Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Aboard National Geographic Islander - Galapagos, June 2015

Hi Folks in Internet Land and Water,


Joanne & Richard explore Galapagos
Perhaps you have googled your way here in hopes of locating useful information about  the NationalGeographic Islander expeditions in the Galapagos.  My wife Joanne and I booked a ten-day trip on the Islander in June 2015.  A free airfare from Miami to the Galapagos for the June 21st expedition enticed us to sign-up for this time slot.   Almost everything was included in expedition price:
  1. Free airfare on American Airlines from Miami to Guayaquil, Ecuador and back
  2. Overnight accommodation at the Hotel Hilton Colon in Guayaquil coming and going
  3. free airfare on Avianca Airlines  from Guayaquil to the Galapagos 
  4. $200 gift certificate to B&H photography store,  
  5. All transfers between airport, hotel and ship
  6. "Escort service" starting in Miami to make sure you don't get lost
  7. All meals, soft drinks, snacks on board including breakfasts at the hotel and
  8. Tour of the Charles Darwin Research Center and a highlands tour of Santa Cruz  including  wild tortoises, a coffee and sugarcane farm with still and an excellent lunch at a rain forest restaurant.
The Hotel Hilton Colon is nothing but first class. The Avianca plane looked to be brand new with lots of leg room in economy.

Extras are:
  1. A DVD documenting the expedition plus a behind the scenes tour.  $50
  2. Alcoholic beverages - only $4 for a bottle of beer
  3. Tee shirts or other souvenirs -about $24/tee in Santa Cruz,
  4. Suggested tip of $180 pp for 30 crew members and
  5. Wireless Internet connection - slow and expensive
We purchased the DVD. The video is astonishingly well done.  The trip price is fair considering the number of crew and the quality of service.




National Geographic Islander
You may have noticed that I refer to our trip as an expedition, not a cruise.  Well, the expedition part is all taken care of by the folks at Lindblad and the Islander crew.  You will just be a tourist. That's all you can be unless you find some kind of volunteer position as all trips into the park area which covers most of the land and sea in the Galapagos require permits and a licensed naturalist.   The Islander is not a cruise ship. You will not find a casino, swimming pool or 24 hour buffet. What you do find is amazing wildlife, up close snorkeling and kayaking along shorelines and hiking island trails.

The National Geographic Islander is registered as an expedition ship.  To me it is a luxurious ship. The least expensive cabin on the boat, the one we booked, featured a bed wide enough for four, a small desk that served for our notebook computer, ample storage space, head, shower and sink.  The lounge, dinning room and upper decks are beautifully appointed.

The Islander is a catamaran which means that it has two hulls making it more stable than a monohull, but not as stable as a big cruise ship with stabilizers.  The boat moves around a little in a seaway but not much. Mostly, the ship motors from anchorage to anchorage in the early morning hours when folks are asleep. I was surprised when one morning our expedition leader complained and apologized for the ship's motion during the night as I had found the muted motion to be comforting.  I didn't hear anyone else complaining about the ship's motion but the staff offers free sea sickness medication for landlubbers just in case.

Each hull holds a big Detroit diesel to propel the ship.  Also, a big Detroit generator provides all the electricity that the guests and crew can possibly use including A/C. The ship was way too cold for me but probably just right for others.  A water maker makes more water by reverse osmosis that anyone could want. The water is purer than your water at home. A big water heater makes hot water for showers. As my old boss was fond of saying, "Just like downtown!"

How's the food?  We found the breakfasts and lunches to be very tasty, the dinners less so although some people raved about all the meals.

What's best about the National Geographic Islander besides its location in the Galapagos and its luxurious accommodations?   The crew, of course.  Lynn Fowler, the expedition leader, has many years experience including six months of camping alone with tortoises in one of the island's calderas for her Ph.D. research.  Park rules require that a certified naturalist accompany us tourists on every hike, kayak paddle and snorkel.  Our naturalists were exceptional.  I have the impression that Ben could talk about the different birds we spotted for months on end if given the chance; his knowledge of the Galapagos is`extensive.  Juan Carlos also served as photo instructor; he received training from National Geographic. Enrique, only 25 years old, was also pressed into service as the ship's sea lion pup by the many kids on board.  He held up well.  

We were among the oldest of the tourists who ranged from five to eighty-two. All of us were able to hike across rough terrain and snorkel.  I brought my hiking stick but it went unused as hiking sticks are available on board but only a few of us needed them.

What to bring?  After you sign-up , Lindblad will send you travel information including a list of stuff to bring with you.  Although all snorkeling equipment is available on the ship, we brought our own masks, snorkels and wet suits. It's up to you, but if you bring your own mask that you know for sure it fits; that is one less worry. And you know your own wet suit will keep you reasonably warm. 

There were lots of high quality cameras in use on our trip.  Before the trip, I received a link to a web seminar presented by a National Geographic photographer. He provided tips and reviewed some of the cameras then available. One tip that I did not follow was to store the camera outside the state room; I didn't see anywhere to store the camera and didn't bother to ask.  Every day, the  maid turned the A/C down to absolutely freezing and then we turned the A/C off. When the freezing cold camera hit the outside air, condensation formed on the lens until the camera warmed up which took awhile.   

Our posts below chronicle our trip. You can also see some of my better photographs.  Some of the other tourists got much better ones and David, the video chronicler, just amazing. 

I wish I could do it all over again.   My advice - go while you can.

Galapagos Islands  Marine Reserve

In Darwin's Footsteps

Books I read before the trip:

The Galapagos: A Natural History by Henry Nicholis

Galapagos: In Darwin's Footsteps by Mark Newman

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