GALAPAGOS: DARWIN’S AMAZING ANIMAL FARM (August 1999)

by Molly Arast Staub

Charles Darwin's trip to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands wasn't exactly a luxury cruise.
His monthlong study of the islands iii 1835 - undertaken as part of a voyage aboard the 90-foot-long HM3 Beagle around South America to record flora, fauna and geological formations for the British Admiralty-was uncomfortable and inconvenient.
Recently, however, I sailed in luxury aboard the Galapagos Explorer II. At triple the Beagle's length, it's the largest and most elegant ship regularly plying these islands. Talk about soft adventure!
And even though we, sophisticated 20th-century travelers, thought we knew what to expect because of our reading and viewing, we were constantly amazed.
Passengers on the Beagle slept in hammocks; guests on our ship rested in queen-size or twin beds. The GE features classy, air-conditioned suites with sitting rooms and marble bathrooms. Cabins and gangways are swathed in rosewood-looking mica. Public rooms, decorated in pastels, feature paintings depicting Galapagos scenes and animals.
" This is like being on a safari, where you fly from place to place to see the wonderful animals yet have comfort, great food and the hospitality of the crew," said fellow passenger Charlotte Clifford of Dallas, Texas.
It was the animals Darwin found here, of course, that led to his theory of evolution.
Darwin had signed on with the Beagle in 1831. The British Admiralty's goal was to find resources for its military and trade, and to gain a stronger footing there. Darwin's cruise eventually lasted five years and became an around-the-world journey.
It was only after leaving the ship in 1837 that he learned that 13 species of finches - which he had thought were variants of one species - had evolved here with different beaks to access food. He began to develop his evolutionist theories.
Of course, most of the animal and vegetable specie here appear nowhere else in the world (they're endemic, a word passengers hear frequently) and evolved differently. Some are even unique from island to island,
The archipelago, though, was not unknown. A Spaniard, Tomas de Berlova, had accidentally discovered the volcanic islands 600 miles off Ecuador's western coast in 1535. The ship's passengers- about to die of thirst - went ashore and searched for water.
Darwin's crewmembers also spent much of their voyage lime searching for water. But water was no problem for passengers aboard the GE. The ship carries its own desalination equipment, so it never runs out. Additionally, bottled water, sodas and bar drinks are complimentary.
Darwin's exploration of South America was sometimes marked by a lack of food; on one occasion he remarked that for some days they had been on a half allowance of bread. Unfortunately, one food that they readily found in the Galapagos was the Giant tortoise, which is rare now. Early sailors and buccaneers used the once-plentiful tortoises as their main food source, Darwin noted that vessels would sail away with 700 of these animals aboard. Some individual plodders provided 200 pounds of meat. Darwin even boasted that, while staying in the upper region of the archipelago, "we lived entirely upon tortoise meat. The breastplate roasted... with the flesh attached to it, is very good; and the young tortoises make excellent soup."
In reading Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle I was a bit confuted by the nomenclature because Darwin used the contemporary British island names, which today bear Spanish names. Here's a guide to the islands we visited:

SPANISH Bortolome Island Esponala Island Fernandina Island Floreana Island Isabela Island Rabido Island San Cristobal Island Santa Cruz Island Santiago Island
ENGLISH
Bartholomew Island Hood Island Norborough Island Charles Island Albemarle Island Jervis Island Chatham Island Indefatigable Island lames Island

But lack of food was never a problem aboard the GE; food is plentiful for all three meals, supplemented by trays of lions d'ouvres at other times. Buffets are presented beautifully with colorful, carved food decorations. One gripe about the served dinner was the scarcity of choices. The menu, however, is posted daily, and the staff happily prepares other dishes with advance notice.
As for (he wildlife, our fellow passengers expected that each following day's animals would be repetitious, but they were always incredulous. For instance, we expected to see blue-footed boobies - those birds that look like gulls but have robin's-egg-blue beaks and webbed feel. The first afternoon, we motored in a panga (dinghy) and saw two. The next morning we cruised to Isabella Island where we saw 200.
The panga rides usually meant wet landings; (the GE anchored and passenger went ashore in dinghies and climbed over the unwales into calf-deep water. A few dry landings were at wharfs or stairs. The line, however, is planning to replace the pangas with inflatable rubber dinghies such as Zodiacs.
For this and other reasons, participants should be in reasonably good physical condition. At some places, we walked on sand, which at different beaches is white, gold, red, black or even green, depending on the age of the lava and its erosion. At others, we walked on black volcanic lava - sometimes smooth and slick, but sometimes in hard ridges. The ship provides complimentary walking sticks. A few passengers with mild handicaps managed quite well; the line is considering offering treks at varied levels of ability.
And just as guides often showed Darwin the sights, licensed naturalists lead GE treks. The naturalists present briefings before each outing to prepare guests for upcoming sights.
Although my fellow passengers and I were amazed at the variety of animal life, this is, after all, not choreographed by Disney. Some days we saw only a few specimens, and some types never made an appearance. But other animals, which the naturalists said were very rare for those parts, arrived to inspect us. They included the Galapagos hawk and the .American oystercatcher.
Darwin wrote that the birds were not suspicious of man. unlike in other parts of world, and that fear is not acquired by them in a short lime, even when much persecuted: but that in the course of successive generations it becomes hereditary. "Well. Dr. Darwin, seems you were wrong on that score; we walked right up to most birds, sea lions and lizards. They were unperturbed by our close proximity and never showed fear of anybody despite all the years of exposure to humans.
The most colorful island was probably Bartolome, featuring various stages of black and red lava in a moonlike landscape.

Lost at Sea
Last February, Royal Caribbean International's Monarch of the Seas ran into a shoal off Si. Maarten. The collision lore a gash in the ship's side, and the crew ordered the 2,557 passengers lo gel off the vessel quickly. Nobody was hurt, butl in the confusion one passenger led his grandfather's ashes behind in his cabin. He had intended to scalier the ashes in Barbados, his grandfather's native land.
After the passengers disembarked and the vessel was secured, crew returned to all cabins and retrieved personal belongings that bad been left behind during the rushed exit. The ashes, which had been in a small cardboard box, weren’t returned. And the passenger was extremely upset. Royal Caribbean later disavowed responsibility, pointing to contract language that frees the line from responsibility for lost personal possessions.
Sympathetic as the Ombudsman is In tile tragic circumstances of this case, we cannot point a blaming finger al the cruise line. It did the right thing by securing the safely of all passengers. In the event of emergency exit from any form of public conveyance - airplane, train, bus or cruise ship - it's up to passengers to grab the few belongings that mean the most to them and that can be safely taken and to gel out of harm's away as fast as possible. In this incident, something priceless was lost. That is regrettable, but there isn't always a villain when bad things happen.

Galapagos Explorer II
• Launched in 1990 as the Renaissance III, the ship was inaugurated as the Galapagos Explorer II in February 1993.
• Length: 89 meters (294 feet)
• Passenger opacity: 100.
• Twice-daily, naturalist-led tours are complimentary, as are walking sticks, there's a modest charge for snorkeling equipment.
• Amenities include televisions with VCRs.
• Breakfast is served buffet-slyle in the dining roam.
• Lunch is served buffet-slyle at outdoor pool/whirlpool.
• Dinner is served with linen napery in the dining room.
• All battled water, bar drinks and table wine ore complimentary; the only charges are for name-brand wines and champagne (and, of course, for minibar contents).
• Owned ay Conodros S.A., on environmentally conscious firm that also runs Kapawi Ecological Preserve in the Amazon, the ship's crew adheres to sound ecological policies. The ship is stocked with environmentally sensitive soaps, shampoos and toilet paper, and recycling procedures are employed.
• The ship has no casinos or formal shows, but a pianist and crew shows liven things up.
• Children above age 7 are welcome aboard. It's advisable that they know how to swim, and they shouldn't expect to be entertained with electronic games (other than ibox they being along).
• I used induslrial-strenght insect repellent on the first few islands to ward off gigantic horseflies, and a full boitle of SPF 30 sunblock through the week.
• Passengers can book 3- or 4-night cruises or - the best experience - seven nights for maximizing sights. The cruise con be combined with the company's jungle experience, the Kapawi Ecological Reserve.