Baltra and North Seymour Island

We had to get up before 5 AM this morning to use any toiletries before putting our bags out. We locked the bags with the cable tie devices supplied by Celebrity that are cut off for the inspection and then a stronger tie is put on for the flight to Baltra. We were down in the Bistro dining room by 5:30 AM for breakfast (little did we know at the time that this was the first of three breakfasts for the morning). After getting our carry on items from the room, we went to the Celebrity Hospitality Desk in the lobby to get our boarding passes for our flight to Baltra and special National Park forms to fill out for entry to the area. Celebrity has run the time in Quito like clockwork. It is extremely well organized and the staff has been terrific. (The same was true for the entire cruise and return to Quito.)

We are flying on Aero Gal (an Ecuador Airline) from Quito to Baltra with a 45 minute stop in Guayaquil for fuel, supplies and to pick up some replacement Celebrity personnel for the ship . We stayed on the plane during the refueling. This is actually a Celebrity Charter flight and it is first class all the way.   After taking off from Quito we were served our second breakfast of the day-yogurt and cereal (we passed). After taking off from Guayaquil at 10:30 AM we were served our 3rd breakfast of the day-omelet, fruit, etc. We were given a white table cloth for our drop down tray then our breakfast tray had a blue cloth covering. This meal we enjoyed.   About 30 minutes from Balta, the attendants opened all the over head bins and sprayed all the carry on luggage to ensure no outside bugs are imported to the islands. Landed in Baltra (about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador) at 11:30 AM and went through customs and got our National Park Passes certified. [While in the Galapagos we stay on Quito time ( CT) rather than converting to Galapagos time (ET) to give us more daylight in the evening.] We then took a bus to the dock where we were given an introduction to the proper way to board the Zodiacs (aka Pangas) using the Galapagos grip (forearm to forearm) . There are usually about 16 people in each Panga and as we found out later, that includes all our snorkel equipment and backpacks. The first trip out to the boat included our carry on luggage. We were welcomed on board with hot towels, food and drinks. (Got the same treatment after every excursion except the towels were cold and refreshing.) Went to the lounge area for an orientation, got our stateroom keys and went to the cabin to drop our stuff before lunch. After lunch, Diane bought a new safari hat then we unpacked and got ready for our first Naturalist briefing. The briefings cover the different activities available for the day (long walks, short walks, zodiac rides, and/or snorkeling activities). The briefings are normally held at 730 PM for the next day's island visits. Had a boat drill at 4 PM then we went on our first excursion at 4:45 PM. We opted for the short walk activity which included a zodiac ride along the coastline to observe the wildlife (there are Galapagos Sea Lions everywhere) followed by a dry landing at North Seymour Island where, during a rocky walk, we saw our first Blue-Footed Boobies and Great Frigatebirds . The male Frigatebird is a sight to see with its inflated red pouch under its mouth where food is stored and the pouch attracts the females. We also saw several Boobies doing a mating dance. The animals treat us as part of the landscape.   Walking sticks are provided for the walks and are definitely needed to traverse the boulder strewn area.    Words cannot describe what we are seeing. Our pictures will have to speak for us. In this case a picture is definitely worth a thousand words. We were back on board the ship at 6:45 PM for a quick cleanup before the briefing about the next day’s activities and the Captain’s crew introduction. We learned that a lot of the fauna in the Galapagos Archipelago is endemic to the area and not found any where else in the world.   The birds, animals and mammals are not afraid of humans due to lack of outside influences.   Had dinner at 7:45 PM with the two couples we met in Quito plus we added Ron and Maddy from Kent, England. Food and drink on board are unlimited.   After dinner we crashed since we had an early wakeup call for the 7 AM zodiac ride around Kicker Rock on Monday.