Welcome To The Earth’s First World Heritage Site

Upon arriving in the Galapagos, we found our welcoming party snoozing. Although we were barely a foot away, the sea lions lazing on the dock at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island couldn’t have cared less. There were sea lions everywhere and—in a preview of things to come—they barely acknowledged our presence. Many of us snapped picture after picture, sure that our close proximity to these languorous creatures would be one of the highlights of our trip.

Boy, were we wrong.

Over the course of a week, our group had more close encounters of the wildlife kind than I could count. We strolled past mating and nesting birds that were oblivious to our presence, watched waved albatross and blue-footed boobies doing their intricate mating dances, and swam with groups of giant sea turtles and tuxedoed Galapagos penguins that catapulted past us at breakneck speed.

Strolling along dazzling white sand beaches, we viewed red-pouched frigate birds circling overhead and sea lions nursing their pups with eyes closed in peaceful contentment. We snorkeled with troupes of these playful mammals – some blowing bubbles and darting within inches of our faces. Our hikes took us over black sand beaches, past wild Galapagos tortoises, along rocky cliffs, and through cavernous lava tubes.

Darwin’s enchanting archipelago is filled with unusual terrain and exotic creatures. That’s just one of the many reasons why tourism here is booming. As we looked around at the many ships plying the waters of this nature-filled realm, however, many of us wondered, “How long will this paradise exist in its present form?”

“The Galapagos Islands rank right up there with the Amazon and the Serengeti as one of the richest and best known, yet fragile and threatened, ecosystems in the world. Now, the Ecuadorian government is looking to a range of alternative energy resources to make sure it stays that way,” reports Triple Pundit, a popular website reporting on responsible business practices. This fragile chain of islands must be protected.

That’s just one of the many reasons I was happy to be visiting the Galapagos with Ecoventura, a recent winner of Conde Nast Traveler’s World Savers Award. Ecoventura offers travelers intimate visits to the Galapagos on comfortable 83-foot yachts accommodating up to 20 people. Because of their small size, Ecoventura’s ships are able to visit some of the region’s most spectacular islands, maximizing opportunities to view the amazing flora and fauna found in the Galapagos.

In addition, Ecoventura is leading the way in alternative energy use and carbon offsetting practices. In 2006, the company became the first Carbon Neutral operation in both the Galapagos and Ecuador. Last year, Ecoventura’s M/Y Eric became the first hybrid energy tour boat in the Galapagos with the installation of 40 solar panels and two wind turbines on the upper deck. The company hopes that the solar panels and wind-powered generators will provide enough power to replace up to 20 percent of the energy formerly produced by diesel generators.

This year, Ecoventura’s innovative initiatives have allowed it to offset a total of 4,031 tons of CO2 this year. The company’s efforts were recognized in May 2009 with a “Cool Business Certificate” from NativeEnergy, a leader in the U.S. carbon solutions market. Ecoventura’s efforts are critical to preserving the islands’ treasures—its unique native species and rich ecological environment.

Our experiences in the Galapagos were rich indeed. Here at the earth’s first World Heritage Site, travelers are able to see exotic wildlife and experience them up close in their natural habitats. Each island offers something different and, in some cases, their species are exclusive to this part of the world. One must take care to step around the basking iguanas, nesting boobies, and seals nursing their young on the paths. The animals do not fear humans here—they simply don’t care.

Juvenile sea lions greeted us as we made our first wet landing on Ochoa Beach and cavorted with us as we snorkeled in the water. Periodically, several would break away from the pack to visit parents relaxing on the beach. The children in our group did likewise. It was fascinating to watch the parallels between human and animal behavior here.

On Fernandina Island, our group carefully stepped around thousands of prehistoric-looking marine iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks and hiked across sprawling black lava fields to see huge sea turtles and colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs in tidal pools and flightless cormorants standing on the rocks. Of course, the troops of fearless sea lions were ever present.

Our band of adventurers climbed 369 steps to the top of Bartolome Island’s barren moonscape and snorkeled near peaceful white-tipped reef sharks near the Pinnacle, a famous rock spire that is one of the most photographed sites in the Galapagos. When Buzz Aldrin visited the Galapagos, he commented that volcanic Bartolome looked more like the moon than any place he had visited on earth. For most of us, this is probably as close to viewing a lunar landscape as we’ll ever get.

Favorite memories? Wandering among dozens of wild giant tortoises in the Santa Cruz highlands and posing for pictures. Hearing a fur seal bellow. Kayaking with my daughter behind a massive manta ray as it swam and spread its wings. Watching as a doe-eyed sea lion pup waddled over to within inches of our shoes and gazed up as if to say, “Are you my mother?” Jumping off the top of the M/Y Eric and wondering how long it would take for me to hit the water. Snorkeling within inches of schools of penguins, gigantic sea turtles and cavalcades of kamikaze sea lions. Staring slack-jawed as a pair of waved albatross did their complex mating dance, ritualistically bowing to each other and clacking their beaks. Walking arm in arm along a white sandy shoreline littered with sea lions at Gardner Bay, easily one of the most spectacular beaches in the world. Staring up at an equatorial night sky filled with stars of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and feeling so small—and yet so connected to the rest of the universe.

Sitting in the ship’s lounge after dinner one night, I talked with Ivan Lopez, one of our two outstanding naturalist guides. Ivan has five years of guiding experience in the Galapagos and nine years as a dive master. He is keenly aware of the fragile nature of these beautiful islands and the importance of his job.

Here in the Galapagos, the quality of the guides is critical to having the best vacation experience. The right guide will be able to gauge his guests and make their passion for the destination match his own. “My job is like the movie, 50 First Dates,” said Ivan. “Each week I get a new group of passengers and I need to have them fall in love with me.”

And fall in love we did. Thanks to World Savers like Ecoventura, today’s travelers and their children will be able to experience magical dates with these pristine islands for many years to come.

If You Go
For more information on Ecoventura, visit www.ecoventura.com or call 800-633-7972. These Galapagos cruises can also be purchased through Austin-Lehman Adventures, recently named as the Best Tour Operator in the World by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. For more information on Austin-Lehman, visit www.austinlehman.com or call 1-800-575-1540.

Nancy Schretter is an award-winning travel writer and editor with over 15 years of experience in travel journalism and publishing. Nancy is Founder and Managing Editor of the Family Travel Network and Founder of Together for Good, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting giving back as part of the travel experience. She has been a family travel expert guest on The Today Show, CNN, NBC News and numerous other television and radio programs. Her work and insights have been featured in national newspapers, magazines, and a variety of trade publications.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NANCY SCHRETTER