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Abercrombie & Kent Galapagos…Luxury Adventure Cruise

by Arie Boris, CruiseGourmet.com Editor-in-Chief

From the moment I received the beautifully bound leather folder containing my documents, I knew this A&K adventure cruise to the Galapagos was going to be special! Their cruise/tours may at times explore the most remote parts of the world, but never without a modicum of luxury.

After a very comfortable flight from New York’s JFK airport on COPA, Panama’s national airline, we arrived in Quito, Ecuador. We were greeted just outside customs with a warm welcome from an A&K representative. Immediately, our bags were collected and we were ushered into a private van to the gorgeous Swiss Hotel, one of Quito’s most upscale. During the ride, our host gave us all kinds of additional information, folders and maps for Quito and the Galapagos cruise. He would be our host for the entire A&K experience, so we did not have to worry about logistics or when to be somewhere…we just had to follow his daily briefing instructions and look for him in the hotel lobby for the trip to our ship, the Eclipse.

The transfer to the Eclipse, was an elaborate all day affair involving a flight to the Ecuadorian coast city of Guayaquil, with continuing service to the Galapagos on AeroGal, the local Galapagos airline. After the five-hour flight from Quito, we had a real sense of just how remote these islands, made famous by Darwin, were!

Buses from the airport dropped us at the pier for the short “panga” ride to the m/s Eclipse (Panga’s are the motorized rubber rafts they use for excursions). The sudden realization we were “not alone’ took me by surprise…the benches and waiting area on the pier were filled with sleeping sea lions enjoying the shade of the covered waiting area. Talk about up close and personal! Forget Sea World…this was the real world of the Galapagos!

We were welcomed aboard the Eclipse by a warm and friendly crew…shown to spacious accommodations and got to meet our fellow travelers and crew over lunch. Many families were onboard and most everyone was well traveled…this is neither an ordinary cruise nor an ordinary destination. People have to travel well off traditional cruise routes and go out of their way to experience the natural wonders, animal and marine life of the Galapagos.

The crew was very attentive and well organized….describing the “boot camp” like instructions as necessary for everyone to get the most out of this adventure experience. According to our Cruise Director, “The focus is on immediate immersion into the outstanding natural environment.” Following lunch, and after a short sail, we were all onboard pangas heading for a wet landing and our first interaction with the amazing natural wonders of the Galapagos.

In our first afternoon we witnessed a feeding frenzy of thousands of Blue-footed Booby’s, flocks of Pink Flamingos wading through nearby wetland lakes and hundreds of Marine Iguanas near enough to touch! The daily expeditions were sometimes exhausting, but always fascinating. A typical day might include a two-hour walk along sharp, uneven lava rocks observing a myriad of creatures with explanations of what they were and how they impacted the environment. Then we would snorkel on the beach before heading back to the ship for lunch. After eating, it was back onto a panga and we sailed off to a different beach and a new adventure.

And what snorkeling! We would break up into small groups and swim along rocky cliffs witnessing swarms of magnificent sea creatures. We snorkeled among expansive schools of all kinds of fish, large and small. Hundreds of hammerhead sharks, which we had been forewarned about, circled below. Our naturalist guides explained that, due to the abundance of sea life in the Galapagos Islands, humans are simply not seen as bait…..still it was scary, but at the same time exhilarating!

My absolute favorite experience was swimming with the sea lion pups. These yearlings are as playful as any pet pooch at home and really love to interact with humans. If you blow bubbles in the water, they blow bubbles back at you. They dart around, appearing and disappearing in an instant. If you roll over in the water they do too…it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced! One actually attempted to play catch, tossing a shell at me underwater. He just kept getting it closer and closer until he would snatch it away just before I could reach it…no kidding! This was unbelievable and worth the whole trip! We were told while swimming with the pups or walking along the beach, to avoid any barking bulls (male sea lions). The barking is a warning to respect their territory and harem of females. It was a new experience to literally feel as though we were part of their pecking order.

The naturalists onboard were our guides by day and lecturers at night. Each evening, before dinner (and over cocktails) we would review the day’s adventures and learn so much about the environment, the creatures and the impact of the islands on Darwin’s process. They were all incredibiably knowledgeable and most taught on a college level in their own fields of expertise when not working on the Eclipse.

For example, Giovanni teaches geology at a university in Ecuador. Fascinated by volcanic eruptions, his hobby is collecting fresh volcanic ash from recent eruptions around the world. Maria studies and teaches ornithology. She was thrilled to have seen the Blue-footed Booby feeding frenzy for the first time in all the years she has spent in the Galapagos. Evidently, this behavior is rare for the species and we were lucky enough to witness it our first day.

The Eclipse is well run and the days are full. The cabins are not luxurious, but very comfortable, especially after a long hike through the lava beds. It is one of the best adventure boats available in the Galapagos and used exclusively for A&K programs to the islands. Dining is family style with open seating and buffets. Considering the limitations and remoteness of the location, the meals were impressive and it was always nice to have a chance to share the adventures of the day. They had a surprisingly good selection of wines, with a strong showing of Chilean wines from Concho y Toro. The Eclipse only accommodates 48 guests and, as you can imagine, by the end of the week we were all like family.

This experience is not for everyone, but if you like the wonders of nature and enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded travelers, then this is for you. For more information about A&K and their Galapagos cruise/tours log onto www.abercrombiekent.com.

For more photos (scroll over photo’s for captions):