Tours to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, are not designed for the budget or adventure traveler, whether it’s finding a hotel on one of the islands and doing day trips or taking a cruise. The cruises are offered at different levels and as always, the more money you spend, the nicer the cabin is, the better the food and the richer your tour colleagues. I took a cruise on La Pinta, which was a higher end boat, largely because we snagged a great deal in Guayaquil two days before the boat could pick us up on Santa Cruz Island, often a starting point for tours.
The idea is that you save a lot of ‘travel time’ by sailing at night so your days can be packed full of all the activities each island has to offer – snorkeling, hiking, walking, playing with sea lions or frankly just starring at trees and birds – there are so many unique finds, that rarely would you find yourself bored on any of the islands. When you finish at the end of a long day, in our case, Antonio the Pinta Bartender would be waiting for us with a freshly squeezed juice and an Ecuadorian snack. The juices changed each day: strawberry, guava, watermelon, grapefruit, melon and so on.
Below is a peak of a typical room; some come with two single beds and others are slightly larger and have queen and king beds in them. What’s nice about La Pinta is that all of the rooms come up with large windows looking out to sea. Because it’s a catamaran, I didn’t need to take any seasick pills although I later learned that some of my colleagues were not so keen on the waves, cat or not.
Below is a view of Pinnacle Rock from the ship:
You have very little time just to ‘lounge’ on the ship however, stunning views or not, since there is always an activity on one of the islands that the boat travels to each day. La Pinta started in Santa Cruz, a large island known for tortoises and then moved onto some of the smaller islands further out, such as San Cristobal, Espanola (one of my favorites btw – photos to follow in a separate blog post), Rabida, San Salvador, Bartolome, Isabela and Gardner (a stone’s throw from Espanola). There’s also the very tiny Tortuga, just off Isabela.
There are two parts to your experience on the Galapagos: Your Ship Experience and Your Nature Experience, which I’ll write about separately. The latter is far too large to cover here. The ship experience is memorable and intimate. After all, you share close quarters with a group of people for up to a week or more and in our case, the ship wasn’t even a third full, so we had two ship employees for one passenger, meaning that your every need was met the instant the need came up. Rain or shine.
Below is Homero Gonzalez who was not only a trainee to become Captain, but also on a mission to improve his English. He introduced me to some interesting Ecuadorian music and made sure my mask was set to go so I could see everything flying past me under the sea.
The ship is fairly large and comfortable, with several levels: the lower level for the dining room, the reception desk, gift shop and exit to the small inflatables which took you to the islands each day. Below is on the main deck, where they decked us out with wet suits here and fins. There’s one more level for Captain and crew only although I managed a peak….with permission.
Another level has a reading room, a TV room where you can watch movies and grab a cup of tea anytime of day or night, a massive lounge area and a bar.
Below, with Captain Jorge Fernandez at the helm:
There’s also a hot tub on the top deck, as well as outside eating for dining when the weather isn’t so flaky and unpredictable as it can be in August, Ecuador’s winter.
Incredible views can be had from pretty much any part of the ship.
From the top:
Naturalist guide Carlos Carrion looks out to sea from Bartolome Island, iguanas and sea lions at his feet:
Below, staffer Johnny Caicedo takes us in a small transporter to an island for kayacking and as close as we could get to even more iguanas and sea lions lounging on the rocks. I couldn’t get enough of the latter.
La Pinta is part of Metropolitan Touring, which has been around since 1953. It has incorporated many of the traditional higher end cruise traditions, such as sundowners, soft music that wakes you up in the morning and Carlos’ pleasant voice giving a brief summary of the next hour immediately after the ship-wise wake-up call, first in Spanish and then in English. It includes 4 inflatable boats as well as a glass bottom boat for underwater viewing for those who don’t want to go snorkeling in the colder than normal waters.
There’s also a doctor on board for emergencies and on some of the more rigorous hikes, he’d pal along ‘just in case.’ I was convinced I’d somehow step on one of those fat black and red iguanas that were lounging around on the rocks. They were so well camouflaged that despite their size, it would be easy to miss them if you were gazing the other way for ten seconds. Really. A follow up post will explore the Islands, the nature, animals and the vegetation.
The food was also plentiful and mostly served buffet style – if you wanted more, more came. One catch: no wine served with the meal. Given the price they charge, my one suggestion would be to include a glass or two of wine with a meal each night. It’s a marginal amount that would cost them versus the PR value. Frankly, I was too bushed from being in the sun and wind all day snorkeling, hiking, swimming and shooting to want a glass, but offering it would be a nice gesture given the profit margins for the cruise. No complaints on the food though and the staff were amazing. Did I mention that the staff were amazing?
Below, Carlos Carrion, our naturalist guide talks about the various islands, his own personal experiences, evolution, his interest in nature and how it started. He notes that his favorite are sea lions and talks about their naivety.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
