R: Pancakes for breakfast! While the food has generally been pretty good on board (that is when sea sickness doesn’t get in the way of enjoying food) I found myself particularly excited about pancakes. And they didn’t disappoint. This morning we headed off in the pangas to James Island (and we were well-stocked with Kleenex for the duration. Jen and I both thought we’d brought excessive amounts of Kleenex on this trip, but turns out we may actually run out…) This is one of the islands Darwin spent a lot of time, Juan told us. So it was only appropriate that he be photographed here, with more marine iguanas.
J: We also got to see some fur seals up close this morning. Although, it turns out that fur seals really aren’t seals, just another species of sea lion. Who knew? They’re still pretty cute though. In addition, we saw some cool lava formations, the American flycatcher (a bird with a red beak and yellow feet), and several wimbrels (yet another bird). Then it was time for another snorkeling adventure. We set off from the beach again - still not that easy to put fins on while sitting on the sand. Most of the fish were the same as we’d seen before, but Juan became very excited by the school of barracudas. And, rumor has it, a shark was nearby. So, naturally, we went on a shark hunt with Daniel (our bartender/waiter), but came up empty.
Not barracudas.
R: It’s probably good we didn’t find the shark, or get too close to the barracudas. But it would have made for a better story if we had? After lunch, we had some napping time out on deck before arriving at our afternoon hike to Pinnacle Rock (one of the most famous Galapagos sites).
Once we got passed the sea lion guarding the boat dock, it was a fairly easy climb up several hundred steps to the top of the island. The landscape itself was dramatic – almost like being on the moon. Juan called parts of the island a moonscape, and part a Mars-scape, but I’m not versed enough with the planets to tell you what the difference is. Everyone wandered aimlessly about at the top for awhile, glorying in the fact that we’d actually made it to the top, and enjoying the scenery before we all gathered together for one last group shot.
(oops. Couldn't find the one where you could see Jen and Rebecca!)
J: Tonight was our last night onboard the Cachalote. To commemorate the occasion, the chef prepared another fabulous meal and Daniel once again mixed an original cocktail. Juan and the crew also joined us in the dining room so that we could thank all of them for everything they had done for us the past week.
After much talking, laughing and exchanging of emails, we all split off to our cabins to pack our bags and prepare for our early morning wake-up call. The only thing that disappointed me about our time onboard was that we never had salsa night. Since on any given night, half the boat was either sea-sick or sick-sick, everyone was in bed by 8:30 every night.
R: Hm, salsa dancing would have been fun, but the partner options may have left a little something to be desired!
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