This 'n That

For those of you unfamiliar with zodiaks, they are rubber(?)
boats and passengers sit on the side which is quite wide. When
making a "wet" landing, the best way to exit and enter is to sit on
side and swing feet around. This is usually relatively easy if water
is fairly still.

You board one at a time and sit down alternating sides and slide
to back. When exiting you slide to front one at a time and exit either
on side or on steps.

We had 7 naturalists and I think they were all originally from the
Galapagos. They were well trained. I am not sure of the length of
their training. Some, if not all, attended university.  I don't recall any
question asked  not being answered immediately.

Although we were on a Celebrity cruise ship, (Celebrity is the only
cruise line with a ship there), the naturalists and cruise director are
not employed by Celebrity, but a tourist company. They work 4 weeks
and have 2 weeks off. The cruise director works for another boat on
some of her time off. I don't know if any of the naturalists do or not.

Our ship, the Xpedition is the largest in the Galapagos at around 100
passengers. It alternates 2 weekly itineraries. The powers that be are
trying to keep the islands as natural as possible and to limit how often
people are allowed to visit.

I highly recommend this trip for those of you who are adventerous. I
only wish we had done it 20 years ago. It is a VERY challenging trip
because of the terrain you must walk, but well worth it.