Lewis the Lion goes on his first cruise ever!

The Archipell II

Part of the adventure of travelling to the Galapagos Islands was that Lewis the Lion would be spending 5 nights on a cruise ship.

A map of the Galapagos Islands

He was so excited about it the night before he left Guayaquil, that he awoke in the middle of the night and started looking at pictures of it on the Internet! Click here to see details of it. The boat or catamaran that he would be travelling on was called Archipell II and it would be the first time ever that he had been on a cruise ship in his whole life. He didn’t know what to expect?!

Lewis can’t believe how lucky he is to be staying on a cruise ship!

So when he first arrived in the Galapagos, he had a bit of a journey to get there in the first instance. There was a bus, then a ferry, then another mini-bus (where he met his guide and lots of other delightful tourists who he would be spending the next few days with), before they eventually arrived in a docking area.

The zodiac boats take the passengers to the cruise ship

Here they were picked up by a boat called a zodiac which would take them to the cruise ship further off land. There were two zodiacs for the cruise, each carrying a maximum of eight passengers each. They looked a bit like big rubber dinghies but with a motorised engine which someone steered. There were rules you needed to adhere to when boarding and alighting the zodiac. Firstly, you always had to wear a life jacket.

Lewis learns that you must always wear a life-jacket whilst on the zodiac

You then needed to board one at a time grabbing the sailor’s arm (grabbing a hand wasn’t enough) to help you on safely. You then had to position yourselves on alternate sides so that the boat was always equally weighted.

Lewis gets ready to board the Archipell II

Lewis the Lion then loved the ride as it bounced and skimmed over the ocean’s waves towards the cruise ship!

The Archipell II waits for the tourists

The Achipell II was a mid-range, luxurious catamaran and was delightfully compact: Lewis the Lion thought that the ship’s architects were fantastic the way they had designed it for maximum impact of space. The boat could cater for a maximum of sixteen passengers but in Lewis’ case there was a perfect fifteen with guests from all over the world: America, Hawaii, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland and England.

There were two landing platforms at the back of the boat (or stern) and a sitting area where often snacks were served. (One time the Zodiac couldn’t land there as a sea-lion had come aboard to say hello!).

Lewis makes friends with a sea lion on board the cruise ship

However, as soon as you got on the boat, there was a ‘shoes off’ rule and they were stacked up on shelves.

People have to take their shoes off on board the ship

At the back of the boat, wetsuits were often hung out to dry after the guests had been snorkelling

The wetsuits hang out to dry at the back of the ship

and there were two sets of stairs leading to a sun-bed terrace:

The relaxing top deck of the boat

a fantastic place to relax in the sunshine or watch the horizon, especially at sunset or sunrise.

Lewis sees an incredible sunset over the Pacific Ocean

Lewis the Lion especially enjoyed observing the stars from there at night or seeing frigate birds following the ship. At one time at the front of the boat (the bow), Lewis even caught sight of a humpback whale, seeing air shoot from its blowhole: Incredible!

Inside the main ship’s deck or galley was a long table around which the passengers would dine like kings, helping themselves to a vast range of foods.

Lewis looks at the central table on board the cruise ship

Further back still was a bar and a seated lounge area where often meetings were called. (Lewis also learned to play a Swiss-German card game here one evening with his new friends). A big bell was hung by the bar which was rung to announce meal or meeting times. Things on board ship literally ran like clockwork and timings were very strict throughout the day.

A novel clock on board the ship

The crew were fantastic at making sure that everything on board ran smoothly and that the guests were happy and enjoying themselves. They even put on impromptu shows to entertain the passengers!

The crew entertain the guests

Here’s a short video clip of Lewis the Lion watching William and the crew entertain the passengers.

At the back of the boat, guests could help themselves all day long to coffee, tea and water, with accompanying biscuits and chocolates.

Alongside the galley were doors marked with animal motifs: animals that you could see in the Galapagos Islands, such as a sea-lion or a pelican. On Lewis the Lion’s door was a cormorant.

Lewis stays in the ‘Cormorant’ cabin

These were the cabins were the guests’ bedrooms and in Lewis’ room were twin beds: one for Helen and one for another passenger called Martin.

Lewis in his cabin

However, unbelievably, Lewis had already met Martin on his travels before: once in Chile and once in Bolivia. What a coincidence to meet him here in the Galapagos of all places!

Martin and Dan relax with Lewis on sun-loungers on the top deck

The bedroom also had its own en-suite bathroom: a shower, toilet and sink.

Lewis’ cabin has its own private bathroom

His bathroom on board has a shower

Lewis the Lion couldn’t believe what clever use of space it was.

The bedroom also had a map of the Galapagos Islands which was also replicated in the lounge area.

This map marks out the journey of the cruise ship on a daily basis

However, everyday, Ivan would mark on the route for the boat for that day, as well as writing an itinerary on the notice board of the places they would visit and the animals they hoped to see there.

The daily itinerary is written up

When Lewis the Lion saw this new list everyday, he just couldn’t believe his luck. Check out the animals he saw in his next few blogs.

 

Lewis the Lion felt that he couldn’t want for anything more on his cruise ship. There was:

a fantastic crew;

wonderful co-travellers;

a delicious and abundant range of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner;

The table is set for the next meal

great relaxation time on comfy sun-loungers;

a compact design so that all the necessary things fitted in a small space, etc.


If you were to design your perfect cruise-ship what would it include?

Can you draw it and describe it?

About Helen Molloy

Helen Molloy has been a Primary Learning and Teaching Consultant, leading on the introduction of Primary Languages in the City of Stoke-on-Trent for the past 5 and a half years. She is passionate about language learning and inspiring children into developing a curiosity and awareness of other people's languages and cultures.
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