Galapagos Islands Tour: A Fabulous Eco-Cruise

By Alison Gardner
Senior Travel Editor

Galapagos sea lions are inquisitive and unafraid of humans. Photo courtesy of Alison Gardner.

Few world travelers do not have Ecuador's Galapagos Islands near the top of their vacation list. It is an iconic destination rightfully designated as one of the earliest United Nations UNESCO natural world heritage sites. While I suspect it will always be among the most fragile ecosystems in the world, the good news is that UNESCO's heritage watchdog committee agreed to remove the Galapagos Islands in August 2010 from an uncomfortable three-year placement on the committee's "sites in danger" list. Following this international wake-up call, Ecuadorian authorities have made measurable gains in protecting the Galapagos (see Tim Leffel's article about the challenges and innovative solutions of protecting these ecological jewels).

Flying 600 miles from Guayaquil on Ecuador's mainland to Santa Cruz Island, our group of 20 guests boarded the M/Y Eric, home for the next seven days. It is one of three motor yachts operated by Ecuadorian cruise operator, Ecoventura. Following cabin assignment, crew introductions, and a briefing by two naturalists, Ivan and Cecibel, Captain Peter fired up the engines of our compact vessel to set off on a grand adventure of 424 nautical miles with 89 hours of sailing time and four equator crossings. The unusual roving itinerary allows guests to encounter almost all the unique wildlife species in their natural Galapagos habitat, whether on land or below the sea, with plenty of hiking and snorkeling opportunities along the route.

Ecoventura's M/Y Eric near Leon Dormido (Kicker Rock), a 500-foot-high-volcanic cone. Photo courtesy of Ecoventura.

Rules are strict about where, when, and how many people go ashore, and there are plenty of smaller islands from which tourists are banned altogether. After a marathon overnight cruise of 130 miles, we anchored in the volcanic caldera of Genovesa Island, where only small vessels like the Eric are permitted to take guests ashore by Zodiac. Even as we stepped into this fragile paradise, dozens of Galapagos Sea Lions sprawled across the beach dozing, jet-black Magnificent Frigatebird males puffed out their scarlet throat sacks while showing off their seven-foot wing span. Red-footed Booby Birds perched on scrubby tangled branches. Lava Gulls, the rarest gull on earth, strutted on the sand, modeling distinctive white eyelids against dusky gray lava-colored bodies. Less than 1,000 Lava Gulls exist, bringing home the true meaning of "endangered." Some islands host a single rare species, so if you expect to see that species, be sure to inquire in advance if your cruise has a government permit to go there.

Sea birds, marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and sea lions make seemingly peaceful neighbors. Photo courtesy of Alison Gardner.

Over breakfast each day, Ivan and Cecibel described our morning and afternoon excursions — always subject to weather and waves, of course, with the backup of a Plan B. Excursions were identified as wet or dry landings, meaning that you could expect to get your feet wet or not as you clambered in and out of Zodiac inflatable craft. After a few of us had mentioned seeing seals, Ivan felt compelled to point out that there were no seals in the Galapagos, only sea lions. Sea lions can climb steep rocks and even cliffs high above the water with their flexible front flippers, unlike seals, which cannot use their front flippers like arms.

Young Galapagos Sea lion pups often nap alone while their mothers go off to feed. Photo courtesy of Alison Gardner.

It is virtually impossible to keep out of the way of what is often color-camouflaged wildlife, whether picking your way around lolling sea lions draped across a gangway as you try to board your vessel or carefully treading a designated trail strewn with dozens of Galapagos Marine Iguanas. While walking, it is essential to keep your eyes not far ahead of your toes to ensure you don't trip over a sleeping sea lion pup or a clutch of marine iguanas, or a ground-nesting Blue-footed booby bird with wings spread to shade a new generation from the sun. None seem inclined to move an inch without much coaxing; many species share remarkably close quarters with great tolerance.

Red-footed boobies are best seen on Genovesa Island, home to the world's largest colony. Photo courtesy of Alison Gardner.

Each excursion made me feel like I was entering nature's living room. We were treated to observations of courting, mating, and rearing young, including manta rays and sea turtles floating in a passionate embrace, vigorously courting sea lions with a much larger male chorusing in full operatic voice, and one female babysitting ten sea lion pups while their mothers went off to feed ... or to escape that operatic male! The endemic Galapagos Hawk practices cooperative polyandry, with four males mating with a single female, then teaming up to defend the territory and look after the young. Could such rare behavior explain why this sole original island predator has survived for 300,000 years?

During the 2008 eco-cruise season, Ecoventura's six naturalist guides asked each guest to identify their top five wildlife encounters at the end of their trip. Over 3,000 guests participated in the polling. The wildlife "winners" were a giant tortoise and four exotic birds (the Red-footed Booby, the Galapagos Penguin, the Flightless Cormorant, and the Waved Albatross). The competition must have been tough with 27 species of reptiles, 29 types of land birds, 19 different sea birds, and dozens of land and marine mammals. After my own visit to the Galapagos Islands, would I have selected the same "Favorite Five"? No, but that is what makes travel such a personal experience.

Unlike Charles Darwin, I grew fond of the amazingly adapted Galapagos Marine Iguanas that graze on underwater algae and seaweed. Darwin described them as "large disgusting clumsy Lizards, a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black color, stupid, and sluggish in its movements." He wasn't around when the males sported their startling red and green courting colors during the breeding season.

Marine iguanas camouflaged on typical black volcanic rock and tip-toeing Sally Lightfoot crabs make colorful contrasts along many island shorelines. Photo courtesy of Alison Gardner.

With five days of exploring remote uninhabited islands behind us, we spent a day on the second largest island, Santa Cruz, with most of the Islands' human population and those famous giant tortoises. After days of volcanic landscapes with only scrub for vegetation, here was a lush tropical environment. Traveling to a private farm in the highlands, we donned gumboots to follow muddy trails through cloud forests and fields dotted with ponds. None of us was prepared for our first glimpse of Galapagos Giant Tortoises, ever-so-slowly progressing across thick grassy fields at the pace of, well, a tortoise, pausing to cool off in a pond for an hour or two en route between the highlands and the lowlands. The height of an average person's hip and built like a Sherman tank, these are the world's most giant tortoises, salvaged from extinction despite the best efforts of man to wipe them out in centuries past. 11 subspecies in captive breeding at the Darwin Station are now making a successful comeback in the wild on four islands.

The Galapagos Giant Tortoise most symbolizes the Islands, even having given them its name. Photo courtesy of Ecoventura.

Most nights of the seven-day cruise, we sailed from one island to the next, sometimes 100 miles or more apart, sometimes with large enough swells on the open sea to crave the security of a seat belt across the bed so as not to roll about. Against the possibility of seasickness, my daily dose of ginger pills left me ready for each home-cooked meal. On those nights when we anchored in calm waters, none of us slept as well!

With the Galapagos Islands now back on a more positive ecological management track, Ecoventura's President, Santiago Dunn, mirrors the relief of many who value the islands and their wild inhabitants. "We applaud the many efforts to protect and preserve Galapagos National Park which have led to the recent removal of the islands from UNESCO's World Heritage Site endangered list. But this small victory is as fragile as the islands themselves. We all must renew our commitment to maintaining sustainable tourism operations, keeping the Galapagos the pristine destination it was in 1978 when it was first declared a World Heritage Site."