Cruise
Lines. A Galapagos Adventure (May3,
1999)
by George Oxford Miller
Our trip begins by tracing Darwin's footsteps in the Gala pagos Islands. We follow
our guide, an Achuar Indian. Through the most remote part of Ecuadorian jungle.
He stops and, through an interpreter, tells us not to touch the heliconia plants
crowding this part of the trail. They're coveted with slinging ants. We pay attention
and pass through unharmed.
On this TWO week odyssey, each day it packed with adventure.
The package, offered by Canodros S.A, begins with a four-day cruise on the Galapagos
Explorer llr a small, elegant ship. Canodros offers three-four-, and seven-day
itineraries that visit the most exiting islands in the archipelago. The 100-
passenger Explorer II has paneled cabins with king-sized beds, roomy closets,
and comfortable furnishing. The gourmet meals rival ocean liners in elegance
and abundance, hut what sets the ship apart is a knowledgeable and accommodating
staff of naturalists who offer tours in five languages.
Twice a day we board dinghies and explore one of the islands made famous by Darwin's
scientific discoveries. On Isabela, the largest island, we land in the same cove
visited by Darwin in 1835. We follow his path up a narrow cut in the volcanic
wall to a set of recently constructed wooden steps. Then we stop abruptly. "Roadblock" the
woman in the lead yells and forces us backwards.
A sea lion is napping on the stairs. His body stretches from one side of the
steps to the other. He blinks and yawns as we take photos but shows no inclination
of moving finally, he hops unperturbed down the steps and resumes his nap in
the shade of a bush.
The postcard view at the top of the stairs encompasses Darwin's Lagoon, a collapsed
caldera filled with emerald water, and the Explorer II posing in the semicircular
bay. After a hike to a point overlooking a vast lava flow from one of the five
volcanoes on the island, we take the dinghies along the sheet cliffs to view
blue-footed boobies, nesting pelicans, and penguins.
On the way back to the ship, dolphins race our speeding motor boats. On Fernandina,
we strol among hundreds of marine iguanas basking on outcrop pings on raw, contorted
lava and see the rare flightless cormorants nesting. We photograph scarlet flamingos,
snorkel with sea lions on the red beaches of Rabida, and on Bartholome hike to
the crest of a volcano overlooking the picturesque Pinnacle Rock.
We leave the Galapagos, overwhelmed by the beauty of unblemished nature. Then,
after a day layover In Quito, we board a 12-passanger Cessena for the flight
to Kapawi. The flight takes us through an avenue of volcanoes for bird's eyes
views of the 16000-foot, snowcapped mountains. We soon leave the cultivated valley
and flyover hundreds of miles of undeveloped jungle. After landing at a dirt
strip beside a village of thatched huts and naked children, we motor in dugout
canoes for another hour to the lodge.
We reach the dock of the lodge and follow a boardwalk to the main complex. The
12 cabanas and other buildings resemble the thatched, pole houses we passed on
the river. The buildings are constructed with Achuar design and construction
techniques. Instead of nails, wooden pegs and vine lashing secure the buildings.
Yet rustic hardly applies to the artist tally woven thatch roofs, the floors
of polished palm wood, and the porches with hammocks overlooking the picturesque
lagoon.
Jenny, from Connecticut, sums up our impression. "Wow, I could get used
to this," she says.
The days start with bird-watching along the river for the early risers, then
a tree-course breakfast with fresh juices and fruit, homemade pastries, and cereal
or omelets. We have our choice of easy, moderate, or difficult excursions into
the jungle. Some hike-and-canoe outings last a few hours and cover easy terrain-
others take all day and traverse jungle trails with- foot-logs over streams.
But regardless of the Level of difficulty, each excursion immerses us in the
jungle world of the Achuar people.
The Achuar had no contact with the outside world until the 1960's and still live
a lifestyle unchanged for the last 3,000 years, except for soccer uniforms and
baseball caps. High-tech is a machete and a dugout canoe. Families live on self-subsistent,
slash-and-burn farms along the river. Visiting a family is a once-in-a-lifetime
cultural experience.
Canodros books an extra day in Quito for those going to Kapawi to allow for weather
contingencies. The layover provides an opportunity for a guided tour of a native
market, about an hour's drive south of Quito, and a tour of the historic capital
city.
Canodros offers a choice of three-, four- and seven-night itineraries for both
the Galapagos Explorer II and the Kapawi lodge, or any combination of both, and
all are fully commissionable. Sales for 1999 begin at $1,155 for three nights
each in Galapagos and Kapawi, not including air fares, park fees, or separate
tours in Quito. A lull-color kit with pricing, brochures, booklets, and detailed
trip descriptions is available.
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