SOUTH AMERICA | TOURS & CRUISES
Ecuador's Galapagos Islands: Where Darwin's lessons come to life
Travel experiences can help you understand our planet environmentally, culturally and economically. These experiences can be as different as tracking tigers in a sanctuary in India or sailing a historic windjammer off Maine. My contribution to understanding our world focuses on my family's varied epiphanies on a life-changing expedition to the Galápagos Islands.
A moment of solitude
My Galápagos epiphany struck me after the others in my walking tour had moved on and I was a temporary castaway on the island of Genovesa: Black-and-white Nazca boobies squabbled in front of me, red-pouched frigate birds wheeled over me, a juvenile red-footed booby fluttered uncertainly onto a branch at my back, and bellowing sea lions snout-fenced on my right — all gloriously indifferent to my presence. I looked out onto glittering Darwin Bay and felt like old Charles himself. Archeologists say the oldest of the Galápagos Islands is about 4 million years old, and the youngest is still being formed. Indeed, the rugged chain is considered one of the world's most active volcanic areas.
A sea lion show
My 16-year-old daughter's epiphany occurred when she was adopted by two acrobatic sea lions while swimming off a volcanic clump of an island called Champion. For 20 minutes, they slid and somersaulted over, around and alongside her, urging her to follow them, until they bade farewell with whiskery waves. Jenny slipped breathless onto our boat and said that for a few moments, she felt as though she really were a sea lion.
A cool chick
The epiphany hit my 12-year-old son when we turned a corner on Española Island and discovered a blue-footed female booby in the middle of the path — and right in the middle of lifting herself to reveal a bright white egg. At that moment, the shell cracked, and a new, wet chick appeared. Jeremy watched, stunned, as it struggled into the world and its mother plopped protectively over it: evolution in action.
A cease-fire
And the epiphany touched my wife, Kuniko, one morning as she watched Sally Lightfoot crabs, land and marine iguanas, sea lions, boobies and gulls — different species all peacefully sharing the same small patch of island. "Maybe someday humans will learn to get along so well," she said, sighing, as tears filled her eyes.
Darwin's lab
As a visitor to the Galápagos, you see how wildlife has adapted to a mostly human-less environment, and you can interact with these fearless species in a singular way. And, of course, you get to pay homage to the site of the original epiphany: Darwin's revolutionary theory of natural selection, which took seed here in 1835 with the humble observation of a finch's beak — and went on to fundamentally influence Western thought. His 1859 book, "The Origin of Species," established evolution as the dominant scientific explanation of why and how nature diversifies and changes.
Island ambassadors
Our Galápagos odyssey gave my family a memory that will bind us for the rest of our days — and it gave me the hope that perhaps like the islands' first windblown and wave-borne inhabitants, we human visitors are unwitting accomplices in a greater evolution: bringing back seeds of peace and wonder to plant in the hard rock of our larger world.
When to go
December to April tends to be warmer and wetter, and the sea is generally calmer; from June to November, a fine mist frequently falls, and the vegetation is lusher. Either season is rewarding.
Getting to the Galápagos
Most travelers fly to Quito or Guayaquil in Ecuador; from there, they fly to Baltra, the islands' principal airport and cruise embarkation point. From LAX, Continental, Delta, American, Avianca and Lan Peru offer connecting service (change of plane) to Quito. Restricted, round-trip fares begin at $648.
Cruise options
Galápagos cruises run the gamut from bare-bones operations to sleek, high-end ships. You can spend as little as $450 per person for a five-day/four-night cruise, including all meals. But remember that, generally speaking, the more you pay, the better the accommodations and cuisine and, more important, the greater the knowledge and English fluency of the accompanying naturalist guides. Every tour must be accompanied by certified naturalists who have been trained by the park service. These naturalists help visitors appreciate the islands' wild treasures.
Our journey
My family took Lindblad Expeditions' excellent 10-day tour (which, allowing time to get to and from the embarkation-disembarkation point, means eight days and seven nights onboard ship). The trip starts at $3,650 per person; part of the fee funds Galápagos-based programs dedicated to conservation and education. Information on numerous Galápagos cruise options is available online. For more on Lindblad tours, visit http://www.expeditions.com.
 This city got its name in the 1860s. The operation shown here has been under the same management since 1987. |
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