we are used to.  Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing after having so many people for the first 3 nights.

So there was hype about the ship, with people checking out, bags packed, people excited about going home, transfer questions, times checked, people asking where people were flying to etc….  Amy and I were able to just sit back and watch it all and know that we won’t have to worry about that for another 5 days. 

At 8.30am we transferred by zodiac to the island of San Cristobel passing lots of sea lions actually lounging on a few boats that looked like they had been abandoned.  They must be pretty strong to be able to pull themselves up.  Those suckers are everywhere!!  When we landed arrived at the pier there were a few sea lions lounging around on the stairs and around the chairs on the dock!!  They really are everywhere here.

San Cristobel is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, and one of the oldest geologically.  It is the fifth largest of the Galapagos Islands in terms of size and has the second largest human settlement of this volcanic island chain. Also known as Chatham Island, Isla San Cristobal is important because it is home to the provincial capital of the Galapagos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno which sits on the island’s southwestern end. Around 560 sq. km in size, Isla San Cristobal is named in honor of Christopher Columbus, and is the second most popular island after Isla Santa Cruz, as there is a domestic airport here.  

So we had a small programme this morning and as we weren’t leaving we had an extra few hours to fill before the group landed at the airport and transferred to the ship.  Only a handful of us went to the interpretation center in San Cristobal.  The Galapagos National Park opened a new Interpretation Center in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno in March 1998. The Center focuses primarily on the history of the archipelago, from its volcanic origins to the present. Two interpretation panels, representing the natural and cultural history of the archipelago are linked together in chronological order. The center includes a small outdoor stadium, meeting rooms and audio-visual equipment for the entire Cristobal community to enjoy.  We had as much time as we wanted here, and after 45 minutes we were ready to head back into town for the rest of the morning.  It was nice to just have some free time and get a chance to walk around some shops, even if they were all souvenir shops and all sold pretty much the same stuff.  We haven’t seen shops for like 6 days, so my money was burning a hole in my pocket and I just HAD to spend some.  I know I did want to get a t-shirt that had ‘I Love Boobies” on it with a pair of Blue Footed Boobies feet, but apparently only ‘smaller’ people wear these shirts and I could only fir into a men’s size which I know I wouldn’t wear.  I am not normally a t-shirt buyer, but there is just something about the bragging rights of saying I have been to the Galapagos that appeals to me, so we walked into nearly every t-shirt shop of the main street and I did find 2 ladies shirts to fit, which are actually quite nice but not the I Love Boobies, which is a shame.  BUT I did manage to buy all other parafanalia that had that written on it from a few stickers, a hat pin, a pencil case and a carry bag.  So I think that filled the t-shirt void. 

The arriving group’s flight was due in at 1pm.  Amy and I decided to catch a zodiac back to La Pinta at 12 noon and there were 2 new guests on this ride as well.  Jane from the UK and Dermot from Ireland.  So introductions were made and we have now met the first 2 new passengers of the cruise.  They seem cool and I think we will get along with them just fine.  So we basically had the ship to ourselves till just after 1.30pm when the rest of the group arrived off the zodiacs and straight into the dining room for lunch.  It was a little more quite with only 20 of us in there and we were spread out over all the tables, but I am sure over the next few days as we get to know people, the tables will fill and new friends will be made.  It looks like an older group and a lot more Brits and Europeans than last week. 

The afternoon consisted of snorkel and flipper fittings, a welcome introduction to the ship and then the lifejacket and safety drill.  This I know is mandatory after arriving on a ship within 24 hours, so we asked if we had to attend as this now technically was day 4 for us.  It was a resounding YES but it didn’t hurt because I asked Amy which way she would have gone had the ship sounded the alarm and we both said different directions, so it was nice to know which was the correct way and for the record it was Amy’s.  Thank goodness the ship didn’t go down in the last 4 days.  We learnt more about the ship, laundry, there’s a ship’s doctor (who knew) and the internet had gone up 10AUD since last week.  We were shown slides of the ship; the Bridge has an open policy and no door locking for the cabins.  Now this is what we expected on our arrival day, but when there are only 4 of us I could see logistically that it would have not been practical to do what they did today, but possibly an information sheet in our cabins could have been a good idea, just so we felt like we were welcomed and not floundering around like a fish out of water.  Just a suggestion which I think I will pass on.

We had 30 minutes to prepare for our first (not really) landing of the cruise and introduce the ‘newbies’ to the systems and show them the ropes.  The hardest thing I have seen all week is getting the blasted life jackets on.  They are a little tricky to start with (I’ve been fine as they are the same ones as Antarctica) and this is what the ‘newbies’ have struggled with the most so far.  I hate to say you do feel a little superior knowing how it all works and trying to help them out, and it is this that drives me nuts if the roles were reversed, but I like to think that the old ducks appreciate it for the manner in which it is given and that is to just be of help.  It was a late afternoon landing at a beach not far from San Cristobel.  There wasn’t much wildlife here; there was a large sea lion on the beach when we arrived and a few hermit crabs and that was about it.  For us, that had amazing beach landings the first few of our ‘first days’  it looked a little howdy doody, but for the ‘newbies’ they didn’t know what we have seen and thought it was all great.  Amy and I decided to take the plunge in the water and try our luck at some more snorkeling but didn’t see anything too much except some fish.  Jane and Dermot saw a group of 20 golden rays and a sea turtle – and we saw nada.  It just goes to show it is the luck of the draw when you are out snorkeling that is for sure.

We arrived back on board to the usual waiting cold juice and a small snack to tide us over till dinner at 7.30pm.  Not forgetting to ‘flip our chip’ letting them know that we are back on board La Pinta again.

7pm each evening is a briefing for the following day.  Amy and I chill here with a cocktail before heading to dinner.  I have been having Cosmopolitans and Amy has been hitting the Pina Colada’s.  They are delicious and we actually have no idea on what the things cost as the menu has no prices, but at the end of the day we haven’t been spending a lot of money anyways, so I am sure I can splurge on a few cocktails.  There’s always money for an alcoholic beverage right!

Dinner was a quite affair with no Charles and Lada.  We have decided to keep to ourselves for dinner tonight to let the couples have a night dining together and maybe tomorrow we can sit as a group and have meals together.  It is hard to know sometimes whether couples want to be on their own or join a loud noisy group.  Oh well we will just have to see tomorrow.

It is hard to believe in 4 day’s time I will be starting my 154 day tour of South America and the last pre-booked component of my trip.  That is SCARY.  Never fear, it’s not the last of the World Odyssey, but just the last of the bookings I have in place.  After the 30^th April 2012 – who knows just where I will end up?  An interesting thought.

So it is good night from me and good night from Amy – we have a massive day planned tomorrow and we can’t wait.

xx