National Geographic Endeavour Galapagos Dining Recipes

Galapagos cruise food

I would swear that I took photos of some of these dishes on board the National Geographic Endeavour but I can’t find them.  My bad!

Shortly before the cruise, Linda found out she was allergic to wheat products and needed to be gluten free.  Among numerous other items, that really reduces the kinds of bread you can eat.  During the voyage, we met some people who also needed to be gluten-free and  especially for them the kitchen is making cassava bread.  Linda and I both try it.  Where has this been all our lives?

Linda asks Edison, the always helpful dining room manager, if she can be added to the cassava bread list. We have it for breakfast every morning from then on.  That’s how accommodating things are in Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic Endeavour dining room.

Cassava Bread/Pan de Yucca

Ingredients:

2 cups   Cassava flour (Yucca or manioc)
2 cups   Grated mozzarella cheese
2   Egg yolks
4 Tbsp.   Butter
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1) Mix all ingredients until consistent and firm in order to form the dough.
2) Form little buns and let them rest for about 10 minutes.
3) Preheat oven at 375 F.
4) On a buttered pan place the buns and put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the tops are  golden.
______________

Brazilian Xim-Xim Soup

This is a wonderful soup but the recipe makes enough for all the diners at lunch. So, I would suggest you make one-tenth of what the recipe calls for. By the way, this recipe took almost an hour to translate the ingredient measurements (such as a “taza” of this or that).

Ingredients:

Group 1
1 cup   Butter
4 cups   Pearl onion finely cut
4 cups   Red onion, Cubed
4 cups  Green & red peppers, cubed
6 Tbl   Garlic, finely cut
1 cup   Ginger, finely cut

Group 2
4 cups   Tomatoes (Skinless & finely cut)
2 cups   Canned tomatoes
16 cups  Chicken broth
1 Tsp.   Turmeric
½ Tsp.  Cheyenne

Group 3
11 lbs.   Fish (wahoo), cubed
1.4 cups  Coconut , toasted
1.7 cups  Macadamia nuts, toasted
6 cups   Coconut milk

Preparation
1) Toast coconut and macadamia nuts in oven until golden brown.
2)  Sautee ingredients of Group 1 in butter.
3)  Add all ingredients of Group 2 and simmer at low temp for
about 15 min.
4)  Just prior to serving the soup, bring to a boil. Add Group 3, stirring
well until the coconut milk is dissolved. Cook until the fish is done

Salt & pepper to taste
________________

Carrot and Ginger Soup
Serves 10

This is a simple soup that anyone who likes carrots and ginger (one of my favorite spices).  This also is an easy recipe to reduce from 10 servings to five.

Ingredients:

10   Carrots
1/3 cup   Ginger
1-1 /2 qt   Chicken stock
1 cup   Onions, chopped
1 cup   Whipping cream
1/4 cup  Scallions chopped
1/2 cup  Parsley
3.50z   Butter

Preparation:
1)  Boil carrots until tender. Puree with hand held mixer or food processor.
2)  Sauté pureed carrots with onions, ginger and butter.
3) Add chicken stock and bring to a boil for 30 minutes .
4) After carrots are cooked, liquefy through a strainer, return to pot and bring to a boil.
5)  Lower heat to medium and add whipping cream, parsley. Salt & pepper to taste.
_____________

Chocolate Decadence

For 12 people

I know there are photos of the Chocolate Decadence somewhere and when I find them I will add them and tweet their appearance. Again, this recipe needs to be cut for 4-6 people rather than the 12 this recipe covers. Add vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

11   Eggs
1 lb.   Semi-sweet chocolate
1-1/2 cups   Butter
1 cup   Vegetable oil
1 cup   Sugar

Preparation:

1) Melt together the chocolate, butter and oil, and let it sit until warm.
2) Beat the eggs with the sugar until the mix has become thick. Put it on low
heat for a couple of minutes and combine half of this mix with the melted
chocolate. Combine it slowly, and add the rest of the eggs.
3) Put it in the oven for approximately 20 minutes (350 degrees) When you take
it out of the oven the cake will be a little wet; put it in the refrigerator over
night or at least two hours.
4) Before serving you can pour on Grand Marnier or any kind of liquor on
top along with whipped cream, some chocolate sprinkles and raspberry coulis.

These recipes are a small sample why it can be so difficult to leave the Lindblad Endeavour’s dining room behind.  Not saying I wouldn’t have liked a hamburger or pizza at some point during the week. However, Linda and I always like to try new foods. And bring back recipes and see which ones we can incorporate into our lives. Cassava bread is the highest on our priority list.  As for the Chocolate Decadence, that will be treat for friends when we can be sure there won’t be any leftovers.  I need to lose weight.

Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                                       Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                            Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                         Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                  Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                            Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                    Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                         Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                                 Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                   Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                          Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Friday Menu Finale

Friday Galapagos cruise dining

Friday night’s dessert menu features what many consider the best of the week: the chocolate decadence. Friday’s lunch and dinner menus feature different presentations of amberjack but don’t overlook the beef filet with caramelized onions and wine sauce.

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Friday Lunch Menu

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Friday Dinner Menu

 Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                      Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming
                        Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                     Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                              Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                       Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                               Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                    Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                            Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                              Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                     Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

National Geographic Endeavour Galapagos Thursday Menus

Galapagos cruise dining 

There is no Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour lunch menu for the day spent on Santa Cruz Island. This is Galapagos tortoise day, with the morning exploring the Charles Darwin Research Foundation and the afternoon in the highlands watching tortoises roam in the wild.

For lunch is at the Ranch Altair restaurant/hotel in the highlands we had BBQ chicken prepared in a huge traditional oven. The atmosphere, and ready availability of the local beer from the bar made for a relaxing lunch.  I turned lazy, not thinking ahead of how I should record everything in notes and photos for this blog.  I went into vacation mode. Obviously, Altair is a very satisfying stop.

Thursday’s dinner menu was a buffet BBQ. It was the perfect way to end  an outstanding day following our interactions with the Galapagos tortoises. The amberjack was my favorite but the steak was very good, too.

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Thursday Dinner Menu

 Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                                   Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                       Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                    Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                             Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                       Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                               Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                    Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                           Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                             Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                    Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

Lindblad Galapagos Cruise, Endeavour Wednesday Menus

Wednesday Galapagos cruise dining

The lunch highlight today on the  National Geographic Endeavour is the traditional Spanish paella. Other options are also available.

food Lindblad paella-1
Paella is a highlight of every Endeavour cruise

Wednesday Lunch0001

Wednesday Dinner0001

 Lindblad  Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                                     Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                          Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                       Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                          Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                  Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                       Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                              Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                       Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

National Geographic Endeavour Tuesday Menus

Tuesday Galapagos cruise dining

The Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour’s Ecuadorian lunch buffet is perhaps the most colorful and flavorful of all the buffets. If you want to photograph it, be first in line. And shoot quickly. Many of the first for lunch lunch crowd are ready for a feeding frenzy.  (The dinner crowd is more mellow.)

One of lunch items, mote pillo, is unusual. Mote is the Ecuadorian word for hominy, made from white corn kernels. Hominy is a staple throughout the Andes. Mote pillo by itself can be served for breakfast. At lunch it becomes a side dish.

   Roast suckling pig  Wahoo covered with coconut sauce
Roast suckling pig; steamed wahoo in coconut sauce.

 Roast suckling pig is a common offering in Ecuador’s highlands. The crackling, (the crisp and tasty roasted skin) is highly prized by Ecuadorians and tourists. It is one of the first things to disappear. Oh, so good!

Wahoo is a hard-fighting fish that every serious salt water angler wants to find and then dine on. Today is wahoo day, served at both lunch and dinner. Do it! The Endeavour chefs do a fine job.

 Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Tuesday Lunch Menu

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Tuesday Dinner Menu

 Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                                         Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                              Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                          Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                   Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                             Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                     Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                          Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                                  Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                   Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                          Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Monday Menus

Monday Galapagos cruise dining

Monday had one of my favorite lunches on the National Geographic Endeavour. The Brazilian Xim Xim soup and the pasta with a trio of sauces were excellent.  An unexpected surprise were the cassava fries. Cassava–also called yuca, mogo, or manioc—makes a wonderful bread but we had no idea it could be turned into fries, too.  One fry goes a long way, as this photo demonstrates:

Lindblad cassava fries-1Cassava fries for Monday’s lunch.

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Monday Lunch Menu

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Monday Dinner Menu

Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                             Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                            Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                        Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                 Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                          Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                   Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                       Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                               Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                 Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                        Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

National Geographic Endeavour Sunday Lunch and Dinner Menus

Sunday Galapagos cruise dining

The Monday Peruvian lunch buffet illustrates how Lindblad’s National Geographic Endeavour highlights local cuisine. The grilled chicken sandwich with roasted onions is for those who don’t want to be adventurous.

Soups are offered at every meal, although Sunday’s menus don’t reflect it.  Go for the fish soup anytime it’s offered. Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Sunday Lunch Menu

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Sunday Dinner Menu

Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                             Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                               Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                            Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                     Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                               Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                       Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                            Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                                   Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                     Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                            Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Saturday Menus

Saturday Galapagos cruise dining

These are the welcome aboard menus for passengers on their first day of their Galapagos cruise.

When it comes to cruise ship food, a critic’s likes and dislikes can unfairly bias a dining review. My own admitted prejudices: I don’t like turnips. Though I recently had a turnip puree with something in it that started winning me over. 

To me it makes sense to provide the menus for the entire cruise so  each person can make their own decisions about the selections. Breakfast and lunch normally are buffets. Dinner may be a buffet or a sit-down meal, depending on the afternoon activities. One or two vegetarian options are offered at every meal.

Cheesecake is my great weakness and I judge the chocolate cheesecake served at dinnerto be  fine. It was perfect following the sea bass, my favorite of Saturday’s dinner entrees.

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Saturday Lunch Menu

Lindblad National Geographic Endeavour Saturday Dinner Menu

Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                            Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                                Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                             Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                      Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                                Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                        Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                             Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                                    Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                      Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                             Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

National Geographic Endeavour Dining Cruise Review


food_paella-1
Classic Spanish paella with shellfish but no shrimp

Sustainability guides Endeavour’s dining selections

Lindblad Expeditions takes its dedication to conservation seriously, extending it even to the Endeavour’s dining room. Although seafood is a staple on the ship’s menus, you’ll never find a shrimp cocktail, fried shrimp or shrimp of any sort on the ship. Lindblad banned shrimp from its kitchens more than a decade ago, in the summer of 2001, as part of its sustainable dining program to help preserve fish stocks world-wide.

Lindblad says it could not find any shrimp supplier that could prove their harvesting methods did not damage the marine environment. One of the serious problem shrimp trawlers create is the “bycatch” of unwanted fish species that end up being killed and disposed of. In addition, in some areas the trawlers may sweep the same section of sea bottom several times a year, which leaves no time for re-growth or recovery of the marine habitat.

Shrimp farming also has serious negative impact because shrimp growers have made their pond water poisonous due to the large amounts of artificial feed, pesticides, chemical additives and antibiotics used for the highest possible production rate. Typically, the ponds are located in coastal areas to provide easy access to new fresh water sources to refill them. Unfortunately, instead of reducing pressure on overharvesting, shrimp aquaculture’s toxic effluent is blamed for reducing local shrimp and fish populations in some regions

When it comes to the fish served on board the Endeavour and other Lindblad ships, they are species considered not to be over-fished or caught by environmentally destructive practices. Lindblad Expeditions is not being extremist in its sustainability approach. According to Ocean Wise, a Canadian non-profit education and conservation association, an estimated 90-percent of all large, predatory fish have disappeared from the world’s oceans and it states that one recent scientific study predicts a world-wide fisheries collapse by the year 2048. Obviously, this is a topic that impacts all of us and one we all should be concerned about.

Placing the serious aspects of the Lindblad Endeavour’s menu aside, as you’ll see from the accompanying photos and the week’s menus on accompanying pages, no one starves and there is a serious emphasis flavorful food, although the preparations are not always ones we have every day or perhaps ever have had before. But trying new foods always has been an essential part of travel. The menu emphasizes Ecuadorian cuisine, as you would expect.

Here are some sample signs that are posted to explain unfamiliar dishes:

food-montepillo-sign-1_thumb8 food-potato-patty-1_thumb215

Here’s how seriously Lindblad Expeditions takes its commitment to cater to the diverse tastes of its passengers. The photo at the top of this post shows paella served once a week at lunch that definitely would not suit vegetarians. So, a vegetarian paella is served at the same time.

This kind of catering is routine on large cruise ships. But the Endeavour carries fewer than100 passengers. Here is a photo of the vegetarian paella served at the same lunch.

food-veg-paella-1_thumb2
Vegetarian paella, a rice dish from Valencia, Spain

See for yourself what the dining on the Lindblad National Geographic Endeavor is like. You won’t be disappointed, I promise you. If I didn’t like it, I would tell you. But I do wish there was just one time during the week for a plain old hamburgers on a bun and all the trimmings. But that may be just me.

Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                              Endeavour Dining
Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                                  Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                               Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                        Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                                  Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                          Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                               Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                                      Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                        Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                               Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop

National Geographic Endeavour’s Floating SPA

Lindblad Floating Spa-1

by Linda O’Keefe

A motional massage on the waves

One thing I didn’t expect to find onboard Lindblad’s National Geographic Endeavour is a wellness specialist and a mini spa. Alexandra Cueva, the wellness specialist for our voyage, puts in a long day, beginning around 6:30 a.m. with a yoga, stretching or water aerobics class just before breakfast. The rest of the day she is on call for paid spa services.

One item on the spa menu catches my eye: a “floating massage.” Technically, all massages given aboard the Endeavour are floating but this offering is something special. One of the Endeavour’s old glass bottomed boats has been redesigned to provide a viewing porthole of the sea bottom directly under the massage table’s head cradle.

Watch fish while being relaxed

The idea is to have a massage while watching sea life swim underneath the boat.  Instead of a massage on the beach, it’s a great rub on an ocean tub.

Scheduling any kind of spa treatment on the Endeavour is difficult because it usually means having to give up something: a shore landing, snorkeling or kayaking. Also, the opportunities for a floating massage are limited to certain locations where sea conditions are calm enough that Alexandra can stay on her feet and the massagee doesn’t slide off the table.

While kayaking, Tim and I had seen the floating spa bouncing around in Tagus Cove where a Zodiac tried to keep it from crashing on shore. The waves and current were much too strong for any sort of stability. The Zodiac with its rubber hull acted like a seaborne bumper car.

The Zodiac could keep the spa boat away from land but there was no way the Zodiac could do it gently. In fact, we heard lots of crashing aboard the spa boat as we paddled past but no shouts of alarm. Can’t imagine how Alexandra managed to stay on her feet that day.

Lindblad Floating Spa-2  Lindblad Floating Spa-3

                                                    Boat ride in the nude

Remembering that spectacle, I wonder how real this floating massage is and how much of it is a gimmick. So the night before my scheduled tub rub when I pick up a robe and slippers from Alexandra, I ask her what I should wear the next day with the robe.  Her response is quick and firm, “Nothing. This is a professional massage.”

The next morning, clad only in my spa robe and slippers, I wait at the reception area for Alexandra to fetch me.  I know in the back of my mind the glass bottom boat is away from the ship but for some reason it hadn’t occurred to me I’ll need to ride in a Zodiac to reach it.

Normally just getting into a Zodiac when the waves bob it up and down is not the easiest maneuver even in normal attire. With a robe and nothing underneath, it’s really tricky. Fortunately, I make it on and off without any wardrobe malfunctions.

I take the Zodiac about half a mile from the ship to find the spa boat anchored in an isolated cove near shore. In the cloudy “garua” weather, the cliffs and a small island rock formation close by is both mystical and relaxing. After disembarking the Zodiac trip, I climb onboard the “floating massage” table.

Poor visibility, relaxing wave sounds

As I lay face down and Alexandra works wonders on my back, the view through the three-foot wide glass circle is disappointing.  There isn’t a great view due to the reflections of the boat and sky. I spot only a few fish that wander by.

Despite the lack of underwater activity, I love this experience. The sound of the waves drumming the boat is more soothing than any new age music . Inhaling the salty sea air is natural aromatherapy. Occasionally the relaxation is broken as the wind sweeps the sheet off my body and there’s a quick scramble to grab it back.

Lindblad Floating Spa-4

After my massage and I wait for the Zodiac to return, Alexandra points out a large sea turtle swimming on the surface with several other turtles surrounding it. As the turtles approach our boat, I realize something seems rather odd about what I thought was a single large turtle.

I ask Alexandra , “Are those two turtles–not just one?”

“Yes,” she replies with a sly grin on her face.

I wonder aloud, “Are they doing what I think they’re doing?”

Mating sea turtles are our boat bumpers

Her smiling face answers my question before she answers “Yes” and bursts into laughter. She confesses she has been watching them for a while. And we continue to watch the turtles float obliviously toward the boat.

My already R-rated adventure pushes the limit as the two mating turtles drift closer and closer to the boat. Eventually they bump into us, separate, swim away. At this point, Alexandra and I are close to hysteria laughing. (Though they probably don’t understand our idea of humor.)

Alexandra and I are still laughing when the Zodiac arrives to carry us both back to the Endeavour. All in all, this is an experience I won’t soon forget.

Lindblad Endeavour Galapagos Cruise Links

The Galapagos Experience                               Endeavour Dining Galapagos Adventure Upcoming                                    Sustainable Dining Policy
How Darwin Saved The Galapagos                                 Saturday Dining Menus
Galapagos Photo Tips                                                          Sunday Dining Menus
What To Pack For Cruise                                                    Monday Dining Menus
Getting to Guayaquil                                                            Tuesday Dining Menus
Las Bachas Shore Landing                                                 Wednesday Dining Menus
North Seymour Shore Landing                                         Thursday Dining Menus
Fernandina & Isabela Islands                                           Friday Finale Menus
Urbina Bay Shore Landing                                                  Endeavour Recipes
Life Aboard The Endeavour
More About Life On Board
Puerto Egas Shore Landing
Endeavour’s Floating SPA
Meeting One of World’s Rarest Animals
Puerto Ayoro Walking Tour
Santa Cruz Highlands Tour
Hunting Tortoises in the Santa Cruz Highlands
San Cristobal, Endeavour’s final stop