Little Lolly's Small Adventures: wildlife

I didn't sleep very well last night - I was just too excited to sleep! I think I must have had about 2 hours sleep in all. My alarm clock went off at around 3:30 am but Paul was up earlier for arrival in Manta. For a few other guests and staff - it was also an early start. We were heading off on overland tours. Some people will be away for 3 or 4 days, the rest for about 7 days.

I had been asked, a few months ago, by the head of the Shore Excursions Department if I would like to be an escort for one of the overland tours to the Galapagos and Peru. They needed someone reliable to go. So I agreed and a copy of my passport and other details were sent to head office well in advance. So, that is how I managed to get on this wonderful tour.

Anyway ... We headed onto our waiting busses with a small farewell group of staff waving us off goodbye. For Paul it was a sad moment because we will be apart for a few days. It is a bit strange to be heading off without him, but that's the way things are.

During our 3½ hour journey to Guayaquil Airport our guide, Anja, gave a bit of a run down about Ecuador and the town of Manta as we passed through it. Once at the airport she guided us through check-in and until we when we went through security. We were then left to fend for ourselves and to hopefully catch the aeroplane. Anja also mentioned that guides would meet us on arrival at Baltra Airport; giving me a photograph of one of the guides to help me identify one of them.

Female trying to get away from an amorous male!

Fortunately nobody missed their flight time. Soon after I boarded our flight at Guayaquil Airport one of the Galapagos guides (Santiago), who turned out to be on the same flight as us, identified me from a photo Anja sent to him. He invited me to sit next to him in business class (the seat was empty and no extra cost involved). During the flight We went through the programme and what to expect. I briefly went through the aeroplane later, advising guests we did have one of our tour guide on board (some guests from Galapagos Island tour group had been worried so it reassured them and as to what would happen at the airport on landing.).

Baltra Airport was very small and easy enough to negotiate. We had to wait for our luggage though and watched as sniffer dogs (an Alsatian & Labrador - the “lab test”!) got to work, making their way through the line of bags. One guest’s luggage was sniffed out and was examined but all was fine and the guest was free to go.

Guides met us at the airport and helped us with our luggage onto local busses which took us a short drive to the ferry. Colour coded luggage tags helped to identify which tour group the bags belonged to (i.e. yellow or red).

It was interesting to see our colour coded bags loaded onto the roof of the ferry. Blimey, the ferry seemed to be creaking and groaning once it was all loaded onto the roof. It wasn't only our luggage though - other visitors and locals had bags and luggage. Sea lions slept near the gangway of the terminal, oblivious to humans wandering around.

It was a short ferry ride to Santa Cruz and our luggage was offloaded and loaded onto a small minibus through one of the back windows rather than in through the door. It was crazy but very funny. There are only 12 of us on this tour so there is plenty of room on the bus, which will be our designated bus for the next few days. One of the guests is very tall and the poor chap had to literally fold and cram his legs into the space between the seats.

During the drive from Santa Cruz to Rancho Primicias our guide for the duration of our stay in Galapagos, Juan, gave information about the islands, flora, fauna, and nature conservation; and much more as well as what we might expect to see during our stay. Juan seems to be a very friendly down to earth chap and I think it is going to help make our visit very special.

We had a nice 3 course lunch at Rancho Primicias with starters of either salad, soup or seafood; mains: a choice of fish or chicken; dessert: fruit, cocoa flan or chocolate cake. Fruit juice served throughout meal alongside a glass of sugarcane juice. Yum! Fortunately we were able to walk our lunch off as we went along some paths into the park to see the Galapagos tortoises.

We saw small to large tortoises, depending on their age. It's the mating season at the moment and one huge chap went after a much smaller female but she got away, much to his disappointment and and much to the delight of the guests! I'm beginning to think that this will be a fun group to be with. They are very lively with a wonderful sense of humour. We have already had lots to laugh about!

On the way to our hotel we stopped briefly to see a lava tunnel and, after a very short walk to one, we could go inside briefly if we wanted to. It was interesting to hear about how they are formed and to actually see them. It reminded me of our visit to much larger lava tunnels on Lanzarote.

We finally around just after 4 pm at the Galapagos Habitat Red Mangrove Hotel in Puerto Ayora where we were given a refreshing cold drink of mango juice. Andrea, the hotel manageress, welcomed us. Other members of the Akorn team (the tour team) introduced themselves and we were given a briefing about daily activities during our stay. During the briefing our luggage was automatically taken to our rooms so all the Andrea did was have to call out our names and give us the keys to our rooms, explaining where to go. It was still daylight and from the restaurant balcony we could look out onto the bay. There were a few iguanas hanging around too - a sight we will see more of over the next few days.

My room is near reception, very comfortable and clean. There are complimentary snacks and drinks in the fridge but once they are used and we want any more - they will be re-stocked at our own expense. Throughout out stay tea, coffee and water is freely available.

We had a bit of time before dinner to rest up or take a wander around town. I decided to take a wander, keeping to the road that follows the coastline. I didn't get very far - a fishing vessel was docked and a fisherman was gutting his fish. Pelicans and other birds were hoping for a morsel; and so I spent some time taking some photographs.

I was almost too tired to make it for dinner at 7 pm but I am glad I did. Everyone was still in good spirits as we ate on the wooden balcony of the restaurant overlooking the sea.

It is going to be a late night for me - I'm having an online chat with Paul (we have internet at the hotel!) and I also want to write up today's report. Unfortunately I left my laptop behind, still charging, on the ship so Paul has emailed me an electronic copy of an empty report sheet which I can pick up using my Galaxy Notepad.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Ferry to Santa Cruz

Rancho Primicias

Lava Tunnel

Puerto Ayora

Mum and baby koala

I know that I have had little motivation for writing and keep promising myself that I will do so. Another day goes by ... and still no more writing. I am getting behind with my blogs now and will need to do some serious catching up, and in date order. I was going to make a start today but I got a call from shore excursions last night, asking if I would like to go on a tour - they needed people to make up the seats otherwise the tour couldn't run. So I said I would go (I went on the same tour about 2 years ago but I didn't mind going again). I needed to get off the ship for a bit.

Anyway, before I get started about today's tour...

Yesterday was a sea day and a day for me to relax. Last night We were due to go to a body weight bootcamp held by one of the gym staff but unfortunately Paul had to be up early this morning for the ship's arrival in Sydney and headed to bed early, so he cancelled. When Paul went to bed before 8pm I attended a variety show - music by a pianist (Bernard Walz), and a ventriloquist. Both gave a good show, even though they had about 20 minutes each on stage. The ventriloquist is a young chap of 21 who has been performing ventriloquist shows since he was 14. It was a cheeky act and targeted a guest in the audience. Poor woman, she was the butt end of the jokes for most of the performance but took it with good grace and humour - to the delight of the audience.

We arrived in White Bay, Sydney, without any hiccups and soon the ship was a flurry of activity with guests and crew departing, new crew arriving, cleaning, loading of goods and groceries, and much more.

Wombat

The tour group I was assigned to - all of 8 guests along with Grace (the Captain's wife) and Liz from Shore Excursions - boarded a 50 seater bus for the trip towards the Blue Mountains. The route out of White Bay/Sydney was very busy with lots of major roadworks. Our driver negotiated it without breaking into a sweat. At least traffic heading out of Sydney was flowing relatively smoothly. Traffic heading in towards Sydney was at a standstill and we were glad that we weren't in it!

Echidna

Our first stop, en-route to the Blue Mountains, was the Featherdale Wildlife Park. I know last time I visited Featherdale I didn't have much time to get around the site. Time was limited again but I managed to go through it at a fairly rapid pace. I wouldn't really call it a wildlife park because animals and birds were in cages or enclosures. It was mainly kangaroos and wallabies that were roaming quite freely and visitors could feed them. I did manage to see the wombats, dingoes and a Tasmanian devil - which I didn't get to see at the same park 2 years ago.

Story of how the Aboriginals found the didgeridoo

Unfortunately a guest kept us waiting so we were a bit late for our next stop - a show at the Waradah Aboriginal Centre in Katoomba within the Blue Mountains. We were about 7 minutes late which, for me, spoilt the beginning of the show because it involved a smoke cleansing ceremony - which I know is rather interesting. Anyway, we were still able to see the rest of the half hour show. Aboriginal staff talked about culture, art, weapons and dance of their people; as well as explaining the meaning of their body paint. They told the story of how the didgeridoo came into being and how it is played. Towards the end there were a few short dances, depicting e.g. a kangaroo or an owl, etc., and they played the didgeridoo too. It was enjoyable and their efforts were appreciated by the audience.

The Three Sisters

After the show we had time to browse around the Centre's shop and then walk down to a viewpoint to see the rock formation known as the Three Sisters, the Jamison Valley, Mount Solitary and and another rock formation - the Ruined Castle. There is a walkway along the cliffs, part of which one can visit the Three Sisters, but unfortunately I didn't have time to walk there as I had done in the past.

The Blue Mountains is described in a tour brochure, as "a UNESCO World Heritage Site area of breathtaking views, cascading waterfalls, rugged tablelands, sheer cliffs and deep, inaccessible valleys covering more than 2.5 million acres".

Interior of the Mountain Heritage Hotel

Time was marching on so we headed on to the Mountain Heritage Hotel for lunch. The hotel has a lovely view over the Blue Mountains - the dining room and lounge windows all facing the escarpment over towards the Jamison Valley. The hotel inside is decorated very nicely - oldy worldy. Lunch was either fish or chicken with vegetables, and pavlova afterwards. Yum.

Back on the bus we headed to the ship. Traffic on the way to White Bay wasn't too bad and we were well in time to get back to the ship. In view of this Liz (from Shore Excursions) asked the tour guide if we would have enough time to visit a scenic point and take photographs. Both the driver and guide discussed the viability of taking us to a viewpoint vs traffic but in the end they decided not to. Traffic coming out of Sydney was at a standstill and we would not be back at the ship in time if we ventured into the city. Apparently, as it was, coach drivers took 2 hours trying to get ship's departing guests to the airport from the ship. We understood our driver and guide's predicament and made do with going back to the ship. In fact, I was glad to get back because I was tired from the long day.

I had enjoyed the tour and would like to visit the Blue Mountains one day, on a personal level, to explore them further.

Soon after we left the dock I went outside to take some photographs. Just as we were heading around a corner in the bay a ferry, full of passengers, came into sight. It decided not to sail in front of the ship but instead reversed and waited until we passed by - a nice viewing for the ferry's guests!

The Maasdam has set sail on her new cruise voyage: Pacific Exploration Cruise, getting back to Sydney in about a month's time. Our first stops will be Tauranga and Auckland in New