Darwins Destiny
Written: Jan 12 '00 (Updated Mar 20 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Extraordinary Flora and Fauna, Natural Beauty
Cons: Somewhat Rough Terrain
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| TheSmartTraveler's Full Review: Galápagos Islands |
We landed at the Aeropuerto Isla Baltra Galapagos where all tourists must line up and pay a Galapagos National Park fee of $80.00. We took a larger vessel the M/N Ambasador I which was half empty. The food was very good, and the naturalists on board gave evening slide presentations of what we saw that day, and explained the next days itinerary. We ran into German tourists, who were more interested in price than comfort, and took a very small boat. The price was right; however, the seas were so rough that they upchucked their meals, and could not sleep in the cabins because of lack of fresh air and sea sickness. This was not a problem in our larger vessel. Beware of unscrupulous boat owners who have added additions to their boats, rendering them unseaworthy. One of these boats sank in rough waters in 1998, killing four people in an Elderhostel group.
All of the islands have different colored sand and flora and fauna. Some of the elderly or out of shape people complained about the rough terrain.
We hiked to the top of the volcanic cone on Bartolome Island for a great view. We took photos of us holding huge Lava Rocks that were not heavy.
We took pangas, or tenders from the main ship to other islands usually twice a day. At the largest island, Isabela Island we experienced tiny Galapagos Penguins, Darwin Finches, Blue-Footed Boobies, playful Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, Herons and Cormorants.
At Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Island we experienced the largest Marine Iguana colony in the Galapagos. These are the only Marine Iguanas in the world found on lava rocks. They can dive down to 60 feet. We also saw Sally Lightfoot crabs, flightless Cormorants, Lava Herons and Yellow Crowned Night Herons.
On other islands, we saw a Galapagos Hawk eating a Pelican, and Oystercatcher and eggs. Floreana or Charles Island, a site of a former small German settlement has a very unique post office. You deposit your pre-addressed post cards without stamps, and take a few to mail when you get back to the U.S. On Santa Cruz Island we walked in Lava tubes which are the result of ancient flows that helped form the Galapagos Islands. We went to the Darwin Research Station's Tortoise Center. Here we saw giant Tortoises which are only in the Galapagos and Seychelles.
Our travel agent in Miami used CruiseTours as the Tour Operator. We were very happy with the arrangements. I recommend this trip for anyone who wants to experience the most intriguing wildlife, some found nowhere else in the world!
Please take time to rate this epinion at the top right of the page. Thank you and enjoy the Galapagos.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
TheSmartTraveler
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Member: John Isaacs
Location: Miami, Florida
Reviews written: 493
Trusted by: 178 members
About Me:
I get the shakes if I don't take at least 5 good trips a year.
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