South America Day 33 continued – Retrospective
There are nine passengers on the boat including myself. There is a Swedish family of four with two little blond girls, like in Full House. There are two young German speaking Swiss girls traveling together, and another young German girl. My roommate is a nice Dutch guy a few years older than me. There are two tables in the dining area so the family gets a table to themselves.
The boat is minimal, as expected. It’s wooden, so outside the cabins it is quite a bit different from other 10 passenger boats I’ve been on. The cabins have just enough space to sleep and put down my bag. There are 6 crew members including the guide and cook. It’s immediately obvious why people have complained about noise – there is a diesel generator running at all times on the top deck when the engine is not running. It really ruins the atmosphere on top of the boat.
Our first tour is on Santa Cruz Island where we started, so the first day can barely be counted as part of the cruise. The tour is to the farming areas where the giant tortoises like to hang out and eat grass. Once we get there, the tortoises are simply everywhere. It’s quite incredible. They don’t run away and the only thing keeping us – and the little girls – from jumping on for a ride are the park rules.
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Late in the evening, the boat embarks for San Cristóbal Island. It’s a long, rough ride that makes it quite difficult to sleep.