After years of listening to his wife petition for a trip to the Galapagos, adventure traveler Wayne Ng grabbed a few other eager family members and booked a trip to see for himself what all the fuss was about.
By Wayne Ng
When we landed at Puerto Moreno on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos, we were greeted by Johnny, our naturalist. He sports shoulder length, wavy hair that he can’t keep his hands off. He dispenses enough knowledge and information to satisfy the most cynical geologist and naturalist.
Johnny takes us to our home for the next 7 nights – the Millennium, an 85-foot catamaran. Clearly the only thing that will be rough on this trip will be the water. The vessel is immaculate.
That first night, the Millennium cranks up all the way to Espanola Island. We land on a soft sandy beach with scores of sea lions. Johnny is impeccable at creating secluded moments. The beach empties but for us and several colonies of sea lions. We snorkel, we lie around, we cavort and we are alone. It feels like we are a million miles and years away from the rat race.
During lunch on the Millennium, several of the crew race into the dining area: ballenos, they exclaim–humpbacks a mile off the stern. When the crew still reacts with awe to wildlife, it tells you how special this place is.
We motor to Punta Suarez and hit the booby trail. The sea lions now have to share the stage with hundreds of marine iguanas basking in the sun on rocks, blue footed boobies wobbling about their nests, giant albatross’ putting on an air show – all within inches of us. My wife snorkels for the first time and though we see no sea lions in the water, she spies a manta ray and is totally hooked.
We hit the tiny island of Santa Fe and here my sister-in-law, Terry, falls in love with snorkeling. We snorkel much to the delight of the sea lions, who play chicken with us. They nibble our knees, and then swim straight at us, swerving at the last second. This daredevil swimming both exhilarates and unnerves us, but Terry eats it up and she is the last out of the water, shedding her snorkel gear to reveal tears of happiness.
The land tortoises of San Cristobal’s Interpretation Center, and on Santa Cruz, are similar to the land and marine iguanas in that they are as docile and tame as dairy cattle, but a whole lot more prehistoric. Supposedly they can live to two hundred years, and their well-lined, cracked skin shows every moment.
I had read on several blogs that such cruises tend to fall into a rhythm. The names of the islands and beaches blur together, sea lions and their unmistakable stench haunt every beach, lizards dot the footpaths, we alternate wet or dry landings, we snorkel, hike, find photo ops galore, and receive information overload. While this is undeniable, one should not mistake this as predictable and mundane. It’s a treasure trove of Mother Nature’s richness, massaging the senses until one is intoxicated with it.
On Bartoleme Island Johnny says it’s a 6am wet landing, and a difficult hike, 360 steps straight up to the lookout. We are the first zodiac out and have the trail to ourselves for about half an hour. But it’s a ridiculously jaunty walk, a boardwalk with handrails and lunar-like landscapes all the way up. Johnny does it all in bare feet.
After the hike, we eat breakfast and check out the Galapagos penguins before snorkeling around their favorite rocks. I spotted a sea turtle and my wife Trish saw a manta ray.
We say our goodbyes to a superb crew and Johnny, who looks at us with big glassy eyes that make you wonder if he was once a sea lion himself.
Adventure Life reps chauffer us to Casa Aliso, easily the cushiest, most luxurious boutique hotel that Trish and I have stayed at. If I didn’t leave the hotel for the next two days I would’ve been as happy as a sea lion terrorizing snorkelers. But we were soon off to the island of Otavalo for more adventure.
Wayne’s family traveled with Central and South American tour outfitter Adventure Life. Check out more adventure guides on the Wend Tour Outfitters Directory.
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