Special to AllThingsCruise

San Cristobal Island – Perhaps because my husband and I are here at the beginning of the rainy season, the islands look greener than we expected from what we had read about the “barren volcanic rock landscape.” It’s quite lush, with lots of trees and flowers and bushes. All the better for the birds, which means it’s all the better for the Massachusetts Audubon Society group who are on the same cruise.

Of particular interest to the birders are the frigate birds and the blue-footed boobies, which are so prevalent in the Galapagos.

Blue-footed booby

We can concentrate on the birds, the sea lions, the marine iguanas and the giant tortoises because International Expeditions has taken such good care of us in all the logistics that most travelers have to worry about.  From the moment we left the hotel in Guayaquil we didn’t have to deal with our luggage until we saw it in our cabins on the boat.

IE has provided us with our own native-born naturalist on board, the incredibly knowledgeable Bolivar Sanchez, or “Boli,” and his assistant Alex Cox. Each evening before we prepare for our next island and next day’s adventure they present a slide show lecture on what to expect.

Just as Charles Darwin was, we are struck by how different each of these islands are one from another, and how unique are the birds especially and the plants and, in some cases, the marine life is on each island. As Darwin noted, each island is far enough away from the others, and the currents so strong, that the living things stay put on their respective islands, each suited to certain kinds of birds and fish, mammals and crawling things. The birders were thrilled to see the ground finch, which is endemic to Espanola Island, for example, and the waved albatross found only here. The latter albatross is so named because of the wavy configuration across his wings.

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 – Today we landed on on Espanola Island, greeted by one of the special endemic birds, the Hood mockingbird, which is so unafraid of us that he will not only alight on our heads but, if we allow it, he’ll steal a sip from our open water bottle! Hundreds of  marine iguanas, showing red coloration during this mating season, are lying around on the rocks here, sunning themselves.  They allow us to push our cameras inches away from their faces but we do it with caution because they have the impolite habit of suddenly spitting out the salt they collect from the seawater they have ingested.  If it lands on your camera lens it can ruin the photo session. The iguanas are nesting here, and the females are fighting for the best spot for a nest. Always, even in the remote Galapagos, it’s about real estate and location!

This afternoon we do our first snorkeling and swim with sea lions and barber fish.

One other special bird we found on Espanola is the albatross. The albatross is an awkward and ungainly bird, so ungraceful that it has to stumble to the edge of a cliff and jump off in order to fly with its enormous wingspan. Once in the air it transforms itself into an aerial ballerina.

Riding back to the ship in our little panga, or small boat,  we spot bottle-nosed dolphins and eagle rays, among many other swimming and flying creatures.

Dinnertime:  What is Galapagoan cuisine, you might ask? It is a wonderful bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, including bananas and plantains, star fruit, blackberries and kiwis. Also, lots of fresh white fish and chicken and an impressive amount of shrimp, which Ecuadorians farm here.  The quantity and quality of this delicious shellfish is incredible, as is their local cheese.

Sally Lightfoot crab

Only one dress code exists on board the MV Evolution: shoes are required at dinner. Other than that, with the temperature remaining at about 87 degrees, T-shirts, bathing suits and shorts are our standard. We cover ourselves with sun cream rather than fabric in this land that sits on top of the Equator.

This cruise is unlike most typical cruises in that whenever we leave the ship for an expedition we are stepping into national parkland rather than touristy towns with bars and discos and T-shirt shops. Ninety-seven percent of the Galapagos is protected land, and the people who tend to come to the Galapagos cruises tend to love nature more than margaritas; these islands have been on their travel lists, in some cases, for most of their lives.

It’s a long way from most of our homes and we are going to relish every moment in this highly unusual preserved place. There’s great respect among our fellow passengers for nature and the environment, even though we may not be official birders. Three of the passengers are preteen children who have the opportunity of a lifetime to be enchanted by God’s creatures and to put away their computer games for a little more than a week and connect — unplugged — with the outdoors.

April 4, 2011

Photos by Cynthia Boal Janssens

Special to AllThingsCruise.com

Monday, April 4 – To reach the shore of each island, we leave our 200-foot ship the MV Evolution, which has been comfortably converted from an old Japanese fishing vessel, in two pangas, small motorboats holding 15 people each.

Today we will spend the entire day on Santa Cruz without a midday siesta on the boat. Santa Cruz is the most populated of all the islands, with 16,000 people living in Puerto Ayora, the economic capital of the Galapagos and home of the Darwin Station Research Center.

Galapagos tortoise

First stop is the station, home of the Galapagos’ most famous tortoise, Lonesome George, who is more than 100 years old and is the last of his particular breed from the tiny island of Pinta. George refuses to impregnate any females, much to the chagrin of staff who are desperately trying to keep George’s species from becoming extinct. The Galapagos tortoises were nearly wiped out in the 18th and 19th centuries by pirates, buccaneers and whalers who landed on the islands. The giant tortoises, which could exist without food or water for months in the holds of their ships, were like walking refrigerators, stored meat for their future use.

It is believed that some 200,000 of these docile creatures were killed and eaten by the humans who discovered them here and the Darwin Center is dedicated to their re-population.

The face of one of these 300-pound tortoises (the word Galapagos is Spanish for “tortoise”) was used as the model for the classic film “E.T.”

We take a bus to the highlands of Santa Cruz, where we see lush forests of cedar and Scalesia trees, the latter found only on this island. The top branches of the Scalasia at the end of this rainy season resemble giant broccoli heads.

Next we visit two enormous volcanic craters named Los Gamelos (according to our guide they were technically sink holes created after the craters collapsed).

Sea lion in Puerto Ayora

The birders were far more excited by their first sightings of a rare finch, one of the 13 different species that were at the center of Darwin’s historic research on the origin of the species. Darwin’s evolutionary theories developed when he noticed that each of the 13 different finch species had a different sized and shaped beak. Eventually, he realized that the beaks had adapted over time according to the food that was available on each particular island. Long, thin bills were good for catching insects, short powerful beaks were suited for cracking seeds. Survival depends on adapting to the environment, and those creatures (and plants, as well) that adapt the best will survive the longest.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent that survives,” he wrote, “it is the most adaptable to change.”

Nine of the 13 finch species live on Santa Cruz. We watched a male building a nest and learned that — in the finch world — females choose their mates depending on how much they like the look of the nest. It’s all about real estate. The male finch also sings to the females. Females, unfortunately, cannot sing.

Following an open-air barbeque lunch at a farm, we drove back to Puerto Ayora, a port town with restaurants, dive shops, small hotels and souvenir shops. But whether you’re in a town or a lava field, you’re never far away from the protected creatures of the Galapagos. As we sipped sodas at a local restaurant, we shared the patio with a family of sea lions that had flopped up the cement steps from the nearby bay. They stretched out on the warm tile floor and lolled around under our tables, occasionally belching with apparent pleasure over their comfortable surroundings. At a small nearby swimming pool, a trio of Galapagos gulls took dips in the blue water as they pleased, while a great blue heron stood watch.

Photos by Timothy Leland

Special to AllThingsCruise.com

Tuesday, April 5 – During the night, while we slept, our ship has made its way to Santiago Island.

On our morning walk we see the endemic Galapagos flycatcher, a famously sociable bird.  In fact, as we hold out our hands, he hops closer and closer until he is sitting on our finger, totally unafraid, constantly curious.  He even pecks at one of our camera lenses, supposedly seeing his reflection in the lens, and liking the sight. (Earlier in the week a pretty yellow warbler landed on my pen and lost her balance, falling onto my breakfast table before righting herself and flying away.)

M/V Evolution

As we walk over the tide pools we’re careful not to step over the hundreds of marine iguanas, the same color of the lava floor: black. Here we see our first Galapagos fur sea lions, furry cousins of the black sea lion.  The endemic Galapagos hawk poses proudly on a rock outcropping inches away from our cameras, a special treat for the Audubon members in the group. In these islands where the birds seem to know they are protected photographers have the unique experience of taking their time to set up shots of birds they can practically touch, who pose patiently for minutes at a time.

Santiago was Darwin’s favorite island.  He climbed to the top of a lava mountain here, as we do, for the most beautiful and most photographed scene in the Galapagos, of Bartolome Island.

We also go down under the sea to snorkel here, marveling at the schools of  colorful barber fish, angel fish and yellow tailed surgeon. We also share the waters with red sea stars, golden rays, hammerhead sharks and the occasional octopus.
Boli, our naturalist guide, assures us that the sharks we see are harmless, as are the sea lions and the Galapagos penguins that check us out underwater
As always, when we come back to the boat from swimming or snorkeling, the IE staff greets us with fresh towels, fresh fruit juice and a snack before our lunch taken out on deck.

This afternoon, the panga takes us to Darwin’s Bay Beach, where we are surrounded by one of the Galapagos’ most extraordinary birds – the Magnificent frigate bird. These enormous oceangoers, which have wing spans over six feet, have an amazing mating ritual. Like the teenage boy with the red Mustang convertible, the male frigate bird puffs out a large red balloon-like pouch on his chest to attract the girls. These red balloons are everywhere – up in the trees and on the beach.

A famous Galapagos view

Our naturalist guide, Alex Cox, mimics the jazzy dance that the two frigates do when she finally chooses her man, strutting around and waving his arms.

After she lays her eggs it is the male who sits on them while Mom takes off and plays around with other men who  catch her eye. Hooray for equality!

We walk on Darwin´´s Bay Beach, pose with the sea lions there, and take a beautiful swim in the turquoise waters of the bay, enhanced by just enough of a light shower to create a rainbow as the sun goes down.

Photos by Timothy Leland

Special to AllThingsCruise.com

Each night before dinner one of our two naturalist guides presents a half-hour slide lecture on what we’ll be seeing and doing on the following day.

So last night, Boli explained that we’ll be visiting two of the “youngest” islands in the archipelago, Fernandina and Isabela.Because the Galapagos are identified geologically as one of the earth’s “hot spots,” centers of acutely hot magma rising from inside the earth and producing intense volcanic activity on the surface, and because the tectonic plates of the earth’s crust drift slowly over such spots, there’s a tendency to produce volcanoes of progressive age as they move gradually away from the center of activity.

The iguanas aren't very handsome

The Nazca plate on which the Galapagos rests, is slowly drifting toward the South American coast. The islands closest to the continent are thus the oldest, and as Fernandina and Isabela are the farthest away from the coast, they are, in Boli`s words, the two “baby islands,” each a mere 300,000 years old.

In fact, Isabela has five active volcanoes and the most recent eruption here was in 2008.

Today, though, all is quiet, and we take our pangas for a dry landing, which means we wear our hiking shoes to walk about a mile over a flat rocky trail to see the endemic flightless cormorants, marine iguanas and the Pahoehoe lava.

After lunch we snorkel with the beautifully colored fish, the sea turtles, and for many of us, swim for the first time ever with the special Galapagos penguins.

The surprise for us is the size of these little guys. They`re subtropical, after all, not like our big North American penguins, and barely a foot high. Just as ungainly on the ground as their northern cousins as they wobble over land, they are speed demons in the water and it`s hard to catch a good glimpse of them when they`re moving under and around us. Boli says these penguins “are monogamous…but they play around.”

Author up close to Galapagos wildlife

Later there are choices between hiking — a more difficult two-mile uphill walk along Darwin`s Lake for a great volcanic view, or a panga ride to see more penguins, blue-footed boobies, pelicans, brown noddy terns, marine iguanas, bottlenose dolphins and possibly a whale.

A third option is to take one of the ship`s two kayaks out for a ride. Our two youngest shipmates, preteens Danielle and Isabella, head out as a twosome but return as a threesome; a brown pelican has decided to join them on the edge of their kayak and rides all the way back to the boat with them.

April 7, 2012

Photos by Timothy Leland

Special to AllThingsCruise.com

It’s our last full day on the MV Evolution, and the hour-to-hour activities arranged by International Expeditions don’t stop. During the night our captain has once again crossed the equator as we sleep, bringing us to tiny North Seymour Island, an “uplifted” island, simply pushed up from the ocean`s floor due to lava eruptions.

This is a good island for hiking to see one of the largest Magnificent frigate bird colonies, the Magnificents being known for the purple band of feathers they have. Yes, their true name is Magnificent, and that they are.

Creative cuisine on the M/V Evolution

Also, the swallowtail gulls here will allow you to get so close to them that you can snap your own reflection, with your camera, in the eye of the gull.

Lots of land iguanas lie in the sun looking like the prehistoric creatures they are.

Our final lunch on board is called a special one, and it produces an even more lavish display than those of the previous six days, highlighted as it is by a perfectly roasted whole suckling pig accompanied by side dishes from the various home provinces of the crew, including a rich fish soup and a corn and cheese dish with a not-too-hot sauce enhancing it, and, as ever, special dishes for those vegetarians among us.

The impressive Galapagos hawk

We take a silent afternoon panga ride into Black Turtle Cove where, among the mango trees, we discover, in addition to the turtles, black-tipped sharks, golden rays, and pelicans diving and fighting for fish a few feet from our cameras.

The sense of humor shown by both of our guides was put into play with a surprise visit of pirates and buccaneers on  one night, and on the final night there was an original Galapagos quiz and charades session with all 26 guests divided into teams.

The highlight of this activity was watching Carol Decker, the Massachusetts Audubon trip leader, trying to pantomime the expression “klepto-parasitology,” which describes the way the frigate bird gets her meals: by stealing the fish of other birds in flight around her. Needless to say, her team couldn’t decipher her attempts to be a frigate bird.  To my surprise, my team (“Team Booby”) won the competition!

April 8, 2011

Photos by Timothy Leland

Guatemala Tikal Temple/ AdventureSmith

I recently had a conversation with Todd Smith, the President and Founder of AdventureSmith Explorations; the company has been of interest to me for some time due to its focus on sustainable tourism and a commitment to the communities and the environments they visit.

Among their most impressive achievements is the implementation of their Carbon Free Cruising campaign, which offsets all carbon emissions created as a result of their passenger’s expeditions.  AdventureSmith has partnered with both local and global entities in a conservation effort that allows passengers to have a unique travel experience while contributing the preservation and renewal of natural resources.

Belize- Alta Ha ruins/ AdventureSmith

Smith, who started in the cruise business in Alaska in the 1990’s, began formulating new ideas for adventure experiences from the very beginning.  “I convinced the company I was working with to include kayaks aboard the ships”, says Smith.  It was an all new concept; a bit of a leap of faith.  “Nobody was doing it at that time, but we started there and worked into the idea of ecotours.”

In 2003, Smith took a leap of his own and created AdventureSmith Explorations. The concept was to create unique tours that would appeal to those travelers looking for an active exploration of a region, and one that provides insight into the cultural, natural, and educational aspects of the area.  Smith serves as a consultant to the numerous cruise lines with whom AdventureSmith is partnered, and helps to create itineraries that combine small vessels, experienced guides and naturalists, and sustainable practices to safely explore the wilderness.

Coasta Rican Sea Turtle/Instituto Costarricense de Tursimo

This philosophy requires thought and careful planning, especially in circumstances where the environment is considered especially fragile, like the Antarctic or the Galapagos Islands.  “You do have to plan differently“, says Smith “but we embrace ecotourism and try to establish local and grassroots partnerships in the areas we visit.”  They’re also at the forefront of ecological topics and concerns, such as the recent ban on large ship cruising in the Antarctic.  (The larger ships utilize a heavy fuel oil, which is slow to break down- especially in cold water- and is therefore more environmentally hazardous than other marine fuels.)  “We actively lobbied for this legislation”, says Smith.

These “tread lightly” values also show in the itineraries they offer.   For example, in an Antarctic Peninsula Basecamp Cruise, the ship will anchor in a cove, and include activities such as kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, camping, mountaineering, photography workshops and scuba diving- with a basecamp on the ice. At the same time, an international team of expedition leaders helps to instill in guests an awareness of the nature and history of Antarctica with lectures, briefings and field excursions.

Recent changes in the regulations at Galapagos National Park will also change the cost/travel dynamic of visiting that area, says Smith. New guidelines are in place to decrease the number and frequency of tourists to specific sites in this fragile ecosystem.  “Visitors should be prepared to spend longer to hit all the sites and islands they want to see in the Galapagos.  Right now, about 70% of visits are to 30% of the sites there, and the traffic is simply too much.  Until now, common itineraries have been 7-night/8-day, but in an effort to reduce environmental impact, there will be limitations on how many people can visit, and with what frequency and duration.  It will likely take a 14 night/15 day rotation to visit all these same sites. Travelers should be prepared for the cost/travel dynamic.”

Alaskan Brown Bears/ AdventureSmith

AdventureSmith’s hallmark is “the ability to get off the boat”, and Smith says that he’s especially “proud of how we prepare our travelers for their destinations.  A big part of travel is the anticipation of the experience, and we do an extensive pre-departure package for our guests.” These preparations include everything from packing lists, to a resource center with currency converters and links to the U.S. State department, to their very own AdventureSmith Outfitters Store.  The store offers essential items for the adventure traveler, including Get Ready Packages that outfit guests, head-to-toe, in the appropriate gear for the voyage of their choice.  And for those who prefer not purchase all new attire and accessories, AdventureSmith offers another program; travelers can rent items like parkas, waterproof gear or hiking boots for their journeys aboard the adventure cruises.

AdventureSmith offers a wide range of adventure tour options, with a travel philosophy that’s easy to embrace.  If you’d like to find out more about AdventureSmith Explorations, please visit their AllThingsCruise information page.

Everyone who takes a Galapagos cruise usually has a favorite shore landing. Mine comes unexpectedly almost midway through the trip when Lindblad’s National Geographic Endeavour takes us to Puerto Egas on Isla Santiago (also known as JamesIsland and Isla San Salvador). On our afternoon stop there, everything comes together: the sunlight is gorgeous, we encounter a good variety of birds and mammals and also witness lots of lively animal interaction, including a large bellowing male Galapagos fur seal. Best of all, this is one of the most leisurely walks, without the usual and constant push to keep moving.

Ironically, when Lindblad’s National Geographic Endeavour arrives and anchors off Isla Santiago, there is no hint this will be a special afternoon. Instead, once our Zodiac lands on a narrow rocky beach, the scenery is almost depressing. A dilapidated house sits on a small cliff above where we stand. Then, after we exit the beach and get a better view of the old deserted homestead and its empty, fenced-in fields, the spot seems even more dismal.

There may be 30,000 people living in the Galapagos, but this is the first evidence of human occupation we’ve seen since sailing from Baltra on Saturday morning. This unexpected detritus of human intrusion is an irritating reminder of past efforts to harvest salt here, first between 1928 and 1930, then much later in 1964. Both attempts invariably caused environmental damage by using native and endemic trees for firewood and also introducing new plants and animals. The Puerto Egas name, in fact, refers to the last salt company operation, run by Hector Egas whose venture failed when the price of salt in South America became so cheap that operating in the Galapagos was impractical.

Thankfully, we quickly leave the settlement area and make the short walk across the island’s narrow point to the other side, which is surprisingly different. It’s long black lava coastline that seems to extend endlessly alongJames Bay, where Charles Darwin’s ship anchored and he explored the interior ofSantiagoIsland. The shore, comprised of an old lava flow that poured into the ocean, has many large inlets and tidal pools created by the erosive force of the rough wave action. One of these inlets, a vertical chute where the water rises and ebbs as waves regularly crash against the rock, carries the appropriate if undignified name of “Darwin’s toilet.”

This lava shoreline is a favorite haunt of fur seals, the smallest of the pinnipeds and creatures we really haven’t encountered closely before. Endemic to theGalápagos Islands, an estimated 40,000 fur seals are spread throughout the islands, apparently much smaller than just a few decades ago. Scientists say the fur seal population was reduced significantly in the 1980s due to the effects of El Nino, which also reduced the local fish populations.

The best known place to see fur seals is Gruta de las Focas, which has a natural bridge above the inlets where fur seals are normally found. They’re present today because, thankfully for us, Galápagos fur seals are the most land-based of all the fur seals, spending at least 30% of their time out of the water. Fortunately, they also do most of their fishing at night since they prefer to spend as many days as possible warming themselves on the lava rocks and only occasionally sunbathing on sandy beaches.

Hopefully, the fur seals will be as prevalent here and throughout the Galapagos in coming years since the current climate change seems to have prompted an ambitious group of Galapagos fur seals to look for better fishing waters in Peru. No one is sure why, perhaps because there are more fish there. This migration happened in 2010 when a group of Galapagos fur seals traveled 900 miles (1,500 km) to the northern waters ofPeru and established a colony there, the first recorded instance of Galapagos seals migrating from their homeland. Rising water temperatures have been credited as the motivation but the water still averages warmer in the Galapagos. Water temperatures off northernPeru have increased from 62F (17C) to 73F (23C) in the past 10 years; Galapagos water temps average 77F (25C). It’s speculated more such colonies might be established in northernPeru. Still think it’s due to better fish populations inPeru and not the water temperature.

Darwin paid scant attention to the fur seals during his visit, perhaps because fur hunters had almost hunted the animals to extinction. On this day fur seals are prominent at Puerto Egas, along with Sally Lightfoot crabs, marine iguanas, American oyster catchers, a Galapagos hawk and more. Two fur seals are in a contest with a sea lion to dislodge the sea lion from its flat rock perch just above the waves. The sea lion ignores the fur seals’ loud noises and aggressive threats, holding its head high with an expression we interpret to mean something like “Well, here goes the neighborhood!”

The matter is semi-resolved when one of the fur seals jumps on an adjoining rock and gradually nudges its way into sharing part of the platform. The sea lion refuses to retreat and both animals end up appearing to have reached a compromise for the space. The second fur seal stays in the water, preferring to swim around and keep out of the way. Once the action subsides, we wander away, careful not to trip over or step on the marine iguanas littering the craggy lava surface like washed-up seaweed.

As we walk the shoreline in the direction of the ship, it’s obvious the Puerto Egas tidal pools are attracting the largest variety of birds we’ve ever seen in one location. Even severalDarwinfinches land in the trees bordering the shoreline only a few yards behind the beach. I lag behind the others for the unusually prime photo ops. It’s what photographers call the “golden” or “magic” hour, very close to sunset, and the colors are amazing. This one afternoon almost makes up for the cloudy days we’ve had to work around most of the trip.

When I finish photographing the birds in the tidal pools, I catch up with my group and see they are watching a Galapagos hawk dine on a sizable marine iguana. We are perhaps 20 yards from the hawk, which is well aware of our presence but continues to feed while keeping an obvious watch on us. We’ve seen numerous marine iguanas along the coast, more than in most places, and it’s not surprising there would be a natural death the hawk would take advantage of. The hawk carefully watches on us as we photograph/view it.

My day’s highlight comes near the end of our walk where we encounter a huge male fur seal with his harem. The males are supposed to grow no larger than 5 feet (1.5m) in length and weigh no more than about 145 pounds. This fellow not only looks much larger and scarily impressive because he sits on a rock plateau just a few feet above us.

Seen in profile, this huge male should emphasize why the Galapagos fur seal’s scientific name is Arctocephalus galapagoensis, from Greek words meaning “bear headed.” to me, it doesn’t. Although this fur seal does have a short, pointed muzzle, along with a small, button nose and large eyes, the muzzle of most bears I’ve seen are considerably longer and the noses hardly button-size. Think hound dog, instead. But when the male fur seal starts bellowing at one of his concubines, he draws his lips back and flashed sharp, triangular teeth that did make me think of something as deadly as a bear.

Dominant male fur seals are enormously protective of their breeding territory, often required to challenge and chase away challengers. This fellow also obviously expends a lot of effort trying to keep his women in line, though he doesn’t seem to have much success. He seems to be loudly coaxing, or whatever—with hands, he might act like a gorilla beating its chest–to impress the only female on the platform with him. She acknowledges his “whatever,” occasionally swaying her head like a boxer in the ring, but eventually just turns and descends to join the other girls below him.

Our guide (a woman) explains, “She’s out to prove she wants more than a one-night stand. He needs to step up his game and romance her.”

It seems absurd that a creature this size and fearsome could ever court (date?) a mate. But male whales do it. Male sharks do it. Male magnificent frigatebirds do it (remember those big red sacs?). Male blue-Footed Bobbies do it (by building impressive nests and their dancing). Uh, even human males do it. But instead of impressive nest building, we’ve evolved to offer dinner, a show, a sports event or not even acting in person, just text messaging.

In the Galapagos, you realize a lot about life and love.