The Airport - The Ship - and Sam

Over the next few days we visit many of the islands in the Galapagos, but of course not all. That would take an unusually long trip. Depending upon whether you do the four-day trip or the week trip, you of course, will see more of the islands.

What I will try to do is give you a taste of what to expect on this marvelous journey to a hidden wonderland. The things you will see in the adventures that you will be a part of are a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Cherish every moment of it.

Our tour guide Sam met us at the airport. Yes, Sam had a last name, but I frankly don't remember it and in essence it really doesn't matter. He became a good friend to all of us in our short time together and he was simply Sam to us.

Tour guides in the Galapagos are a rare breed. They must be native to the islands of the Galapagos and must be highly educated and trained. What Sam told us, showed us, experienced with us was simply marvelous.

We got on a bus and were transported to the pier where our ship was waiting. Well, it was not waiting right there so that we could walk on, but in the harbor and we needed a way to get there. So this became our first experience with the Zodiac. The Zodiac is what we might consider a rubber dinghy powered by an outboard engine. We would become very familiar with the Zodiac over the next few days, because it is our main mode of transportation to and from the islands and also when we went snorkeling.

We are now on the ship. Sam and the crew show us around. They show us to our rooms and bring us our luggage. After getting settled in our wonderful cabins, we were shown the different parts of the ship and had our first fire drill.

I will tell you more about the ship and what we do daily in the next day's journal.