Travel Boating Lifestyle by Fiona Harper travel writer
  • Africa
    • South Africa
  • Americas
    • Alaska
    • Canada
    • Chile
    • Ecuador
      • Galapagos
  • Asia
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia
      • Bali
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Nepal
    • Philippines
    • Singapore
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
  • Europe
    • France
    • Italy
    • United Kingdom
  • Pacific Ocean Islands
    • Fiji
    • New Zealand
    • PNG
    • Samoa
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tahiti
    • Vanuatu
  • Australia
    • Aust Capital Territory
    • New South Wales
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • South Australia
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria
    • West Australia
  • SHOP
  • Travel
    • Cruise
    • Drive
    • Eat
    • Fly
    • News
    • Play
    • Rail
    • Stay
  • Boating
    • Anchorage
    • Marinas
    • Sail
    • Yacht Charter
  • Lifestyle
    • Bike
    • Books
    • Gear Review
    • Glamp & Camp
    • Healthy Travel
    • Hike
    • Run
    • Spa
    • Travel Writing
    • Triathlon
  • About
    • MITRIBE.CO
    • Who is behind TBL?
    • Work with us
    • Press coverage
    • Disclaimer
    • Boring but essential info
  • SHOP
  • Contact
Travel Boating Lifestyle by Fiona Harper travel writer
  • Africa
    • South Africa
  • Americas
    • Alaska
    • Canada
    • Chile
    • Ecuador
      • Galapagos
  • Asia
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia
      • Bali
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Nepal
    • Philippines
    • Singapore
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
  • Europe
    • France
    • Italy
    • United Kingdom
  • Pacific Ocean Islands
    • Fiji
    • New Zealand
    • PNG
    • Samoa
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tahiti
    • Vanuatu
  • Australia
    • Aust Capital Territory
    • New South Wales
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • South Australia
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria
    • West Australia
  • SHOP

Galapagos Expedition into nature’s playground

by Fiona Harper July 29, 2017
Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle
Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

As you’d expect from a reptile weighing up to 250 kg, giant tortoises are slow movers. Were it not for two dark beady eyes glaring at me from beneath an oversized shell, I might just as well be watching a boulder.

Bringing up the rear during a shore excursion, I plonk myself down a few metres from this extraordinary creature the size of a washing machine. I am absolutely mesmerised.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

Seriously endangered, less than 20,000 giant tortoises remain in the Galapagos Islands. Centenarian Lonesome George became the environmental poster child for the archipelago before passing away in 2012.

Far enough away from civilisation, anticipation accumulates during the two hour flight from Quito like lip-smacking layers upon a newly iced chocolate cake. Straddling the Equator about 1000 km west of Ecuador, flying low on approach to Baltra Island, the Galapagos Islands eventually emerge from the Pacific Ocean.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

Disembarking at Seymour Airport on the flat featureless island, beyond the airstrip prickly pear cactus and a few random trees poke above scrawny saltbush. The sky is leaden grey while a cool wind whips tendrils of hair about my face. Devoid of the usual suspects you’d find on an island in the tropics, the archipelago’s charm is not immediately obvious.

I’m not the only one initially uninspired by these isolated yet ultimately enchanting, islands. Visiting in 1835 as a self-funded supernumerary on-board the Beagle, 23 year old naturalist Charles Darwin was underwhelmed, noting that ‘the black rocks heated by rays of vertical sun give the air a close sultry feeling. The plants smell unpleasantly’. Inspiration and revelation came later. He went on to change forever our view of the world, publishing his theory of evolution in The Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

With so much splendid reading material available, my fellow voyagers are a knowledgeable lot, well-read in anticipation of a ‘once in a lifetime’ adventure. The excitement in the air is palpable as we board National Geographic Endeavour. Within hours of boarding our small expedition ship my initial reservations are dispelled.

Donning a mask, snorkel and wetsuit before sliding off the Zodiac and into the Pacific Ocean, I drop into a mercurial marine ballet as a pair of sea lions elegantly swoosh and twist their honey-hued bodies around me. I resist the urge to stroke the pelt as they glide past close enough that I’m drawn into their slipstream. Enormous brown unblinking eyes melt my heart. Slivers of sunlight pierce the surface, striking the carapace of a green turtle nearby picking at kelp swaying in the current.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

Cheeky penguins buzz my mask, flitting past swiftly in a blur of ascending bubbles left in their wake. They return relentlessly to offer me a lingering look at tiny pert bodies as they dart hither and thither. Iridescent rainbow-hued fish school in perfectly timed formation, changing course as if orchestrated by an unseen choreographer directing from stage left. The webbed feet of a pair of flightless cormorants dangle in my line of view.

Further afield blue footed boobies are dive bombing the sea for fish, their bodies streamlined into piercing arrows, vibrant blue feet tucked into their underbellies. With so much going on, and despite the chill in the water, it is the most extraordinary 30 minutes of snorkelling I’ve ever experienced. It turns about to fairly typical of each deep water snorkelling expedition.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

Lindblad Expeditions partners with National Geographic on 7 night cruises offering guests an extraordinary opportunity exploring a delicate ecosystem. Two different itineraries explore different islands, though both include a momentous Equator crossing. National Geographic Endeavour carries 96 guests in expedition style comfort with good sized cabins serviced twice daily. Most of the action takes place on Veranda Deck with the Lounge doubling as lecture theatre, with large screens showing videos and slides. It’s the main socialising area with comfy sofas and a bar manned by obliging staff. Outdoors is a swimming pool surrounded by deck chairs. The Bridge Deck has plenty of distractions when the ship is moving between islands with an extensively stocked library, gym, sauna, spa treatments and sun deck. Meals tend to have an Ecuadorian flare, as do the crew in fact, who are proud Ecuadorians keen to share their country’s fine attractions with visitors.

Shore excursions and on board lectures keep guests entertained as well as subtly educated on the archipelago’s unique ecology. To say the wildlife is exceptional is an understatement in the realm of declaring the moon to be far away.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

Marine iguanas for example, are found nowhere else on the planet. They’re also butt ugly. Darwin described them as ‘hideous looking’. He was spot on. Proving however that beauty is ultimately irrelevant, they’re also rather fascinating in a reptilian way.

Congregating in large colonies known as a mess of iguanas, they’d be right at home on the set of a Mad Max movie. With smashed in snouts concealing razor sharp teeth, heavily lidded eyes, a spiky dorsal ridge atop fat bellies covered in charcoal coloured scales, pretty they’re not. They’re not nearly as fierce as they look though. Unique ecological adaptations allow them to move comfortably between land and sea, surviving on marine algae but spending most of their time prostrate and unmoving in the sun.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

We step over lazing iguanas, around sassy sea lions and immobile giant tortoises, tiptoe past regal birds of prey and linger and laugh at foot-stomping dancing boobies each time we venture ashore. Sea lion pups a few weeks old romp in a tidal pool, a green turtle basks on inky black lava flows while scarlet coloured Sally Lightfoot crabs poke around crevices. They hold no fear of humans, so that it’s possible to sit in one spot amidst an endless vista of wildlife. The entire archipelago is protected under strict environmental control promoting tourism while providing sustainable income for the 30,000 or so locals. Heavily focused on protecting and preserving while showcasing this fragile environment, Lindblad Expeditions founder Lars-Eric Lindblad says, ‘we have a duty to pass the planet along to future generations in as unspoiled way as possible’.

So far that vision appears to be successful, offering visitors a rare opportunity into a world little changed through the centuries. This then is the true charm of the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos Islands with National Geographic | Travel Boating Lifestyle

2
FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrRedditEmail

You may also like

What I learnt on a Road Trip to Hervey Bay

Dunk Island: there’s still trouble in paradise

Weekend in Hobart: 48 hours in the historic city | Tasmania

7 things I learnt from a long weekend in India

8 unusual things to do in Bali!

Luxurious outdoor bathrooms to get down & dirty in

SHOP MERCHANDISE


Fiona Harper is Travel Boating Lifestyle

Fiona Harper is Travel Boating Lifestyle

Hi, I'm Fiona Harper, travel writer, photographer, content creator, social media manager, digital travel editor, blogger, sailor, marathoner, wannabe triathlete & gadget geek. There’s more but we’ll leave it at that for now. Unless there’s cocktails involved. In that case pull up a pew and you’ll get the full story. READ MORE

NEWS & REVIEWS

  • Review: Hedgren Connect self-charging backpack

  • Review: Is this the world’s best Beach Towel?

  • Product Review: Shampoo With A Purpose

  • 9.3

    Sail Fiji Planning Guide

  • 9.5

    Stylish dry bag a great fit for women sailors

  • Gear Review: DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone

  • Working more effectively at a standing desk

SHOP MERCHANDISE

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube
  • Email
  • RSS

@2021 All Rights Reserved. Fiona Harper travel writer


Back To Top