HURTIGRUTEN GALAPAGOS EXPEDITION CRUISE ON THE SANTA CRUZ II (INC. A STAY AT MASHPI LODGE, ECUADOR)

Wow, this was an adventure. I'd long been yearning to visit this remote Ecuadorean volcanic archipelago - it's famous for its wildlife and for being where Darwin developed his theory on evolution which changed the way mankind thought forever. In the end I picked a Hurtigruten Galapagos expedition cruise on their new 90-pasenger ship the Santa Cruz II. This video shows what life is like on board and off, including looking at my cabin, the facilities on board, the cuisine and a look at how passengers get on and off the ship in inflatable zodiac boats. It was a powerful, exhilarating expedition voyage which started in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, before heading to the Galapagos islands which are 1000km off the mainland - yes, we took a plane there! During the 6-night voyage on the Santa Cruz II we island-hopped around the archipelago, hiking across these tropical islands (most of them uninhabited) and seeing their exciting wildlife, untouched by humans. Everyone who comes here hopes to spot what's called 'The Big 15' - these are the fifteen iconic animal species unique to the Galapagos. We spotted 12, which are all included in this video: the Galapagos Sea Lion, fur sea lion, the giant tortoise, the Galapagos albatross, blue-footed Booby, red-footed Booby (they only exist on ONE island in the world), the Galapagos hawk, land iguana, marine iguana, Santa Fe iguana and the Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds. We did hikes; we lazed on remote white-sand Robinson Crusoe beaches packed with sea lions; we enjoyed DELICIOUS food. And it's incredible how many facilities a small ship can have, from a gym to hot tubs to a sun deck with sun beds. This video gives an overview of it all. The crew were exceptional and treated passengers like family . And you can even do amazing marine sports, like kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkeling. When I went snorkeling I swam with lots of green sea turtles - it was amazing. Also brilliant is that wine is included with lunch and dinner, which was a real bonus. Wi-Fi was also free for everyone to use. Unlike on big cruise ships the Captain of the Santa Cruz II operates an ''open bridge' policy and if you ask nicely you might be allowed to drive the ship. I asked and I did and it's included in the video! You can extend your expedition cruise with a post-cruise stay at a glass eco hotel called Mashpi Lodge which is 3 hours from Quito, deep in the Ecuadorean Cloud Forest. This was a brilliant addition to the expedition - Ecuador is far to travel to, so it's worthwhile doing as much as possible while you are there. Mashpi is plush and exciting, combining luxury with pure adventure - it was a superb cruise extension. I thoroughly recommend everything I did, from start to finish! Further information: https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-gb/expeditions/