Dec 31: Galapagos Day 4: Life At Sea

The days are starting to melt into each other and it's hard to tell one from the next: each dawn we awake to find a new island awaiting us; mornings are spent hiking among countless sea lions, iguanas, and Sally Lightfoot crab; afternoons are spent snorkling with Galapagos penguins, 200kg giant turtles, & 8-ft reef sharks; twice-daily siestas are spent on the sun deck enjoying the scenery and drinks from “Hugo's bar”.

One of the nicer surprises on the tour is the cloud of frigatebirds that gather over the ship as we set sail every evening. They seem to enjoy the updraft over the bow of the ship, allowing them to spread their 7-ft wingspans and just glide effortlessly 20-ft above our heads on the sun deck. It is wise to cover your drinks during this daily routine.

New Years Eve was a busy night: it was our turn for dinner with the captain (everyone on board gets a chance), during which the crew performed an impromtu concert, and then up to the sun-deck for drinks and dancing until midnight. Passengers were ferried over (and even swam, apparently) from other ships in the harbour for a joint party. The local custom for New Year's Eve is to build an effigy and burn it at midnight. The crew had been working all week on this and it was cast burning into the sea from the back of the boat:

We wimped out and went to bed right after midnight. A lot of the younger crowd stayed up drinking to the wee hours. Worryingly, so did the captain.