Galapagos Islands : A journey back in time
by Jim Prueter

There aren’t many places in the world where you can swim with a sea lion one moment and, seconds later, get a friendly tap on your snorkel mask from a playful Galapagos penguin who just as quickly dives out of view.  The remote Galapagos Islands, 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, with its diverse and captivating wildlife, is certainly one of them.

Until you visit these captivating islands, it’s hard to imagine a place where the exotic animal inhabitants live without fear or trepidation, unafraid of human contact. To our amazement, the animals don’t fly, run or swim away as we approach. In fact these island occupants are so unafraid that, in the case of the sea lions and penguins, they actually seem to delight in human encounters. Having never known predators, the birds, animals and sea life of the Galapagos fear neither humans nor one another.

About 50 percent of the islands’ species — some 1900 animals and plants — are endemic and 25 percent cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Among them are the different species of giant Galapagos tortoises, some weighing up to 600 pounds. Exclusive to the islands are the waved albatross, lava gull, swallow-tailed gull, numerous iguanas (including the marine variety) and the flightless cormorant. With an estimated population of just 1000, the latter is among the rarest birds in the world.

The Galapagos are an archipelago of 13 large volcanic islands, six minor ones and more than 40 islets that rise as high as 2600 feet.  Lava from more than 2000 craters has continuously altered the terrain; the most recent Galapagos eruption occurred in 2005.

Made famous by Charles Darwin — who first visited the islands in 1835 on the British ship H.M.S. Beagle — the islands’ unique fauna inspired his theory of the origin of species, an idea which shook the scientific and theological worlds. 

Most visitors to the Galapagos see it as a part of a cruise tour.  Our trip was neatly packaged through Celebrity Cruise Lines aboard the Xpedition, a 98-passenger luxury sailing vessel used specifically in the Galapagos. The 296-foot ship has 47 cabins and feels more like a private luxury yacht. 
Our trip began with a pre-cruise stay at the luxurious J.W. Marriott hotel in Quito, the 9,350-foot high capital city of Ecuador. We spent the following day on an organized bus tour that included the old city and the Middle of the World Monument, where we photographed ourselves straddling the equator with one foot in each hemisphere.

On day three we flew from Quito to Baltra Island in the Galapagos. Incoming visitors must have their luggage searched to prevent foreign fruits, plants with seeds, or animals from being introduced into the fragile ecosystem.
After a five-minute bus ride from the airport, we were greeted by our native naturalist guides and transferred to the Xpedition via zodiacs, large inflated boats that serve as tender and are used for low-impact excursions. Arriving at the ship, we were warmly welcomed by Captain Fausto Pacheco and his friendly crew, and escorted to our stateroom, number 311.

At 296-feet, the Xpediton has 47 cabins and the feel of a private luxury yacht. Our stateroom seemed much larger than its 160 square feet.  The bathroom featured an ample-sized tubless shower with a glass door. The cabin had two full closets, locking safe, full-length mirror, night stand, desk and chair, a small sofa and accompanying round glass table, a refrigerator stocked with bottled water (no charge), TV, phone and a hair dryer.  There was a standard 110V outlet, which rendered adaptors unnecessary, and we even found a pair of binoculars for our use during the cruise.

The beds may have been the only negative element to the accommodations.  Just barely wider than my shoulders, these were some of the smallest beds I’ve slept in since I was a child. The down comforters and feather pillows were a nice touch, however.

Most dining on the Xpediton takes place in the open-seating Darwin’s Restaurant, just a few doors down from our stateroom on the Marina deck. With tables for four, six or eight (but not two), there’s a sense of unofficially sanctioned socializing on the part of the cruise line and meeting new friends happens easily and naturally. Of course, all meals served in the dining room are also offered via complimentary room service.

Both breakfast and lunch are buffet style, served at Darwin’s or on deck at The Beagle Grill. I especially enjoyed the Grill’s barbeque lunch. Celebrity is subject to some restrictions by the Ecuadorian government, so all food is sourced through local providers. The seafood is fresh, varied and delightful. Beef, I’m told, isn’t quite the quality found stateside. 

Dress code for dinner is casual — no formal nights on this cruise.  Gentleman will fit right in with Dockers and a polo-type shirt or dressy Bermuda shorts and a camp shirt.  For women, a casual dress, skirt and blouse, or pants outfit will do nicely. 

While it is priced a bit higher than most conventional cruises, Celebrity, thankfully, doesn’t nickel-and-dime you to death.  Almost everything is included; I have never spent so little “extra” money on any cruise. Even gift shop items are moderately priced.

There is no charge for shore excursions or beverages (including beer, wine, spirits and soda). Even the $100 per person National Park fee and ship gratuities are included in the initial cost of the cruise. A separate wine list is available, but we enjoyed the excellent Chilean and Argentinean wines selected by the staff. A side note: Ecuadorian beer is outstanding. 

Other things we found to be excellent:  Housekeeping; the friendly warm nature of the Ecuadorian people; nightly cruise director briefings in the Discovery Lounge; daily snacks; juice, soda and beer always available upon return from a shore excursion, along with cold towels to freshen up. 

Of course, the twice daily shore excursions, offered in a range of intensity levels, were the highlight of the cruise. Zodiacs ferried us to each island to explore its distinctive ecology, wildlife and geography through a range of activities offered at different intensity levels.  High-intensity activities include adventuresome hiking, while medium-intensity excursions involve milder hiking and walks. Or, travelers can kick back on a low-intensity zodiac cruise around the shoreline. If you are physically able, I recommend the high-intensity choices.

But it’s the awesome snorkeling that I will long remember.  I never dreamed I would be swimming alongside sea lions, trying to keep up with darting penguins, or have the sensation of swimming in the world’s largest aquarium among colorful fish, sea cucumbers, moray eels, eagle and diamond rays, and hammerhead sharks.
 
In 1959, 97 percent of the islands were designated a National Park by the Ecuadorian government. Twenty years later, UNESCO named them a World Heritage Site and in 1998 the Galapagos Marine Reserve was created, second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Of the 13 islands, only two are inhabited, with the combined population totaling only about 25,000.
So protected are the Galapagos, the Ecuadorian government regulates the size of the boats that are allowed to tour the islands, and strictly limits the number of tourists. With about 60,000 visitors annually, the Galapagos host fewer people in one year than Disneyland sees in a single day.

Visitors to the island must be accompanied by an Ecuadorian guide, licensed and registered by the National Park, and must abide by a strict set of rules. Walking is relegated to clearly marked trails, groups can be no larger than 16 per guide and you cannot touch or feed any of the animals, either on land or in the water. We were even asked to hide our water bottles; Galapagos mockingbirds have been known to drink from them and naturalists want to avoid creating any dependence on humans.

We traveled from island to island often visiting two in a single day. With our guide leading the way, we were able to get within arms length to observe amazing blue-footed boobies and their marching dance-step mating ritual. Depending on the island, we saw green sea turtles; colorful red-green Christmas iguanas; sea lions and fur seals sleeping in the sun, playing in tidal pools or surfing the waves; darting penguins; and great frigate birds, the males inflating a large red pouch under their throats to attract and seduce females. 

We spotted the marine iguana — inky black and resembling a miniature dragon — sunbathing on a patch of sand surrounded by bright-red Sally Lightfoot crabs. We learned that despite the proximity to the equator, currents tend to keep the waters cool. Iguanas need to spend time warming themselves after feeding in the water to help promote their digestion. 
Each day was a day of discovery. We thrilled at the first sighting of the flightless cormorant with its atrophied wings. We marveled at pink flamingos; playful lava lizards; large masked boobies with white feathers and black featherless masks around their faces; yellow-orange land iguanas who can live for more than 60 years; and the fourteen species of Darwin’s finches, which Darwin presented as proof of his theory of evolution by natural selection. 

One of our final stops was at the largest town in the islands. Puerto Ayora is the headquarters of the Galapagos National Park and the site of the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here, we observed tortoises being bred for release on their native islands and got to see one of the most famous animals in the world, Lonesome George. 

A giant tortoise from the island of Pinta, weighing in at almost 400 pounds, Lonesome George earned his lonely moniker because he is the only surviving member of his subspecies.  George is well cared for at the station and numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to get him to mate.  Estimated to be close to 100 years old, George could live for another 60 to 70 years, but will extinct the breed once he is gone. 

After a week that seemed like a couple of days, we returned to Baltra for our flight back to Quito. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. All of our newfound friends agreed that this was, by far, the best cruise we had ever been on.  We felt privileged to have been in such a special, unique and sacred place.

If you expect a cruise to include elaborate stage shows, a casino, art auctions, drink-of-the-day specials, swimming pools, bingo, photo opportunities, formal dining nights and endless on-shore port shopping you’ll be thoroughly disappointed with the Galapagos islands and the Celebrity Xpedition. 

However, for anyone who is interested in traveling back in time to observe unspoiled nature, exotic animals, unique ecology, fascinating history, dynamic geology – all while being luxuriously pampered — it doesn’t get any better than this. 
If you go: