The Sanderson Adventure Team: Life On Board Ship

Life on board ship is a fun adventure in itself. The Flamingo I has four decks. The main deck has the crew quarters, a kitchen, a large dining area and a lounge. The lower deck, which is below water level, has several guest cabins in the front half of the boat; this is where our cabins are located. The upper deck includes the bridge at the front, where the captain steers the boat, and several more guest cabins. Above that, the top deck is called the sun deck, an open air deck for relaxing and watching for marine life during our cruises. The boat can hold about 20 guest passengers and it has a crew of 11.

Each day we have a daily briefing when our guides tell us the schedule for the day and what supplies we need for each of our excursions.

At our first briefing, we were instructed on how to take a “navy shower.” Since we have to carry all of our fresh water for the trip on board the boat, it is important to conserve as much water as possible. We all had to take navy showers, which involved turning on the shower just long enough to get wet. Then you turn off the shower while you lather up with soap and shampoo, and then you turn the water back on long enough to rinse the soap off.

The biggest thing to get used to on board the boat is the constant rocking and rolling of the boat as it bobs along with the ocean waves. It takes some getting used to, but eventually you get your “sea legs” and you hardly notice the constant ups and downs of the ocean.

We often traveled during the night, but occasionally would sail during our afternoon "siestas." When traveling during the afternoon, we would usually relax on the sun deck, reading, playing games and keeping a lookout for marine life. One day we saw a huge Manta Ray jump out of the water!

The crew made the whole trip a lot of fun. Our naturalist guides Yvonne and Ivan were tremendous, teaching us about the Galapagos and helping us with all of our daily activities too. Our captain, Victor, was a lot of fun too helping us with our activities and always willing to teach us about marine navigation. On one of our last evenings, Ivan led a group of the crew, including Captain Victor, in a sing along after dinner that eventually included most of the guests. North played the maracas. Dubbed the Booby Band, we had great time with all of our new friends on the Flamingo I.