I spent Dec. 8th - 15th on the Mary Anne and it was amazing! It is really hard to sum it all up, but I will try to address points that I was worried about before we left:
1. We stayed in Guayaquil because I get elevation sickness. It wasn't a great city for tourism (I stuck out like a sore thumb and the attractions really do only take 1/2 a day to see and become bored). Angermeyer included a city tour, which was great, and Pilar, who conducted the tour and also helped at the airport, was really fun and informative. Without that tour, I would have thought Guayaquil a waste of time. Talk to Angermeyer about airport pick-ups, because we didn't know we would be picked up after the Galapagos and so we also booked our hotel shuttle.
2. The boat is beautiful. We had a huge cabin (#10), with absolutely no storage problems (most of the space stayed empty). We had 2 hard case carry-ons a big camera bag, and a backpack. The shower water is always piping hot, even when everyone is showering after snorkeling. They say you can do laundry once, but the water is rusty and will stain your clothes, so really bring enough for the whole time or don't mind wearing dirty clothes. I think I will do another post on what to bring, because that caused a lot of stress for me. My husband did get very seasick, along with several other passengers, a couple of times on the voyage--this was with prescription seasickness pills. That said, he would go again on the Mary Anne in a second (his favorite part was walking around the boat barefoot--very unlike him!)
3. The staff is simply amazing. We were 14 passengers with 10 crew members plus the guide. The staff took care of everything so well, I was shocked when I came home and had to do things for myself! Pablo, the bartender, server, etc. was so nice and seemed to anticipate all our needs. The rooms are cleaned TWICE a day, and the boat is cleaned constantly, but unobtrusively.
4. Our guide, Fausto, was great! He was strict in terms of staying on the trail and keeping our distance from the animals, like all guides should be (hear that, The Evolution!) and gave us the right feeling of respect toward the Galapagos. At the same time, he was a ton of fun, extremely knowledgeable, very responsive to our requests, and gave everyone really great camera advice! I'm sure he knows how to use every camera in the world better than the people who own them. We all had a great time with Fausto!
5. The food was pretty good. We are vegetarians, and were a bit worried about it, but we never went hungry. In fact, we were perpetually full to the point that we were eating when we weren't hungry just because it was good. Papas de yucca, I will miss you! Anyway, besides a sometimes abundant use of fake meat, the food was good, and sometimes really great.
6. Sleeping was a bit tough with the movement of the boat and engine sounds, but earplugs and very busy days overcame that. We really did go to bed after dinner and our talk about the next day. Fausto showed some great Galapagos documentaries, but I fell asleep in the middle of each one (around 8:30 PM).
7. What I thought would be the best part, snorkeling, ended up being my least favorite, but not because of the boat. The water was COLD! I guess La Nina is doing a number on the water, because in some places we were surprised there wasn't ice! I really should have brought a full, thick wetsuit, because the ones on the boat didn't cut it. A cap would have helped a lot, too. And gloves. The wildlife was abundant, and I really missed out on a great moment my husband had swimming with sea lions because I couldn't bear the thought of getting in that water again! I guess we'll have to go back on the Mary Anne when it's warmer.
8. The hikes were easy. Some were long, but at a leisurely pace. I think most any fitness level can handle the itinerary (but maybe not some of the aggressive snorkeling). In terms of the itinerary, I'm sure everyone reading this forum knows it will be amazing. The only animals we didn't see were red-footed boobies, maybe some of the finches (we weren't really looking for all 13), hammerheads (not really an option without diving), and dolphins. Dolphins can be seen on the Mary Anne's route, it just didn't happen when we were there. We did see a distant whale.
Gosh, I don't know what else to say as I go through my 3,000+ photos. I'm actually kind of depressed that I'm not on the Mary Anne in the Galapagos anymore.
Oh yeah, bring lots of cash. Besides the cheap touristy crap, there is some pretty nice stuff in Puerto Auyora that you may wish you had enough money to buy (some stores take credit cards). Also, I was told I could tip the crew with credit card, but you can't. They said they could figure it out, but my card hasn't been charged and now I need to follow up and make sure our great crew gets their tip! (They recommended $100 per passenger for the crew and $50 for the guide. With 10 crew members working constantly, I thought they deserved a lot more, and gave what I could).
So, in summary, I researched this trip for 2 years before I booked, and the Mary Anne exceeded all my expectations. Feel free to ask me specific questions, because I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot!
