Celebrity Flora – Galapagos Cruise Blog – Day 2 – Espanola Island
It was day 2 of my Galapagos cruise on the Celebrity Flora and day 4 of our overall adventure. I’d had a great time so far, but I was ready to get into why I took this trip in the first place…to see Galapagos wildlife and scenery. Today, we’d have two excursions and start to get into our expedition routine.
Celebrity Flora Galapagos Outer Loop Day 2 Overview
- Day 2 Schedule
- Starting a Little Tired
- Breakfast Buffet at Seaside Restaurant
- Preparing of our Excursion
- First Excursion: Gardner Bay Beach and Snorkel
- Back on Flora
- Lunch at the Ocean Grill
- Bird Identification Talk
- Rough Seas
- Excursion 2: Punta Suarez Boulder Walk
- Back to Flora
- Excursion Briefing
- Dinner in the Seaside Restaurant
- Day 2 Wrap Up
Celebrity Flora Galapagos Outer Loop Day 2 Schedule
Starting a Little Tired
I usually sleep pretty well on a cruise, but I didn’t sleep the best the first night. I’m not sure why. The bed was very comfortable, the air conditioning was super strong, and the blackout curtains kept all light out, but I still struggled to sleep.
I think the biggest problem was the rocking overnight. This was my 18th cruise, and I don’t think I’ve had that much rocking since my first cruise on an older, small ship, the original Carnival Celebration, in 2004. While rocking usually helps me fall asleep, it felt more unsettling this time, perhaps because the bed faced the windows so I’d rock head-to-toe instead of side-to-side.
In addition, the rocking made the cabin very noisy. It creaked, and items knocked against the walls any time the ship bobbed up and down in the water. Flora does have stabilizers, but its small size meant it still rocked more than the megaships you see now. On Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, the largest in the world, I didn’t feel any movement at all. But on Flora, movement was very noticeable.
On the plus side, the bed was extremely comfortable and I loved that with one push of a button, the curtains would open to reveal the ocean views. Today was a bit drab, but hopefully it’d clear up a bit.
Breakfast Buffet at Seaside Restaurant
After getting ready, we headed down to the breakfast buffet at 7:30 AM. It’s in the Seaside Restaurant, the same place we’ve already had lunch and dinner. The large windows in the dining room let bright sunlight pour in, washing the room in light and giving it an airy feel.
At this point, it was pretty empty. I’d guess that only about 25% of the guests were here, which I found surprising. Breakfast on a cruise ship is usually really busy, especially before port days, so I thought it’d be a bit more crowded.
Breakfast on Flora is buffet-style, like lunch. We sat at a window table and set our stuff down. The waiter offered coffee, and then we headed to the buffet.
It’s a smaller buffet, but it has all the staples you’d expect. There was a pancake of the day, French toast, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, cereal, pastries, and a toaster. You could order an omelet, which they’d make to order and bring to your table. They also had a large selection of fruit and fresh fruit juices, which changed each day. I tried the bacon again, and it was just as tough as at the two previous hotels. This is when another guest told me it was just how the bacon is raised in Ecuador.
I didn’t want to overeat, but I also wanted to make sure I had enough energy for today’s two excursions.
Preparing for our Excursion
For this morning’s activity, we booked the “Beach Walk and Optional Swim / Beach Snorkel.” We were torn between that and the kayak and beach walk options, but we thought it’d be a good idea to try a snorkel from the beach before trying deep-water snorkels later on in the cruise.
The excursion meeting times are staggered, usually around 15 minutes apart, so you were never waiting around with 100 people. In fact, you rarely felt like you were in a line.
All excursions left from the Discovery Lounge, and they asked us to arrive 15 minutes before our excursion left. We arrived at 8:30 AM and checked in with one of the naturalists by giving our cabin number. He told us which tender we were on, and we sat down and waited for them to call our number.
Tender assignments weren’t based on age or fitness level, but solely on when you arrived and how much space was left. If you are traveling with a group, you should wait until everyone arrives to check in so they can assign you all to the same tender. Each tender held 10 to 14 people.
At 8:30 AM on the dot, they called the first tender, and we exited the Discovery Lounge and headed down the stairs to the Marina. We grabbed our assigned bags and snorkel equipment from the storage area, then checked out by swiping our cabin card on the console.
Then we started putting on our life vests. Every time you get on or off Flora, you must wear a life jacket. And while it’s not difficult to put on, it usually meant taking off your backpack, putting on your life jacket, and then putting your backpack back on. It took a while the first time, but doing two to four excursions a day, people had the whole tender embarkation process down by the last day.
First Excursion: Gardner Bay Beach and Snorkel
Tender Ride to Espanola Island
Our tender drove up to one of the ladders at the Marina, and we started loading one at a time. The tenders are sturdy, with solid floors and stairs with handrails to help you get in. The driver would jam on the gas to keep the tender pressed against Flora, and then you could step down. It’s a much sturdier process than I’d seen on larger cruise ships that had rickety walkways to board tenders.
Our naturalist for this excursion was Ivan, who introduced himself and our driver, Darwin.
We held on as the tender zipped its way across the water to the island for a wet landing. In a wet landing, the tender drives up to shore rather than a pier, so your feet get wet. Because of this, most people wore water hiking sandals. In my research, everyone raved about the Teva brand, but I got these knockoff sandals on Amazon, and they were perfect although they ran a bit large (see on Amazon). They worked well in water but were solid enough for walking, so I wouldn’t have to change shoes after a wet landing.
As we started to head over, a light rain started to hit us. It was a misty kind of rain that felt like it was nothing, but also everywhere at the same time. Since the weather seemed fine when we left just a couple of minutes earlier, no one in my group had ponchos or raincoats.
As we approached the white-sand beach, I quickly realized the large rocks dotting the beach weren’t rocks, but sea lions. The beach was covered in them.
We jumped off the Zodiac and headed to the top of the beach to take off our life jackets and drop off our backpacks and snorkel equipment. We’d walk back here to start the snorkel portion. Of course, right next to the area, a large sea lion was trying to sleep.
Walking Among the Sea Lions and Birds
For the first part of the excursion, we walked along the beach to see the landscape and learn about wildlife. As we stood there, the rain got heavier, and we were getting quite wet. Since it was a swim excursion, we didn’t care that much, but I could see the reef-safe titanium dioxide sunscreen that everyone had on running off our bodies. The tenders that arrived after us all had light ponchos on, thoughtfully provided by Celebrity.
Tip: The backpacks Celebrity provides have a little waterproof cover at the bottom that can come out and protect your bag’s contents if it’s raining.
Even with the rain, it wasn’t hard to appreciate the opportunity. There had to be at least 30 sea lions on the beach all around us, not paying us any attention at all. It was so surreal.
Ivan explained the sea lions to us and how they operate. Most of the sea lions here were females, and a couple of males on the beach fought over control. In fact, while we were there, two males fought over control of the beach. It was amazing to witness the fight in person, just 30 or so feet away. Their barking echoed all across the shoreline; I never realized male sea lions could be so loud.
We then walked down the shore line to see the local birds. Of course, the birds were the reason the Galapagos are so famous; with Darwin studying the extensively. Here, the birds were mostly small and not afraid of humans at all.
Snorkeling at Gardner Bay
By the end of our walk, the rain let up, and it was time to snorkel. We all suited up in our shorty wetsuits and grabbed our gear. Because this was a “beach snorkel” where you could still touch the ground if you wanted to, it was less supervised than the deep-water snorkels we’d do later on. You also didn’t have to wear the fins, but most people did. It was a good time to get comfortable with the equipment.
The water was surprisingly warm for this time of year. Usually, it’s around 68 to 72 degrees in the water in August. But thanks to El Niño, the waters were warmer, around 76°F most days. I still wore a wetsuit, but I really didn’t need the long-sleeve rash guard top I bought to wear under the shorty, although it was nice to have the sun protection.
Even with the higher temperature, the water felt brisk. As I walked in past the crashing waves, I looked underwater only to be disappointed. There was almost no visibility. Between the rough seas and dark skies, it was just murky water. But Ivan suggested that, if you were comfortable enough, there was a rock formation out in the water that provided the best experience, so I headed out that way.
As I glided through the water with the flippers towards the formation in the distance, the water started to clear up, and fish started to appear. Without the strong sun, I couldn’t appreciate the vibrant colors, but all the sea life was perfectly visible.
Tip: If you want to record while snorkeling, a phone case just won’t do. Once submerged, the screen gets too many false touches. Instead, consider a GoPro or knock-off. I had the entry level GoPro Hero and it worked well (see it on Amazon). it can go up to 16 feet underwater without a case (just make sure to rinse it as soon as you’re back).
Out here, the water was too deep to stand, and the currents were light, but it wasn’t too bad for snorkeling. Two tenders circled the rock formation, watching to make sure everyone was okay and ready to assist with any issues.
I took the time just to relax and observe this underwater world through the dive mask. I could see all the active fish swimming around the reefs and rocks. It was so peaceful. I could see why people love to scuba dive, which would be even more amazing (scuba is not offered on this trip).
At one side of the rock formation, we saw a sea lion sitting on the rocks. Then, a second later, he was in the water with us. He wasn’t necessarily playing with us or coming right toward us, but he was playfully swimming near us.
I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw him spinning and sliding through the water between the few of us who braved swimming that far out. He was trying to catch some fish below us, but without much luck. My heart was racing being so close to this animal. I did my best to stay the required 8 feet away, but he kept swimming nearby. Then, after a few minutes, he zipped away deeper into the water.
On the other side of the formation, we spotted a sea turtle gracefully swimming through the water. He was a beautiful color, a mix of yellows and greens with hints of red. I recorded him with my GoPro, and when I reviewed the footage later, it caught something I didn’t: a white-tipped shark right next to the turtle. I’m kind of glad I didn’t see it at that point.
We kept exploring the rocks and had more encounters with a different sea lion. It really was unbelievable.
Getting Back to the Ship
I lost track of how much time we were out there, but eventually the Zodiac pulled up, and the driver had us get back in to take us back to shore. I was confused by that, but later found out it was because a man in another group was bitten by a sea lion while coming back ashore.
He wasn’t violating the animal’s space or antagonizing him, but a dominant sea lion saw the guy swimming back up on shore and bit his knee from behind. It was the same male who was fighting earlier. Luckily, it was a minor wound, two puncture wounds with 4 stitches each, and the guy was a really good sport about it.
We grabbed our bags and headed back onto the tender to Flora. The weather cleared up, and it was actually a beautiful day.
Back on Celebrity Flora
I was on cloud nine as we headed back to the ship. Already, this experience gave me more than I expected, and it was just the first of so many that we’d be doing.
We got back on board Flora and started washing and rinsing. To avoid cross-contamination between islands, every time we returned, we had to wash our shoes in one bucket, our wetsuits in another, and dunk our whole snorkel mesh bags in a third bucket.
You can really tell Celebrity thought about everything when they designed the ship. They had 3 full showers and 3 foot showers with large brushes to scrub your shoes and remove any sand or stones. I was surprised that it was actually warm water, which felt great as we cleaned up.
Once everything was disinfected, we hung it back on our dedicated hooks for our cabin, so we didn’t have to bring wet equipment back to our cabins.
As we headed up the steps from the Marina into the ship, the captain welcomed us, and nearby a crew member played the pan flute, creating a relaxing atmosphere.
Nearby, they had a station of ice water, flavored water, and fresh-pressed juice. Next to it, there was a small display of sandwiches for a light bite. It was a perfect way to end the trip and, again, blew me away with Celebrity’s attention to the guest experience.
We went back to the cabin and showered before lunch. It’d become a common occurrence. I had more showers on this vacation than any other one I’ve taken.
Tip: When packing, don’t forget clothes for the time between excursions. Usually, it’s from around 11 to 3, so you just want something comfy and casual: plain shirt, basketball shorts, sweatpants, leggings. It’s very casual.
Lunch at the Ocean Grill
For lunch today, we could do the buffet on Deck 4, which was an Ecuadorian buffet, or go to the Seaside Grill on Deck 7 for al fresco dining.
When I heard the name, I thought it would be similar to the Mast Grill on other Celebrity ships, with grab-and-go burgers and hot dogs, but it ended up being casual wait service. Celebrity doesn’t seem to like to have suite guests stand up and get anything themselves, from bars to food, so you sit down and wait for someone to come to you. I’ve noticed that on the big ships too. They focus more on table service rather than going to bars, which I don’t prefer. I have no problem getting up to place an order for my food or drink, but I know some people would consider that offensive.
The upstairs dining area is really nice, with comfy tables and a large awning to protect us from the direct sun. It was great to be outside so that I could enjoy the views and sea breeze.
I started with a chips and guacamole appetizer and had the burger. The burger itself was just “okay,” but I’ve heard it’s because their beef in Ecuador isn’t as high quality as the beef we’re used to in the US. It was cooked well, but just not as flavorful as I was used to.
Bird Identification Talk
After lunch, we relaxed a bit before heading to a bird identification talk at 1:45 PM led by one of the naturalists. I’ve never been all that interested in birds, but I thought it would be good to know what I’d be seeing on the many islands. It seems like many guests had the same idea. About 40% of the ship came down to the Discovery Lounge for the talk.
The discussion was only 30 minutes but covered all the birds we’d be seeing, how to identify them, and why they’re important. While finches usually come to mind when people think of the Galapagos thanks to Darwin’s studies there, we focused more on larger birds like albatrosses, Blue-footed Boobies, Frigatebirds, and Flightless Cormorants.
The talk was actually way more interesting than I thought it’d be, and it really came in handy in the coming days.
Rough Seas
Today was pretty rough on the ship. At times, it felt like I had to walk uphill to get out of the cabin, and when I showered, the water went everywhere because of the cabin’s tilt. Apparently, part of this was due to the earthquake in nearby Colombia that had just happened, but we hadn’t heard about it yet. Even with complimentary and good internet, we were pretty unplugged this trip because we were so busy.
Punta Suarez Boulder Walk
Our activity that afternoon was the “long, strenuous boulder walk,” which the excursion director, Gio, said was the most difficult walk on the trip. It was hard to gauge how “difficult” things were, though, because his audience was vast, from a 12-year-old girl to an 85+ year-old man with mobility issues. For other talks later on in the cruise, he did a great job explaining why things might be difficult, such as slippery terrain, sharp rocks, large inclines, etc., but this one we didn’t get much insight as to why it was “difficult.”
Apparently, people weren’t too put off by that description. About 50% booked the long, strenuous walk. But even though it was about 50 people doing the excursion, it never felt that way because we were with our individual group. We were naturally staggered out by the availability of the tenders.
Dry Landing at Punta Suarez
We showed up 15 minutes before the excursion in Discovery Cove, put in our names, and were assigned Tender 1. Promptly at 4 PM, they called our tender, and we boarded along with the other 10 people in our group.
The sky cleared up from this morning, and it was a beautiful, sunny day with bright blue skies. The Zodiac skipped along the water as we headed over to the makeshift pier. This excursion was a dry landing, meaning we could wear our sneakers. In reality, it was less of a pier and more of a jetty with an asphalt walkway. Getting off the tender, you had to do a bit of a jump over slippery rocks, and then the walkway itself was slick from the waves crashing over it.
Once we got to the beach, our guide took our life jackets, and we started our walk. The beach was littered with sea lions and dark land iguanas. Both blended in so well that you could easily not notice you were walking right next to wildlife.
The walk started heading among boulders to the other side of the island. As we walked, our guide pointed out the wildlife. Frigatebirds flew through the air, their profiles looking stunning from the ground.
At the far side of the island, we had to scale down some boulders. This was probably what Gio meant by the strenuous part. It really wasn’t physically taxing, but if you were unsteady, it was easy to slip and fall on the rocks.
Nazca Boobies and Waved Albatrosses
At the bottom of the rocks, we saw rocks covered in Nazca Boobies and plastered with white bird poop. It definitely smelled like a zoo, with bird waste littered among the rocks.
Then we headed back up, where we were lucky enough to see a pair of albatrosses nesting. The Waved Albatross is the largest bird in the Galapagos, with a wingspan of up to 8 feet. They’re only in the area from March to September and, even then, not consistently, so we were lucky that we got to see them.
Further in the distance, we saw two albatrosses dancing together in a courtship dance. It was really cute. The birds’ coloring and shape made them quite striking.
The Blowhole and Christmas Lizards
Then we hiked back up to some rocks for a stunning view of the ocean and a blowhole. We stopped here for a while for a water break and to take in the scenery. It looked like something out of a movie, with the deep blue waters and the cloud of white mist contrasting against the green fauna.
As we continued on, we saw “Christmas lizards,” which had beautiful green and red coloring on their skin. They lazily relaxed on the rocks, enjoying the warm sun.
We finished the walk by having to pass by two sea lion babies who were lounging on the walkway. They had no concern or care about us at all. We might as well have been invisible.
How Strenuous Was the Walk?
Overall, the walk ended up taking 1 hour and 45 minutes and covered 1.3 miles. My tracker recorded 2,100 steps. We had an elevation change of about 50 feet over the hike, roughly 5 stories. As a relatively fit person in my 40s, I don’t think I’d use the word “strenuous,” but it was more than a walk in the park.
It was a beautiful walk, though, filled with not only animal life all over the place, but stunning landscapes.
Back to Flora
As we returned from the excursions, the hotel director, Lauren, was at the top of the stairs. She greeted us by name without the assistance of a computer and seemed genuinely excited to hear our stories. It was another way the staff of Flora continued to impress me.
They also provided ice water and juice before I headed back for my third shower of the day, before our excursion briefing and dinner.
Excursion Briefing
At 6:45, we headed down to the Discovery Lounge for this evening’s excursion briefing that would start at seven.
Being used to big ships, I’d always allocate extra time to get to the place we’re going and to find a seat, but that wasn’t necessary on Flora. From the cabin to any of the venues was maybe a 2-minute walk at most, and there was no waiting for the elevator because, with just one or two flights of stairs, people just walked. You also didn’t have to get to Discovery Cove early because there was more than enough seating for everyone onboard.
But by getting there a bit earlier, we had time to order the drink of the day. I love trying new drinks and looking at drink menus when on cruise ships, but although all drinks are included on Flora, they don’t have any drink menus. But each day, they did have a drink of the day. Today’s was Blue-Footed Booby, a layered drink. I have no idea what was in it, but it was tasty.
Excursion director Gio came out and explained all our options for excursions tomorrow. In addition to the morning and afternoon excursions tomorrow, we’d also have two snorkeling options so that we could have 4 different excursions in one day.
We picked our excursions, signed up with the naturalist, and headed over to dinner.
Dinner in the Seaside Restaurant
Once we put our names in, we headed over to the dining room. Like Hotel Director Lauren said the previous day, there wouldn’t be any lines, and service would be much smoother because people naturally came at different times as they decided on their excursions.
We walked right up, and the maître d’ greeted us and showed us to a table. It didn’t really matter where you sat because it was always dark outside by the time we had dinner at 7:30 PM, so a window view wasn’t important.
Again, we were greeted by a waitress who brought a selection of three breads and dips, although again, they didn’t say what they were like they do on every other Celebrity ship, and asked if we wanted the red or white tonight.
On top of the Celebrity staple dishes, tonight offered a whole new selection of Galapagos-inspired cuisine. I got the Spiced Shrimp Soup, which was really delicious. Shrimp is a specialty in Ecuador, so I figured they’d know how to do it well, and they did. Although it was “spiced,” it wasn’t “spicy,” just flavorful with cumin, black pepper, and fresh cilantro.
For dinner, I got the Roasted Galapagos Cod Fish Supreme. When I ordered, the waitress asked if I liked garlic because it was “very garlicky.” I love garlic, so I said it was fine and thought she was checking because people had sensitive palates, but no, this thing was a garlic bomb. The fish was smothered in a thick garlic aioli that was absolutely delicious, but if you don’t love garlic, I can see it being a problem.
For dessert, I ordered Grandma’s Chocolate Cake, which was a pretty decent offering, but nothing that blew my socks off.
Dinner took about 55 minutes, and service was much smoother this evening.
Day 2 Wrap Up
After dinner, we headed right back to the room. The entertainment this evening was a BBC documentary, “Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life.” We’d already had a really active day and had 4 excursions planned for tomorrow, so we thought it’d be best to head to bed. It was a popular sentiment, as most people seemed to turn in right after dinner.
Overall, today was an amazing day. This was the reason I came on this trip. I literally swam with sea lions and sea turtles and walked among some rare wildlife you won’t find anywhere else in the world. The scenery was mind-blowing, and even the light morning rain couldn’t put a damper on it. And on top of that, the ship, which was almost an afterthought for me on this trip, exceeded expectations with some of the friendliest staff I’ve ever encountered and just every single thing thought through so Celebrity could provide the best Galapagos experience to the guests.
Follow Along on Our Galapagos Adventures
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Pre-Cruise - Quito
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 0 - Quito
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 1 - Baltra
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 2 - Española Island
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 3 - Floreana Island (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 4 - Isabela Island (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 5 - Fernandina and Isabela Islands (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 6 - South Plaza and Santa Cruz Islands (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 8 - Baltra and Disembarkation (coming soon)
- Celebrity Flora - Galapagos Cruise Blog - Day 9 - Quito and Home (coming soon)
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