TR: Galapagos and Peru in July/ Aug 2015

[Milboo]

More of these guys

Galapagos Hawk

Galapagos Dove

Lava lizard

Seal

Bird I have forgotten!

 

[Milboo]

This guy deserves his own post! Could be a poster boy for Mondays! Nearly got there but gave up as it was all too hard!

 

[Milboo]

That afternoon our stop was at Rabida which is known for its red sands. After a big snorkel and hearing it was a hike up and down hills to see only birds, I stayed on the boat for more napping! Sat and watched a young sea lion defending his food from a Galapagos Hawk which was very interesting.

This is probably one of my main observations - I loved Africa as I loved seeing the animals interacting with each other and their environment, feeding, hunting etc but there was very little of that kind of opportunity here. Most wildlife was pretty static unless you were in the water with it.

Rabida

One of the yachts. We very rarely encountered other boats and on the few occasions we did, we were never sharing a spot with their passengers (other than a beach for swimming/ snorkeling)

 

[Milboo]

Our final morning

Our trip ashore was optional but a 5.40 start - no bell being rung to muster us - just be there! This was the most beautiful spot we visited and I would have loved to have been on the next itinerary as they start with this beach as their first landing and get to swim and snorkel here. The sand was soft, the water so clear!

Las Bacchas - named after the barge left after the war on the beach

Just over the sand dune (also a sea turtle breeding ground) was another saline lagoon. We stood here for ages just watching the flamingo feed in mirror perfect waters

 

[Milboo]

After this, we had a 30 min navigation back to Baltra, watched the awesome crew fit 18 suitcases into a single panga and then headed ashore to wait for a bus to turn up (they can't be booked!) and scramble on board with bags with people from the other boats before getting back to the airport!

Check in is relatively slow, the airport basic (but it's not obvious there is a food court down a ramp to one end) and hideously overpriced souvenirs which aren't really priced...

Uneventful (but packed flight - including the arrogant sod who chose to take my window seat as him and his girlfriend were not seated together (same row just different sides of plane)) and we got off in Quayaquil (flight continues to Quito).

There is a 7 hour gap between this arriving and the next direct flight to Lima on LAN. We had planned heading the 10 mins into town but we stayed put and killed time to rest tired bodies!

Short flight on LAN - snack served and ok service in the sky. Had the benefit of business check in at GYE as well as priority boarding which certainly helps with the general chaos!

We had organised a car service at Lima airport due to the late night arrival and we were tucked into our rooms at the Marriott in Miraflores promptly - but not before I tucked into a rather delicious room service hamburger! Mmmmm decent food again!!

 

[Milboo]

No idea why the photos are not all the same size

Will give everyone a break and finish off in a few days covering off Lima, Sacred Valley including Machu Picchu and Cusco.

 

[LadyC]

Some great photos! Very jealous - it looks like an amazing trip and is definitely on my bucket list. Thanks for taking the time to do a TR.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Fantastic trip - Galapagos and Peru is next in line after the Gorillas

 

[Demon_fan]

Great TR and some great photos!

You mentioned you napped a bit, but had no photos of where you napped? I'd be interested in seeing the standard of the accommodation out on the water.

 

[amaroo]

Excellent TR

Thinking this will be high on our must do list ... once we ditch the little amaroos - not long now

 

[Milboo]

Demon Fan - you made me realise I took virtually no photos of the boat, or had deleted any I did take!

This was our boat:

And this was our cabin:

Each cabin had a balcony with chairs, there was a decent sized bathroom and a sitting area with a couple of tub chairs and a side table. There was also 2 wardrobes so bags could be stowed away.

We were on the same level as the lounge area (with couches etc and a bar) and the dining area. This opened on to the back deck where we mustered etc. We were the last berths on the boat so we probably had one of the noisiest rooms as we were over the engines, and combine that with the air con running (individual cabin basis). I slept in ear plugs and it became a background hum.

Mid deck was cabins and top deck was a sun deck. There was a jacuzzi up there (only available some days) and sun lounges. We lay up there one night and got an astronomy lesson!

So my tip from all of this - look for boats that give you that private balcony. I loved sitting out there watching dawn etc and it was ideal hanging out damp clothes to dry. But most important - all the boats have plans on their websites so choose cabin locations to avoid the engines and the anchor given how much you move at night meaning anchor up and down.

 

[Pushka]

Thanks for this. We were just talking 'Galapagos cruises' today.

 

[Salem]

Excellent TR

Thinking this will be high on our must do list ... once we ditch the little amaroos - not long now

LOL I don't have kids yet but I think I'll share this sentiment.

 

[Fifa]

Thanks so much for your excellent TR.
Very timely as we are going to SA for 10 weeks from next March including Galapagos and the Inca Trail - your pics have made the trip seem more real.

Looking forward to the rest...

 

[Milboo]

Thanks so much for your excellent TR.
Very timely as we are going to SA for 10 weeks from next March including Galapagos and the Inca Trail - your pics have made the trip seem more real.

Looking forward to the rest...

We had a party of 5 Americans on our boat (Parents, 2 teenagers and a 12 year old) who had walked the Inca Trail before doing the Galapagos and they loved it. We saw parts of the trail on the way through on the train. I grew up tramping the high country of NZ but think I would pass on the Inca Trail, mainly because of the altitude.

I know I will forget to mention this later but I recommend getting a script of QVar from your doctor to take - this is actually an inhaler for asthma but a corticosteroid one. But it is for itchy bites in case bug spray fails! I did not realise I had been bitten when up MP as I was living on antihistamines. I stopped them when I arrived back in AU and all of a sudden had about 10 massively itchy bites that were driving me nuts. Doctor recommended this treatment - you hold the inhaler over the bite and spray it. Within 2 days they stopped vs a week of no relief on steroi_ cream.

 

[Milboo]

Some great photos! Very jealous - it looks like an amazing trip and is definitely on my bucket list. Thanks for taking the time to do a TR.

Thank you. I was using a brand new camera (Canon sx60 - after downsizing from my SLR) and have done these photos no favours now - they are straight off camera, downloaded to my little notebook I take travelling, uploaded to Facebook, saved on iPad from Facebook, uploaded to Photobucket and then pasted image link here!

 

[RooFlyer]

Enjoying the TR - you did some different islands from me, earlier this year, so great to see that.

Re engine noise - anyone contemplating a Galapagos cruise should 1) book as early as you can (this probably means paying early - so check out their cancellation/refund policy) and 2) Research the boat lay- out and try to get a forward / higher up cabin. (Milboo of course was only able to book relatively late so this isn't a criticism ).

Being close to the engines can almost ruin a cruise; If the boat isn't re-positioning during the night (and most do), then there will be some engine running to provide air con etc. I was on one of the mid sized boat (48 pax - MV Eclipse) and those over the engines were pretty miserable and sleep deprived for the first few days. The forward / higher cabins will always be more expensive, but get them if you can.

 

[craven morehead]

Outstanding report and fantastic pics !! :mrgreen:

 

[Milboo]

OK...I was up to Lima!

Marriott Hotel - cannot beat the location right across the road from Larcomar Mall and the Malecon and I was lucky enough to have an ocean view room. We had booked in advance but while in transit I saw they had a package deal which included free breakfast and saved $80 across both rooms.

Room was quite large, as was bathroom. Bed was so welcome after being on the boat - big, soft and lots of fluffy doona!

Common areas in hotel were attractive etc. Overall a classy hotel. Bar pours a strong Pisco sour! Breakfast buffet was extensive and tasty - but oddly there was no drinks station so you had to ask for any drinks (but the OJ was excellent). Customer Service manager was excellent.

My gripe started after we left but should have seen it coming. We had a painful check in as they insisted our rooms had not been paid for but after disappearing out the back, they came back and confirmed that yes, they were. Despite this, after we checked out (and had signed off on the incidentals etc) they went back and charged 2 rooms x 2 nights ($650 USD) to my card, and had also put a hold of $400 USD on it. Took a few emails but got the overcharge back within a couple of days.

 

[Milboo]

As we only had one day in Lima, and it was my birthday so I had mapped out rough plans. Lima is a lot bigger to get across that I had appreciated! We used the Marriott's town car service (new model mercs) to start the day.

We headed over to the San Francisco Cathedral first. This was on the list as I owed my friend catacombs after we missed out seeing them in Paris due to me getting the closing time wrong! We jumped on to a tour just starting which was so so as could hardly hear the guide and was rushed. No cameras allowed in Cathedral or catacombs. Was an interesting visit.

It was an overcast day and photo quality will also decrease as I had forgotten to put my camera battery back in so was on iPhone only. Kicked myself as I saw lots of great architecture and other sights that were beyond my phone's capabilities especially in the lighting.

Headed to main square afterwards, enjoying the pedestrian only streets but missed the daily parade.

Afterwards we took a car back across town to Parquet Kennedy which is home to a resident population of cats! Quite a large one too. It seemed people head there to hang out with them as they were sitting there reading etc with a cat on their lap!