Galapagos cruise

Turns out our cheap hostel was cheap for a reason...free wildlife!! First I saw a mouse (which had munched on our crackers), then we had little ants in our beds and then we turned out the lights and were besieged by cockroaches! Anna was reading and felt what she thought was an ant near her shoulder, turned the kindle light on it and saw something huge as it scuttled away. She screamed, leapt out of bed and found another in the sink and another by the loo. After spraying both our beds and the door to the bathroom with deet, we slept with the lights on - both dreaming of bugs!!!

After a slightly restless night (I woke up with a sore throat) we went for breakfast (not included in hotel de bug) and then had our last walk around the beach front. At 11am we grabbed our bags and got in a taxi with a lady, Tamara, who turned out to be our boat guide - $1 at locals rate.

We met up with the rest of our group at the airport and then were driven in 2 little pangas (inflatable dinghies) to our boat, Daphne. Daphne is a superior tourist class of boat, 1 up from economy, 1 down from first class - good enough for us! Our cabin was small with bunk beds, the bottom bunk (mine) being almost a double. Our ensuite was nicer than many hostels we've stayed in.

Our group of 16 consisted of fellow Brits Jo and Brian, Germans Stefan & Carolyn and Maya & Sabine, Aussie Emma and Americans Koyla & Lisbeth and John, Suzanne & Teresa and George & Mel (Armenians). The male crew consisted of the captain, 2 boatmen, 2 cooks and a server / housekeeper.

There were 8 cabins, a large lounge with TV, a dining area with 2 tables and a bar, plus a sun deck on top - complete with washing / dryer machine.

A sea lion climbed into one of the boats over lunch and fell asleep and had to be shooed out with a lifejacket. After lunch we had a welcome / safety speech and then went to the Interpretation Centre to learn about the history of the islands. Tamara gave a guide spiel but I preferred to read the displays which were interesting.

We then walked about 15 mins to Tijeratas and some of us went snorkelling. I was the only one who'd grabbed a wetsuit before we left so everyone else was freezing. There were small fish, lots of sea urchins and we saw 2 huge turtles. As I was getting out a baby sea lion came and wanted to play with the lady in fronts flippers which scared her. It then hauled itself out of the water and lay on the steps so I had to clamber carefully over it.

We went back to the boat and had popcorn and juice, then showered in our surprisingly spacious shower and went to the top deck to watch a stunning sunset.

We had a briefing talk with caipirinas for the following day's activities and then dinner at 7pm. Food so far has been lovely. Everyone was shattered and in bed by 9:30pm. I passed out and was awoken when we set sail at 3am but then the gentle rocking lulled me back to sleep. I woke briefly when the anchor was dropped at 6am but then fell asleep again. Lots of people couldn't sleep through the rocking boat and thought it was crazy rough. Anna and I seem to be the only ones not on sea sickness tablets and enjoying the waves.Read more