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Galapagos Trip, Worldwide Trips

Galapagos: Day 3 Zodiac Trips

Punta Vicente Roca, Isabella and Punta Espinosa, Fernandina

Isabella Island is unique in that it looks like a sea horse. It is the second largest island in the Galapagos and has the most active volcanoes in the islands. For the most part, the island is covered with lava fields and almost no vegetation except for a couple of cactus trees, the southern highlands have dense vegetation and mangroves that can be explored by canoe, sea kayaks, or zodiacs. We visited the island a couple of times during the trip.

We spent quite a bit of time watching the Orcas. This one has a sea turtle hitching a ride on its tail. They are usually Orca food.
You can see the Orca is playing with us. Hi is traveling between the two zodiacs. It was quite a sight. The Naturalists told us they haven’t seen them in a while.

Punta Vicente Roca is available to snorkelers but we only had access to the area using zodiacs. Once again, the zodiac trip was outstanding. As we were exploring the island for the wildlife, all of a sudden, the zodiacs turned seaward and went toward something the naturalists didn’t expect that day. We saw Orcas. It turns out they may be seen in the western part of the islands but it was a couple of years since they appeared. The Orca almost seemed to be playing with us. It came up between the zodiacs. We could almost reach out and touch it. The naturalists were so excited. We followed it around as it came up for air.Finally, after more than an hour of Orca excitement, we turned back to the island exploration.

Punta Espinosa, Fernandina

A wingless cormorant and iguana that just came up from his swim
The wingless Cormorant (also known as the Galapagos Cormorant) co-exists with the flighted ones on the islands. The marginal wings does stabilize them so they can jump from rock to rock. Their feathers are more dense than the winged ones and keep them warmer in the water.

As we found out in our lectures, Punta Espinosa is one of the very few pristine places in the world. No animals were introduced to the island so it is an intact ecosystem. It is also very stark and barren but it is still full of marine animals. It has marine Iguanas that swim in a funny way. They use their tails to swim and pop their little heads up to breathe as they go along. There are also lots of the little red crabs that are everywhere (called Sally Lightfoot) as well as the penguins, cormorants, and boobies.

These little crabs called Sally Lightfoot are everywhere. The Galapagos people call them the “clean up patrol.”

There were hikes in the afternoon but I did not participate as it was too rocky for my ankle.

Galapagos Trip, Worldwide Trips

Galapagos Tour: day 2

Day two: Bartolome and Caleta Bucanero, Santiago Island

The first real day on-board gave everyone a chance to see wildlife and views, beautiful views. One of the first activities was a naturalist-led trip to climb to the top of Bartolome Island. It was a 388 ish step climb. I decided that would be a bit too much for me so we went on the zodiac tour. While the hiking group had a gorgeous view from the top, but we had the amazing birds, lizards, and plants close up and personal.

The zodiac cruised close to the island so the naturalist could scout out the various animals that are so very camouflaged, they were not easy to see unless they were pointed out to us. Once we realized what were were looking for, we saw wildlife everywhere. We saw lava lizards, crabs, pelicans, and the favorites the Galapagos penguin and blue footed boobies.

Our first view of the Galapagos penguin was such a delight. They are fairly small (about 19 inches tall) and are the only penguins that exist north of the equator. They survive because of the cool Humboldt current which is a rich source of fish. While we didn’t see penguin couples, they were all around us and could be seen among other water birds on rocks and swimming around us.

The zodiac driver kept turning the zodiac so we could get up close and personal. The animals were not afraid of us at all and just watched as we took pictures.

We also saw another of the iconic Galapagos sites, Pinnacle Rock. Pinnacle Rock was formed when the sea cooled hot lava and formed a huge rock that looks like a shark tooth. It is made up of many thin layers of basalt.

Another famous Galapagos view: Pinnacle Rock. The next picture shows it from the top of the island.
View from the top of Bartolome. You can see the ship waiting for everyone to return.
Also on Bartolome, was this great blue heron. It looked a bit small but others we saw later on were much bigger.

After lunch, we went to Caleta Bucanero, Santiago. This was the first chance to go sea kayaking.

They were only allowed to have a certain number of sea kayaks. This was taken before we got into them

While the views of the bay were great, the current was a bit strong and we were more worried about getting into trouble on the rocks. For us, it was harrowing. We knew the zodiac followed the kayaks so we would be fine, we were more worried about being bashed into the rocks to enjoy the trip. This was also the first chance to go snorkeling from the beach. I know I wouldn’t get into the cold water (even with a wet suit) from a beach, I waited until we went into the water from the zodiac. Then I am forced to address the cold water.

Galapagos Trip, Worldwide Trips

Getting to the Galapagos: Day 1

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Getting to the Galapagos from Quito required an early departure from the hotel. We left the hotel by 5:40 AM to get to Quito airport. Quito Airport is very modern and nicer than many we have gone through. It was built in the last couple of years (2013) so it was easy to navigate especially even though they force you through the duty-free area to get to the gate. Silversea personnel made sure our luggage was taken care of and checked to the Galapagos. All flights to the Galapagos are local. In this case, the flight stopped in Guayaquil and then went on to San Cristobal.

Continue reading Getting to the Galapagos: Day 1 →
Galapagos Trip, Worldwide Trips

A Birding EXPEDITION in Quito

We booked a tour with Neotropical Nature and Birding Trips. After looking at a number of companies, Neotropical was selected because of the great reviews on Trip Advisor and other sites. I would add a word of caution; the tour depends on the tour guide not the people in the office. Our guide came to pick us up right on time. He was very quiet. While he knew where to go and see the birds, unless you asked him specific questions, he wasn’t very forthcoming. The car was a bit of a four wheeled clunker and the driving was, well, let’s just say, Mike and I thought we would die somewhere on the streets in Quito especially when he cruised past 3 lanes of traffic entering a traffic circle. Maybe driving in Ecuador is different from home.

On the bright side, we saw awesome hummingbirds in the mountains. We stopped at Alambi Reserve where there were probably 30 or 40 hummingbird feeders and hundreds of hummingbirds feeding.

Farmers have figured out they make more money providing tourists with easy ways to see the amazing birds that are endemic in the country.

This is a long tailed hummingbird. We never saw this one before.

Standing in the midst of these beautiful birds buzzing all around you is a feeling like no other.

After that, we drove further into the mountains to another farmer site called San Tadeo, but this focused on the beautiful tanagers in the jungle area.

Their preferred food seemed to be bananas which are placed on platforms in the trees. The tanager colors were vibrant blues and yellows. Again, it is a viewing that defies comprehension. We would never see the birds if they weren’t in a reserve such as this. Tanagers belong to the second largest bird families in the world (Thraupidae) and 60% are native to the greater Andean area.

  • Blue Grey Tanager
  • Blue and Yellow Tanager


Our third stop didn’t go very well. We were supposed to see toucans but there was a bus full of students who weren’t very quiet and chased the birds away. Unfortunately, we didn’t know why we stopped until we left. That was part of the missed communication.

We drove to a Baños, a town that is located in a valley near an active volcano. We were told it is famous in the area for all of the outside sports and waterfalls. We stopped at a family owned restaurant and hotel (cabins). We enjoyed our outdoor lunch surrounded by birds and gardens.

From there, we went in search of the Cock-of-the-Rock, an unusual bird that I wanted to see in the wild. We went to a place they were supposed to inhabit but we were a bit too early in the afternoon and missed them. We actually had to walk down muddy steps to get to a bird screen and wait and wait and wait. Unfortunately, we never got to see the bird in the wild but here is a picture of what we were looking to see. The good news was I was able to walk down the muddy stairs.

Cock of the Rock (we didn’t see this bird in person but wanted to)

By this time, it was a full day for us and we were anxious to get back to the hotel to rest since the next day was a very early one but it took 2 ½ hours to get back and it was probably the most harrowing ride ever. Our driver sped through traffic and cut people off. I held my breath for most of the trip. Mike remarked that he never heard me be so silent. Guess praying was the word of the day. Silversea included a 2-hour Quito tour for that evening but we didn’t take it after our all-day birding tour.  We were exhausted and just glad to be in the hotel. The next day started very early and we finally reached the Galapagos. The next post will be getting to the Galapagos.

Galapagos Trip, Worldwide Trips

The Galapagos Islands: A true bucket list trip!

We have been fortunate enough to travel to many places in our lives but it was time for a very important one…THE trip at the top of my bucket list. From childhood on, I have always been interested in science and I was a biology major in college.   So when the time came, it was a simple choice: I wanted to go to the Galapagos and see what shaped Darwin’s “Origin of the Species.”

There was a second important desire for me because I had to prove something to myself after going through multiple foot surgeries and a total ankle replacement in 2018. This trip was a true celebration of life!

I read many blogs, many stories, and, fortunately, Mike was fine with the the trip. We finally decided to go with Silversea Cruise Lines. One of the reasons for this particular cruise line was that everything was included including drinks, tips, WIFI (such that it was), transfers, hotels, airfare, everything. Their ship is the Silver Galapagos. The ship has a maximum of 100 passengers and approximately 80 crew. I can’t say enough about the whole experience.


We flew from Miami non-stop to Quito, Ecuador. From the time Mike and I landed in Quito, the Silversea people took care of everything. For the first two nights, we stayed at the JW Marriott in Quito. That part of it is a bonus for us but not for others who experienced unexpected delays getting to Ecuador.

For those of us who reside at sea level, it was quite an adjustment. We panted (huffed and puffed) our way to the door of the bus and did the same walking into the hotel and just about everywhere else while we were at that altitude. We stayed at the J. W. Marriott in Quito for two nights but it is a bit misleading as we didn’t get into the hotel until almost 11:00 the first night and had to leave around 5:40 AM the second day. Needless to say, the J. W. Marriott in Quito is a lovely hotel as expected.

For those of you who don’t know anything about Quito, it is a city of approximately 2 million people at an altitude of approximately 9300 feet. It is the capital of Ecuador but not the largest city. The largest city is Guayaquil and is a port city (more about that later on) It is only 120 miles from the Equator. Quito was built on the foundations of an ancient Incan city. It is surrounded by mountains. Quito became a city in 1542. In 1978, it was declared a world UNESCO site along with the Galapagos.

The center of the city is filled with historic buildings; one of them is the Church of the Society of Jesus, known as la Compañía. This Jesuit church is famous for it gold leaf and gilded plaster and wood carvings.

We didn’t get a chance to see it because time was short and we wanted to see some of the rich wildlife that resides in Ecuador.

Restaurants

Don’t Bother Trying Mattison’s City Grille in Bradenton

We were so excited that Mattison’s was coming to Bradenton.  When we pulled up to the restaurant, they definitely “Mattisonized” it so it looked like the Sarasota site. We have eaten at the Sarasota Mattison’s City Grille a few times and also ate at Mattison’s 41 so we thought they would bring the same good food to Bradenton. Were we wrong. None of the food we had was worth our time. For that matter, neither was the drinks.

We were so disappointed. The calamari was fried but it was limp not crisp the way it should be. We didn’t even have time to finish it before they brought out the mains. I had the “bronze salmon” with broccolini and risotto. The burre blanc sauce was very sweet and it shouldn’t be. Mike had the grouper sandwich and there was barely a piece of grouper and it just didn’t look appetizing.

I had the happy hour “boat drink.” It was a  grapefruit margarita. I don’t think there was any grapefruit in it. The mojito was so sweet that it was undrinkable. It would have been okay if it was just not made that way because the mint was tasty.

We didn’t bother looking at the desserts.

As an aside, we went there when it was Yachtsea. It wasn’t very good then either. The Riverwalk deserves a good restaurant but Mattison’s isn’t it. We sure hope it gets better.

Marietta Museum of Whimsy, Museums

Marietta Museum of Whimsy is a Must Visit in Sarasota        

The Marietta Museum of Whimsy is a fun, amazing place where your mind is taken on an enjoyable trip. It is an odd little place but one that is fascinating and glorious. You couldn’t possibly visit and not laugh. It can be seen from Tamiami Trail (41) because the colors stand out and there is a pick flamingo outside. It isn’t far from another eclectic art museum; the Ringling Museum.

It is basically a free museum that relies on volunteers to “man” it, actually “woman” it. The owner, creator, and collector is Marietta Lee. They ask for a $5.00 donation and it is worth it.  There is a guard sitting and watching you; of course, pretty quickly you realize it is a fake. There are lots of twists and turns in the various rooms and each one is a delight.

The docents (are real) encourage everyone to go to the bathrooms because they also are works of art. There are paintings, sculpture, a funky light show, moving objects, porcelains, and metal garden art.

The light show is a delight with various figures spinning around the top of the room. The volunteers love to take you through and turn off the lights for a better view

You move into another room that is guarded by a stack of wooden animals that guide you into it.

There is a new kitchen area where the arches were created by the various volunteers.

Taking a walk in the gardens are a must because there are all sorts of art objects that are resting somewhere among the plants. Each view is just a delight.

It doesn’t take long to go through it but it is well worth your while to visit. It just makes you happy. What a wonderful place to conceive of, let alone, build.

The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1pm to 4pm from October to May.  The museum is closed during the summer months and  major holidays.

2121 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234.