Tips for a Trip to the Galapagos
Every night before dinner, the Expedition Leader Cindy would lead a recap of the day in the lounge. She covered what we had seen and done that day, what to expect in the evening, based on when the captain would be pulling up anchor to travel to our next location and when he would be dropping anchor, and a bit about the next day.
It was a great wrap-up for the day, and in that spirit, I am doing a debrief, covering what I would do differently, for any on-going trip.
Linblad Expeditions provided us with a very good packing list. Some items I didn’t have but I borrowed and some items I thought I would just make do without. It was fine, but a few things on their list are worth buying, even now. This includes long sleeved UV shirt and full length UV pants. I would prefer covering my skin with this instead of the 50 Sunblock I used. It was effective, but natural beats chemicals for me.
For another trip to the tropics, I would purchase a hat like the guides wore, with the thing hanging at the back, called a Bimini hat. The guides and Zodiac guys also had a Buff, which covered their neck and also their face if they wanted. And if the trip would be longer than a week, I might even buy sun gloves.
And still on the subject of clothes, it is time for me to replace my old heavy hiking shorts with ones made of newer, lighter material. Again, they would take less room, weigh less and be easier to hand launder and dry if necessary.
Smaller binoculars would be more convenient, take up less space in the carry-on, and be lighter around my neck when hiking or riding in the Zodiac.
On the second day, I discovered that my camera battery has a very short life, missing many hours of photo-taking. Having a spare battery, charged and with me at all times, would have been smart! And of course, this includes making sure that both batteries are fully charged overnight.
And I am not sure what about “wet landing” I didn’t get, but luckily I carry extra zip-lock bags that I used for my camera on the days when getting wet was possible. Normally I would use my Travel Better Waterproof Passport Holder for my sure shot camera, but I left it at home.
And the last thing that I wish I had brought was some way to manage my reading glasses. I usually have them on my head, that being the most convenient and memorable place. But since I was wearing a hat all of the time, that wasn’t so good. So something around my neck that held them, or some kind of strap or tether would be a good addition.
But at the end of the day (every day), I clearly managed quite well with what I had and even having perfect equipment and clothing could not have made the trip better – the Galapagos need none of these things to be incredible!
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