Galapagos Cruise from November 10 to 17, 2013

Thank you for visiting my Galapagos blog.
- Review of Xpedition Galapagos Cruise
- See posts from individual days and all landings below.
- you can read the Quito pre- and post-cruise tour at this link.

A 8 minutes sample video from the Galapagos Cruise

Landings and links to video from each landing

At our 7-night Galapagos island B Cruise (Inner loop itinerary) departing from Baltra November 10. 2013. Link to video from each landing: we did Circumnavigate

Daphne Minor & Major; and visited Puerto Egas (Santiago); Rabida Island; Elizabeth Bay (Isabela); Tagus Cove (Isabela); Sullivan Bay (Santiago); Bartolome Island; Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz); North Seymour Island; Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal); CerroBrujo (San Cristobal); Kicker Rock (San Cristobal) ; Puerto Ayora with Charles Darwin Station and Highlands (Santa Cruz); and back at Baltra November 17, 2013. Click on the map to the left and open the  map with links to videos from the different places we visited on the trip.

We booked our tour direct with Celebrity Cruises at celebritycruises.com.
Flight to Quito was booked direct at united.com.
Get cruise planning details at galapagosexpedition.info
Below you will find blogs with reviews from each of the landings on itinerary B (Inner Loop itinerary) . 

Celebrity Xpedition Review
We found, that the best way to see the Galapagos Islands is by ship. By ship it is possible to visit several different places, both the wester and the eastern islands, in order to experience the different nature and the many special animals on the Galapagos Islands.

It is debatable whether one should choose a small or large ship. Size matters. Larger ships will have better amenities, and smaller boat will have more intimate atmosphere. The maximum size of the ships at Galapagos is 100 passengers and each group visiting the islands has a maximum of 16 guests and a guide (naturalist). The guide must in all cases be certified. The most important thing is the quality of the guides and the places visited
After review of the different offerings, we did select a cruise with Celebrity Xpedition. Virtuel video tour from Xpedition.  We chose Celebrity Xpedition a larger ship with capacity for 96 passengers because this ship is absolutely in the best category in terms of quality of cabins, public spaces, meals on board and guides in the Galapagos Islands.
Although there are 96 people, it was like a big family, and each group visiting the islands was not more than 16 people. At Xpedition, there are several different offerings at each destination - Long and short walks or panga ride only. Also the guides on Xpedition are among the best in the Galapagos. Unlike other Celebrity cruises the Xpedition is an all inclusive tour.

For the 7-night Galapagos cruise we have booked the 10-night cruise tour with two nights at J.W.Marriott Hotel in Quito before and one night after the cruise. inclusive breakfast at fhe the hotel and dinner at the Carmine Restaurant Saturday evening before the cruise, as well as and dinner at the Marriott Sunday evening after the cruise. Also included a Quito city tour and a visit to the 'Mitad del Mundo' monument as well as a local Quito market.

This 10-day tour also include the Xpedition charter flight from Quito to Galapagos. Luggage was brought direct from the hotel to our cabin, both ways.
There are two Xpedition itineraries - The Galapagos island A Cruise and the B Cruise. There is no big differences between the Outer loop itinerary (A) and Inner loop itinerary (B -itinerary) on A you will see nesting Albatross while B will have nesting Frigate birds. The major reason for the two itineraries, is to allow the animals some rest between the visits.

Videos from the Galapagos Cruise:

Videos from the cruise:

- Galapagos Cruise review, November 2013
- Panga Ride, Wet and Dry Landings
- Celebrity Xpedition Tour
- What to Pack for the Galapagos Cruise
See  itinerary and links to videos from each location
See reviews in the posts below including links to videos.
- Birds, Mammals and Reptiles of the Galapagos
- Galapagos Penguins and Flightless Cormorant
- Blue-footed Booby and Magnificent Frigate bird
- Galapagos Sea Lions and Fur Seals
- Reptiles of Galapagos Islands
- Larger Birds of Galapagos
- Orca Whale Watching, Galapagos

- Darwin Finches
- Galapagos Tortoise

Sunday - the last day of the Galapagos Cruise

We had to put the suitcases outside the cabin door Saturday evening, and then we didn't see them, until we arrived at the JW Marriott hotel in Quito Sunday after noon. The suit cases were delivered to our room at the hotel just after arrival. 
We had to be out of our cabin at 8AM. Went down to Darwins restaurant for breakfast, and at 9am we got our boarding pass for the Celebrity Charter flight to Quito. Then the pangas were ready to transport us at our last Galapagos panga ride into the Baltra pier.  From the pier we continued by by bus the short distance to the airport. Went through security and waited an hour, before for the charter plane departed for Quito. We did have a nice lunch on the  'Celebrity Xpedition' plane on our Balta to Quito flight.

At about 3PM we landed in Quito where we went straight to the buses, that brought us to hotel JW Marriott, a trip of approximately 1 hour. In the evening there was a dinner for all Celebrity guests at the Marriott hotel.


After the Galapagos cruise we stayed 5 days in Quito, from where we have planned some excursions in Ecuador. At the end we did have a 24 hour flight from Quito via Houston, Texas, continued via New York to Copenhagen.

Read the review on the pre- and post-cruise stay in Quito at  quito-2013.blogspot.com

Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz)

Landing: Dry
Video from Puerto Ayora
and from the Fish Market.

After breakfast we went into Puerto Ayora is the largest town in the Galapagos.

Here we first visited the Darwin Centre (see other blog) and then we went for a walk in the city - the most interesting seeing was the local fish market, where the fishermen just had landed the  catch of the day and was cleaning the fish - sea lions, frigate birds and pelicans were fighting for the remains, and fishermen had a hard time keeping sea lions and the large birds away from the fish - a fun experience - late morning we went back to the ship for lunch.

Santa Cruz Island is situated in the centre of the archipelago with an area of 986 kilometres squared and a maximum altitude of 864 metres. It is a large island with a variety of geology, wildlife and vegetation, all of the Galapagos life zones are present on Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz Canton is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the Galapagos Islands.

Santa Cruz is named after the Holy Cross, its English name (Indefatigable) was given after a British vessel (HMS Indefatigable). 

Puerto Ayora
Santa Cruz hosts the largest human population in the archipelago at the town of Puerto Ayora, a port city located along Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island, with more than 12,000 inhabitants, the largest city in the Galapagos. The city is home to the National Park Tortoise Breeding Center and the Charles Darwin Research Station and a center of tourism in the islands. There are many trips from Puerto Ayora to the different islands in the Galapagos.
 

Cerro Brujo and Kicker Rock

Landing Wet
Video from Cerro Brujo

A beautiful beach of white coral beach where you can swim and watch birds and sea lions, plus snorkel next to the black volcanic cliffs make this beach another of the Galapagos most spectacular.

We decided not to go ashore, but instead to take a panga ride along the Cerro Brunjo rocks - here there were several caves in the cliffs where there were sea lions, pelicans as well as many sea birds.

 

Cerro Brujo is the remains of a tuff cone. It is one of the first sites visited by Charles Darwin. Captain Fitzroy climbed to the top of the hill to scout out reefs. It has an impressive landscape, where it is often possible to see coastal and migratory birds, including pelicans, Blue-footed Boobies, and Swallow-tailed Gulls, as well as sea lions and marine iguanas. At times the lagoon is completely dry and deposits of salt may be found in the bottom. The people of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno used to use the lagoon as a salt mine.
Located on the north coast of Isla San Cristobal. In the vicinity of the beach you can see seabirds like blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, herons, frigate birds and shore birds

Landing: circumnavigation
Video from Kicker Rock

When leaving Cerro Brujo the ship did circumnavigate Kicker Rock, the striking remains of a volcanic tuff cone, now split in two.

Kicker Rock or "León Dormido," which literally translates to "Sleeping Lion  is a rock formation, located on the coast of  San Cristobal. It is a magnificent island in the middle of the sea, rising 500 feet from the ocean, is shaped like a giant sleeping lion , hence its name. The rocks are remains of a vertical formation of tufa, and is a favorite place for various species of seabirds.

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (San Cristobal)

Landing Dry
Video from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

There are also cities at the Galapagos - the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the administrative capital of the islands, and with its 5,600 inhabitants is the second largest town in the Galapagos - the town is primarily a fishing village.

After breakfast we sailed to the waterfront in the panga's. First we went on a short tour of the local 'Interpretation Center' where there was an exhibition about the history of the Galapagos. Then we walked around town and looked at the sea lions lying on the street and benches along the waterfront. At about 11AM we went back to the ship for lunch.

San Cristobal is the easternmost island in the Galapagos archipelago, and one of the oldest geologically. It bears the name of the Patron Saint of seafarers, 'St. Christopher'. Its English name was given after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. It has an area of 558 square kilometres (215 square miles) and its highest point rises to 730 metres (2,395 feet).

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal
The town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the provincial capital of the Galapagos and the second largest settlement on the islands and home to one of the island's two major airports. It originated as a penal colony more than a hundred years ago.
Now a sleepy town overlooking the harbor is known for its relaxed attitude. The beaches close to the city is one of the few places where visitors are allowed to camp on the islands, National Park Information site is located just outside the city, is pleased to provide information. There are a number of hotels and restaurants available for those interested in staying a few extra days in the area to explore some of the local locations.