Right after our marvelous dinner we went back to the hotel to pack up. We were to pack the majority of our things in our main bag and only keep our night things and clothes for the next day for our carry on. Like everything thus far, Celebrity has the logistics down pat. And that opinion comes from two career logisticians. We took the big bags to the lobby where they were secured so the Galapagos inspectors could go through them at 0600. And then we didn’t have to deal with them until they were delivered to our stateroom.

Sunday morning we were driven in our group of 14 to the Quito airport along with Xavier, our fabulous guide. Check in was a breeze! Before we knew it we were boarding the Avianco charter flight to Baltro with our fellow Flora passengers. A short 2 hour flight, but they managed to serve us a light lunch, complete with printed menu, real dishes and cutlery and a cloth napkin! I haven’t had that sort of service since my first flight going to Denmark as a 16 year old! And the food was delicious.

We landed and easily disembarked outside, walking into the terminal to check in. Soon they had us on buses out to the pier. We were given life jackets and briefed on how to embark the tenders. While waiting our turn multiple sea lions swam lazily around us.

On board the tender we slowly made our way toward the ship with a slight detour to view a few birds on the rocky shore. Soon we were climbing aboard the Flora, our home for the next week. The greetings from the crew, from the Captain on down was amazing, all while we sipped on the glass of champagne we were handed as soon as we arrived.

We went to the outdoor dining area where a lunch was served as well as learning the emergency procedures. Back to our room where our bags awaited us we began settling in. Before we knew it, it was time for the initial briefing on Galapagos procedures as well as how things will play out each day aboard ship. This is not your beach vacation, but an adventure one. We learned about the offerings for tomorrow and have signed up for a morning beach walk followed by kayaking. The afternoon will be a tender jaunt.

The then it was waiting to be called to the afternoon lower deck to fit us with snorkeling gear. Everything was tried on, selected and bagged then hung in storeroom number order. So efficient.

We met for the captain’s toast in the lounge then filed in for dinner. We had a great group of Joan and Alison, a mother/daughter, Heather and Larry from Canada and Patty and me. I had the most wonderful paella like entree with lots of seafood. The conviviality was contagious.