Tuesday, February 15

Last night was a very calm, quiet night anchored in Tagus Cove on Isabela Island, Galapagos. Andi and I woke up around 5:45am to the sound of the boat engines revving up. At 6:00am, the boat was underway to our next destination on Fernandina Island.

Andi and I read books in bed for a bit before waking Tory and Aden up at 6:45am. Breakfast is served every morning at 7:00am in the dining room on the Monserrat cruise boat. Today’s spread included hard boiled eggs, bread with jam & butter, fruit and bacon. There is always cereal and yogurt offered as well. Aden was so excited to see bacon on our plates— he ate all four of our servings!

After breakfast, our group of 20 passengers + the two naturalists loaded into dingy boats and motored over to Espinoza Point on Fernandina Island for a dry landing — meaning, we were able to step from the dingy boat to shore without getting our feet wet. We spent the next two hours walking around Espinoza Point learning about marine iguanas and sea lions. There were hundreds of marine iguanas here! Between December - March is their breeding time, so many were digging holes in the sand to bury their eggs while others were sunning themselves on the hot lava rocks.

I know they’re reptiles, but it was so cute how the iguanas huddled together in packs. The marine iguana is the only lizard that’s adapted to its saltwater environment and is able to swim in the ocean for up to 60 minutes searching for sea algae to eat. But because iguanas are cold-blooded, they have to sun themselves on the rocks to bring up their body temperature.

While we toured Fernandina Island, Aden and I found the skeleton of a seahorse. He was so proud walking around to everyone in our group showing it off to them. I’ve been really impressed with Aden on this trip to the Galapagos. He asks questions during the naturalist talks, is up for trying any activity, and he’s been quite conversational with other passengers on the boat. Several people have mentioned to me how cute it was that he engaged with them.

Also at Espinoza Point, we saw a few Galapagos sea lions sleeping on the rocks. One of the sea lion pups was not more than a few months old, our naturalist said. This pup loved the kids and kept following them around. Aden pretended to teach it tricks which made everyone laugh. The other baby sea lions were patiently waiting on the rocks for their mothers to return to them after a morning of fishing. Sea lions stay with their mothers for 1-2 years after they are born and survive solely on their mother’s milk for the first year. Therefore, they don’t swim in the ocean themselves and instead wait on land while their mother goes fishing for herself.

From Espinoza Point on Fernandina Island, we could see smoke coming off Wolf Volcano across the channel on Isabela Island. The volcano just erupted last month.

By 11:00am, everyone was drenched with sweat. It was really hot standing on the black lava rock without any shade. Our group hopped into the dingy boat and motored back to the Monserrat yacht anchored in the bay.

Everyone changed into their swimming suits to get ready for an hour of snorkeling. Tory was still really apprehensive about snorkeling, so Andi told her he’d only make her get into the water once today. Aden, on the other hand, was completely jazzed about snorkeling and gladly put his wet suit on. Andi thought the rest of us should keep our suits dry for the afternoon snorkeling session. We decided to ride along in the dingy anyway with the group of snorkelers.

Initially, I was glad I opted to stay in the dingy with Tory as the wind was really strong along the coast where others were snorkeling. I am not the strongest swimmer, so rough seas make me nervous. Aden was dying to get into the water, so Andi agreed to go with him. Not long after they started snorkeling,, a big group of sea lions started jumping near the dingy and swimming around Andi and Aden. It was awesome! I was so happy for Aden that he got to experience that.

After everyone finished snorkeling, the group rode back in the dingy boats to the Monserrat. The crew member operating the dingy asked Aden if he wanted to drive. “I know how,” Aden said, beaming with pride. “I have my own boat at home.” He sat in the back of the dingy with the crew member and navigated us all the way back to the cruise boat.

Back on the boat, I had Aden journal about his experience swimming with sea lions. I think it’ll be something he’ll never forget.

Lunch is served on the boat when we returned around Noon. Today, the chef prepared spinach soup, chicken, rice, cabbage salad and strawberries for dessert. Tory loved the soup until she heard the waiter tell another passenger it was creamed spinach.

As we ate, the boat is already underway to our next destination: Vicente Point Rock on the northern part of Isabela Island. We had about an hour of free time after lunch until we arrived there.

This afternoon’s activity is a dingy ride to see some of the amazing wildlife living along the cliffs of Vicente Point Rock. The landmass is gorgeous with brown, tan and black striped along the cliffside — evidence of many lava eruptions and sediment build-up over time.

When the Monserrat is anchored, we all jumped into the dingy boats and motored closer to the rocks. Right away, we could see Galapagos penguins waddling on the rocks as well as sea lions and blue-footed boobies. I overheard one passenger in our boat say, “I traveled all the way from Norway to see this bird and here it is.” It was pretty neat to hear all the ooh’s and ahh’s from our party. Around the boat, green sea turtles were swimming and penguins were hopping in and out of the water from the rocks. I, myself, was having one of those “pinch me” moments! It was so beautiful that it honestly didn’t seem real watching these beautiful animals interact in their natural habitat.

Our dingy boat ventured into a cave which felt like a Disney theme park ride. Our small boat rose and fell with the sea level in the dark hole.

Around 4:00pm, we returned to the Monserrat to change into our snorkeling gear. Then, the dingy boats took us back to Vicente Point Rock to swim. I was thankful for our wet suits as the water was freezing again. One of the naturalists said three ocean currents flow around the Galapagos, one being the Panama Current which brings deep, cold water. That’s why Galapagos penguins thrive in the western parts of the archipelago on Fernandina — the waters in other areas on the islands would be too warm for them.

Tory had that same panicked look in her eye, but Andi was determined to get her into the water. He promised he’d stay right beside her to help her snorkel. Alas, a few minutes later they were back in the dingy. Tory was having none of it. We’re walking a fine line in parenting her through this stage of development— pushing her to have courage to try new things & not to quit immediately when new experiences feel challenging, while also not forcing her to do anything she’s not comfortable doing.

Once Tory was back in the boat, Andi, Aden and I continued to snorkel around Vicente Point Rock. We saw loads of fish, penguins, sea turtles and sea lions swimming around.

Thirty-minutes later, the three of us climbed back into the dingy, toweled off and returned to the Monserrat. The chef had hot cheese empanadas and cookies waiting for everyone after our swimming session. The Monserrat isn’t the fanciest boat, but all the small touches like yummy snacks after excursions, nice table linens, and water/coffee/tea/hot chocolate available throughout the day are nice.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I took an ice cold shower & Tory said, “You don’t have hot water? Ours is steaming!” After that, Andi and I moved over to their bathroom. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting hot water showers on the boat so the fact that we can shower off & warm up after an active day adventuring is icing on the cake. I can’t imagine all the supplies needed to feed and accommodate 20 passengers + nine crew members for a five-day cruise.

Andi and I headed upstairs to the top deck with the London and German couples at sunset for a happy hour. Then, the entire boat attended an evening briefing at 6:45pm with one of the naturalists to learn about tomorrow’s adventure.

Dinner tonight was cauliflower soup, choice of shrimp or chicken, roasted peppers, mashed potatoes and rice. Both Tory and Aden were so exhausted they barely made it through dinner.

I read to them from a chapter in our current book after dinner, and then tucked them into bed around 8:30pm. Andi and I returned to our cabin next door and were asleep shortly thereafter.

We are motoring overnight once again to reach Santiago Island by morning.