The Great Galapagos

Celebrity Cruises acquired an existing tour operation, bought a spectacular German-made ship that carries 98 guests (tiny by cruise-ship standards) staffed by a crew of 50, and began Galapagos cruises aboard the Celebrity Xpedition in June 2004. (Other adventurous itineraries—to the South Pole, for instance—on similar small ships are planned for the future.)

Our trip started in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, which is part bustling modern metropolis and part charming colonial city, with a spectacular church anchoring every cobblestone square. At 9,000 feet, the climate here is described as "year-round spring," which apparently means chilly temperatures and daily showers. From Quito we flew to Baltra, one of the islands of Galapagos, with a touch-down in Guyaquil on the coast. The 90-degree temperatures chased the chill away, and we boarded large Zodiacs for the hop to the Xpedition, which set sail for North Seymour Island.

Life aboard the Xpedition is luxurious but casual. The cabins are compact but beautifully outfitted; bathrooms fixtures look like they belong in TV commercials. There are two bars, one on the top deck, a small fitness/spa area, and a hot tub/Jacuzzi. There's no assigned seating at meals, no formal or even dressy dress required. Breakfasts and lunches are buffet, and some meals are also served at the on-deck grill.

Anchored off North Seymour, we boarded Zodiacs once again to transfer to the island. At shore, we found the easy access blocked by resting sea lions. One of the commandments of the Galapagos is Do Not Disturb the Wildlife—though the wildlife, having no fear of humans, is welcome to disturb, or at least inconvenience, us.

So we jumped from the boat and scrambled up a fairly steep bank of slick volcanic rocks, passing nose-to-nose by lounging sea lions. We had been told the trail we would be walking was rocky and uneven, and it was. It was also shared with the famous blue-footed boobies, whose feet are, in fact, bright turquoise blue, and who were in full mating dance, stomping and flapping and hooting in hopes of attracting a female. The boobies are fairly accomplished fishermen, which is more than can be said for the frigate birds with their impressive bright red throat pouches they inflate to—you guessed it—attract females. They're called frigate birds after the infamous pirate ships because since they can't dive under water to catch fish (not enough oil on their feathers), they simply attack other birds in the air and grab their fish when they drop it. Also on or near the path were land iguanas, marine iguanas and lava lizards. The naturalist-guides who accompanied every outing are knowledgeable, personable and articulate. They're also licensed by the government as park rangers and make sure no one leaves the path or disturbs the surroundings.

The Galapagos are young—and still active—volcanic islands (the last eruption was in 1998), the topography is either flat (on North Seymour and Baltra) or hilly, and the vegetation ranges from pretty scrubby (on the drier islands) to meadows-and-woods on the wetter ones.

The next morning found us at San Cristobal, the easternmost island in the archipelago, a dramatic volcano with towering cliffs and impressive rock formations. We landed on a beautiful white coral-sand beach. We swam and snorkeled in the surprisingly refreshing water, and I hoped that a sea lion pup might join in and play (our guide explained that she once felt a tug on her flipper, turned around and found a sea lion pulling on it). But no such luck. After our swim, we motored along the rocky perimeter and glimpsed, on top of a cliff, a very agile goat. Our guide explained that goats and other human-introduced animals like donkeys, cats and dogs, are taking a terrible toll on the islands. Goats and donkeys eat everything in sight, feral dogs and cats prey on iguanas and birds, and so the authorities are trying to eradicate the non-indigenous species.

By 4 p.m. we had reached Espanola, the southernmost of the Galapagos, and the most strenuous of the trip's expeditions. The landing was a scramble up a rocky slope, and the trail was littered with large chunks of lava rock. The "hike" was more like a step class! But we were rewarded with flocks of boobies so tame we walked right through their midst. (Adolescent birds look as big or bigger than their parents because they are covered in fluffy, snowy down. They look like miniature Big Birds in white.) We also sighted red marine iguanas—found only on this island—Darwin's finches (of course) and native mockingbirds being pursued by a very impressive Galapagos hawk. (They got away—this time.)

We visited Santa Cruz Island the next morning, the second largest in the group where the Galapagos' largest town, Puerto Ayora, is located. Our destination was the Charles Darwin Research Center, which houses, among other things, the captive breeding program for the giant land tortoises. These remarkable creatures, often 600 or 700 pounds, were almost eliminated from the islands because sailing vessels—whalers, pirates, explorers, military—who stopped here discovered that the giants could live for months with no food or water, and so they took them in great quantity as a source of fresh meat. Today, many tortoises have been returned to their original islands, thanks to the breeding program. No one knows the life span of a giant tortoise, but one in the Center has been a resident since 1906—he was an adult then—and he's still breeding. Hatchling tortoises are surprisingly small—one could fit in the palm of your hand—and they grow very slowly, reaching sexual maturity at about 25.

Strolling back through Puerto Ayora toward the dock, we visited a number of colorful shops, stocking up on souvenirs and keepsakes from T-shirts and native woven bags and ponchos to tortoise sculptures and boobie key chains.

Our last stop, after lunch, was Cerro Dragon or Dragon Hill on the uninhabited side of Santa Cruz. Well, uninhabited isn't exactly correct—the area is called Dragon Hill because it is home to lots and lots of land iguanas. The topography is unlike the other spots we visited, with a lot more vegetation. We landed by a small but lovely white beach, framed by stark black lava, and then proceeded through a small forest which bordered a lagoon (nowhere else had we seen any inland body of water). The pond was home to several shocking pink flamingos, which ignored us utterly. The trail crossed a meadow-like area, where we saw evidence that there are donkeys in the neighborhood, then up a gentle hill through a woodsy stretch, then back through the forest to the beach for swimming and snorkeling. Though there are a great many different species of sharks in the waters of the Galapagos, our guides assured us that there had never been a shark attack. Adorable as they are, the sea lions pose a greater danger, she explained, especially big, territorial males patrolling their stretch of beach or rocks.

A strenuous trip, you may be thinking, with all the hiking and snorkeling and rock climbing. But Celebrity offers alternative expeditions for more sedentary cruisers, usually a circumnavigation of the island being visited in one of the Zodiacs. And members of our group who chose that option sometimes saw more wildlife than the hiking set—fish, sea turtles, pelicans fishing, frigate birds stealing and more.

Whether at sea or on land, this was the trip of a lifetime, time spent with nature in its purest, most untouched forms, experienced in comfortable surroundings with friendly, knowledgeable experts always ready to point out another natural wonder.

For more information about Celebrity Cruises, or the Xpedition's Cruise to the Galapagos Islands visit: