Natural Secrets of the Galápagos

by Lauren Kroger, Luxury Travel Advisor

I slipped off the dinghy, wetsuit on, and plunged into the Pacific. For a moment, I was surrounded by the soothing, ambient noises of the ocean. Then, from somewhere to my left, came a muffled squeal of delight and a finger pointing down – into the blue. I looked beneath me and saw two sea lions circling each other as they swam toward the surface. Three more arrived, seemingly out of nowhere. They approached playfully, rolling in the water and blowing bubbles into our underwater cameras. 

Welcome to the Galápagos. In the volcanic archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin, the natural world takes center stage. Itineraries are designed around the blue-footed boobie, giant tortoise, and marine iguana. At times, our 16-passenger catamaran seemed to share the endless horizon with no one but the cormorants in the sky.  

Galápagos National Park guides mitigate crowding and environmental stress with strict rules dictating each ship’s itinerary. Our designated loop allowed us to take in the flora and fauna of Gardner Bay, Espanola; storied Floreana, with the most interesting human history of the Galápagos, and the forested highlands of Santa Cruz – home to Relais & Chateaux’s architecturally stunning Pikaia Lodge. For those who prefer to base their explorations on land, this is the place to do it. 

Remote destinations are now more in vogue than ever before, and this year, I catch myself daydreaming about the magnificent beauty off the Galápagos Islands, roughly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The Galápagos Islands went undiscovered for centuries and successfully protected some of the rarest animal species.