Galapagos - the boat and the people

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On the flight from Lima to Quito we were stuck at the back of the plane with no window which was very disorientating especially during the landing. We were picked up at the airport and driven to Hotel Santa Barbra by a taxi drive who was all smiles. We walked around the block in the rain looking for an ATM and somewhere to eat. We found both and ate at the Swiss Hotel Cafe. Packed our hand luggage for eight days in the Galapagos and slept.

The taxi picked us up at seven after breakfast. There was much confusion at the airport as our flight was delayed by an hour but none of the information screens were being updated properly and our flight was in final call status for around two hours. There were updates over a very crackely PA in rapid fire Spanish delivered through what looked like a telephone reciever via a snap, crackel and pop filter. We managed to find our flight and found ourselves in the Business class seats which is always a nice surprise.

We land in the Galapagos on San Cristobal Island and pay the $100 entery fee grab our bags that have been tagged and dumped behind a barrier and meat our guide. She is a small bubbely, tanned Ecquadorian woman called Sara. Her voice broadcasts on a different frequency to most so she is very easy to locate in a crowd. We are taken by bus and zodiac dingy to the Archipell 2, the boat that is to be our home for the next eight days. It is a beautiful, wooden decked and brass handled vessel. Two landing stages at the back with steps up to a wooden deck where we remove our shoes to be cleaned so as to avoid cross contamination of leafmatter and other stuff across the islands. Two further stairways, one on each side of the boat, lead to the part covered top deck where sun loungers can be found. Back on the lower deck double doors lead through to the sixteen seater oak dinning table followed by the lounge and bar area. For rooms exit on each side. Each room named after a species on the islands. We are in ´Tortle´. A double bed lies snug in between wardrobe, window and draws. We have an on suit shower, toilet and sink.

There is quite a mix of peope on the tour with us. There are four friends comprising of an Austrian and German couple in their late 40´s or early 50´s. The men are stern and serious and make little effort to comunicate with anyone outside of their group. Both women are warmer especially the Austrian woman who is younger and prittier than the rest and quick to smile. There is another German couple about the same age who seem quite friendly but we do not get much past exchanging pleasantries.

The rest of the group are a little younger and include another German called Christen who is traveling around South America for two years in some mighty truck with his very young looking Argentinean girfriend. We later find out she is twenty seven. Michael, a thirty five year old American writer from New York who says he is doing an artical on the Galapagos for CNN but we later find out is actually one of the authors of the Lonley Planet guide to Ecquador. When he smiles he looks like a young Robert De Niro. Then there is Lyon and Ingred a Dutch couple in their early forties. Lyon is a very tall albertros of a man funny and friendly. Ingred is a little tempermental and is prone to have tantrums and storm off into their room. Lyon seems to spend quite a bit of ime in the dog house. Kim is a South African who is living and working in London. She is well travelled her next tour is aboard a Russian vessel to Antartica. Odette is a petite, dark haired French Canadian with cute monkey features and an optimists outlook on life. Then there is the larger than life Kevin. A very loud American who is traveling for six months having sold his IT remote file storage business. He turns out to be a real charector and a lot of fun. Then there is Lou and I.

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