A Galapagos Welcome

Got a ride to the airport from my friendly hostel owner (for a fee, of course).

What chaos! Too many tourists. Too many flights. Yes, surprisingly, there are several flights out to the Galapagos, all leaving around the same time. What made it confusing was the destination nomenclature - how was I supposed to know which particular island I was flying too??? I thought there was only one airport...
See, this is what happens when I join an organized tour. No planning. No research.

I couldn't quite figure out which line I was supposed to join, so I wandered round the terminal in seach of someone who looked like a tour operator. My eyes met the eyes of a friendly Chinese woman; can she be the one?!?!?! Turns out we were both lost tourists booked on the same flight & cruise. Haha.
Eventually, we found the right line for our flight (TAME to Baltra Island), had our bags screened for agricultural items (don't want to contaminate the islands with new vegetation!), got the boarding passes, and met our fellow cruise-mates.
ALL COUPLES, EXCEPT LONELY OLD ME. My fault, as I opted out of the cheaper backpacker boats.
But that's OK. Most of the couples were chatty. Especially Wen Lee and her husband Will. Thanks for keeping me company all those hours!!!

Coming in for the landing was a tad disappointing. I was heading to a group of islands around the equator, approx. 2 hours by plane from the continent. Maybe I was thinking Carribean...(opposite direction, I know!)...but for some reason, I expected turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. Nope. More like deep blue waters and rocky shores.

Went thru passport check (w/o stamp) and forked over $100 for the Galapagos entrance fee upon which I received a "Galapagos card" in return as proof of payment. Pricy card!!! It's valid for a whole month, but I don't plan to hang around for that long! I wonder if anyone does...

Once all the cruise members regrouped, we boarded a minibus to the docks. And look who greeted us there!!!("Provincial de Galapagos" painted on the bench)

The sailboat named Sagitta wasn't anything luxurious, but I loved it. Old wood. Lounging space. Clean (no footware on board). Had a wonderful character to it.
And I had a room to myself, with working shower and toilet, on my own floor beneath deck. Not the greatest view, but no complaints otherwise. Wen Lee & Will moved to another room on my floor after the first night due to loud creaking sounds in their original room.
So, about the room:
- Each room was interestingly equipped with a bunk bed, the bottom one being larger in size. Never seen one of those. Either way, VERY comfortable.
- The shower was salty and cramped. I know I must've used more water than necessary, but oh well.
- Every day, someone folded the towels into cute shapes. Here a swan (me thinks).The room was nice enough, but I didn't spend much time there aside from sleeping, showering, and changing.

Most of the day was spent going on nature walks or in the water (more on that in later entries).
Food consumption was done as a group in the common area - breakfast and lunch outside, dinner inside. The quality of the food wasn't too bad. Although I think they overdid it on the canned peaches and beets!
Free time was spent on the deck chairs when sunny, and in the lounge room when dark or cold. We had our nightly briefing sessions there as well, where the guide talked about the events for the next day.

Wait. Looking back though, I think I did spend a lot of time in my room the first 2 nights.

Only because I wasn't feeling well... Regularly ingested those dramamine tablets, but I think it took some time to get used to the rocking boat motion. I'm pretty certain.

Oh, and one day, I got up the courage to climb up to the top of the mast. Aren't the views great?! But I must be getting older. No doubt about it - I didn't feel as comfortable and secure up there as I thought I'd be... I'm admitting to shaky legs : (

Which makes me seriously wonder if I'd be able handle roller coasters and freefall machines anymore...