Time to Take It Easy

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Vacation? Yes. Rest and relax? Not until today. I forego the first expedition of the day to see the land iguanas, it entails more boulder hopping and I opt for a massage instead, thank you Hilda. I return to the cabin just in time to head off for the 10:40 deep-water drift snorkel excursion; oh glory of glories, what a wonderful hour and a half. A sheer wall along Santa Cruz Island is bejeweled with corals, soft and hard and infinite varieties of vibrant multi-colored fish. The water is warm and the dive skin is more than enough protection from the sun and prevents chill in the water.

This is a great ship, with lots of stairs. I am estimating I am clocking about 30 flights a day. Day two I really couldn’t figure out why my thighs ached so much and blamed it on the boulder-hopping. Then I realized how many times a day I went up and down 5 flights. My cabin is on the lowest level. My porthole is about 4 feet above sea level. The dining room is three flights up, the lounge four.

This afternoon no excursions are offered as we journey to Daphne Major for a circumnavigation of the island at sunset. Everyone on board is taking advantage of a little down time, napping in the lounge, on the deck and in their cabins or catching up on reading and blogs. I suppose the mid-week hiatus has been well planned to prevent over exhaustion. Most of the travelers are retirees and too much, too many days in a row is a recipe for certain disaster, everyone getting overtired but unwilling to miss out on any of the adventure. Needless to say this is no “Party Boat”. I am making acquaintance with many very interesting people and guess what? They are all whetting my appetite for more travel by sharing their experiences in other foreign lands. It seems as if this passion is growing ever stronger and the possibilities seem endless and ever more enticing.

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