Destinations: Galapagos
by Charlie Newton

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The only way to maximize the experience of a Galapagos vacation is aboard one of the regular cruise ships departing from Baltra Island, each of which carries a team of multilingual naturalist guides. (Landing on any of the islands is not permitted without a guide approved by the Galapagos National Park Authority.) Our group sailed on the 100-berth "Galapagos Legend." Only three cabins are not outside, and all suites have large picture windows. There are 10 balcony suites aboard, most of them connecting. The company also has two smaller ships – "Coral I" and "Coral II," which carry 20 and 36 passengers respectively and are ideal for family or special-interest groups. All of the ships provide three meals daily: breakfast and lunch buffets and a served dinner. On Tuesday evenings, there is an onboard poolside barbeque.

Regular briefings are given by the guides on what to expect on the next shore excursion. Morning excursions leave the ship around 8 am and afternoon excursions around 4 pm, thus avoiding the heat of the noonday sun. The Galapagos has 12 hours of sunshine year round.

It should be noted that no ships dock in the Galapagos. All access to the islands is by way of a fleet of Zodiac dinghies called “Pangas." Landings are classed as either wet or dry. Dry landings involve stepping from the Panga to a convenient flat rock, while wet landings involve jumping into shallow water at a beach. Depending on the type of landing, either walking shoes or flip flops are the order of the day. The ships operate year round on Central Standard Time – Ecuador does not observe daylight savings.

On arrival in Ecuador, we spent two days in the Andean Highlands north of the capital of Quito, experiencing some of the local culture and heritage, including the huge Saturday craft market in Otavalo and a ride on the renovated Chaski Antawa (Messenger Train) which wends its way for 16 miles and a 1900 foot altitude change between Ibarra and Salinas. In Salinas, we had lunch at the Chaski Antawa Project, which features local indigenous food and native dances performed by the local Afro-Ecuadorian community. We overnighted in the Hacienda Pinsaqui, one of a chain of historic properties throughout Ecuador. This is a property that is featured in optional short excursions from Quito. The area is the rose growing capital of the world, where a dozen long-stem red roses can be purchased for around $5.

The following day, we visited the Cotacachi-Cayapa Reserve, where we climbed to the top of this extinct volcano at 10,000 feet and looked down into the two-mile-wide lake in the crater. The views are stunning and so clear. Then, we drove down to the town of Cotacachi just as the shops were opening. Cotacachi is considered the leather capital, offering incredible value for quality leather goods. Two of our group purchased real leather jackets for under $100. From there, it was a short drive to Peguche, where we visited several home-based industries operated by entire families such as weavers, musical instrument makers, and restaurants. Sumac Micoy (“good food” in the local chechuan language) specializes in barbeque and local dishes; barbequed guinea pig is a local favorite, which tastes rather like duck. After lunch, this family entertains with local music and dancing.

In the afternoon, we returned to Quito. Quito is the capital and largest city in Ecuador. In 1978, Quito became the first city in the world to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Quito has the best preserved historic center in Latin America. Located on the Equator at more than 9,000 feet above sea level, the city is surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes including Cotapaxi (19340 ft). The “Middle of the World Monument" is located about 12 miles outside the city, where you can stand with your feet in both hemispheres. There are several excellent hotels in Quito - we stayed at the five-star Swissotel, where a huge breakfast buffet is offered each morning featuring both local and International dishes.

The SITA representatives in Ecuador own and operate both the Chaski Antawa and the three Galapagos Cruise Ships – "Galapagos Legend," "Coral I," and "Coral II." As a result, they negotiate with Aerogal to dedicate four roundtrip flights weekly between Quito and Baltra (Galapagos), via Guayaquil, to accommodate their cruise passengers on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

The ships all operate three- and four-night cruises visiting different islands, which can be combined into a seven-day adventure commencing Mondays. The island of Baltra consists of the aging airport, for which plans are in hand to replace, and the staging area for the cruise ships and ferries to the inhabited islands. There are a total of 120,000 resident Galapagenos.

A fleet of airline buses provide a regular service on the five-mile trip between the airport and the staging area. We were on the three-night cruise which sailed less than 200 nautical miles and made a total of 6 island visits. Each evening, the ship lay at anchor, enabling us to watch sharks and sea lions feeding under the ship's floodlights. We visited the following islands:

• North Seymour: We encountered swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, and blue-footed boobies. This site has the largest colony of the great frigate bird. We also spotted both marine iguanas and land iguanas. We observed the endemic species of holy stick (palo santo). Depending on the season, you may see the very peculiar courtship dance of the male frigate birds with their inflatable red pouches.
  
  
• Santa Cruz (Indefatigable): We visited two areas on different days - Dragon Hill (where we walked toward a saltwater lagoon behind the beach where pink flamingos could be observed, with a trail that offers a lovely view of the bay) and Carrion Point (where you can choose between a cliff-watching dinghy ride to see fur seals, pelicans, and boobies or snorkeling to see a variety of fish, rays, and perhaps the harmless white-tipped reef sharks).
  
  
• Floreana (Charles): We hiked from the black mangrove beds to a large brackish lagoon which holds one of the biggest flamingo populations in the Galapagos. The island is best known for its endemic plants like the Galapagos milkwort, passion flower, and button mangrove. Novice snorkelers can practice on the main beach with playful sea lions.
  
  
• Espanola (Hood): We saw a most magnificent Pacific sunrise over the island. We learned more about the lava terrain and we hiked across inactive lava fields. Besides the sea lion colonies, this is a very important site for bird watching. We saw a large colony of marine iguanas, lava lizards, and Sally Lightfoot crabs. We visited the famous blowhole where water shoots about 23 meters (75 ft) up into the air. In June, the albatross visit Espanola for mating and breeding, and we witnessed the peculiar mating dance of this large bird.
  
  
• San Cristobal (Chatham): This island is home to frigate birds, giant tortoises, sea lions, and marine iguanas. We traveled by bus across the island to the San Cristóbal breeding center and learned about the national park’s breeding program with the giant tortoises. During the hike through the breeding center, we observed endemic flora such as Scalecia Pedunculata, Lepocarpus Darwini, and Galapagos Guaba. We landed at Baquerizo Port – the only town we see and the only opportunity for souvenir shopping (other than onboard our ship). Our guides were in no hurry to return to the ship, as Ecuador was playing Argentina at soccer and the game was live in a harborside bar.

The amazing thing about the Galapagos is the total lack of fear shown by both animals and birds. We were advised not to get nearer than six feet and never use flash photography. The ability to photograph nesting birds close up was quite extraordinary.

The Galapagos should be on every traveler's "bucket list!"

You'll find more details about Galapagos packages on the SITA World Tours site, or you may call 800.421.5643.

The "Galapagos Legend"

The Chaski Antawa train

Hacienda Pinsaqui

Colonial Quito

Espanola Blow Hole

Brown pelican

Bull sea lion

Blue footed boobie

Giant tortoise

Charlie Newton is an OSSN member (his agency is Britain by Choice, Inc.) who also serves as southern U.S. regional sales manager for SITA World Tours.

(Credits: Charlie Newton/SITA World Tours)