Lifestyles

Personal Travel: ACS Expeditions

In the mood for an adventure? An ACS expedition offers the opportunity to tour some of the world’s natural splendors with an experienced scientific expert.

By Karl Thiel

In September of 1835, when Charles Darwin landed on Chatham, the easternmost of the Galápagos Islands, he wrote, “Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance.” He complained of the local plant life that “such wretched-looking little weeds would have better become an arctic than an equatorial Flora.” Yet despite his seemingly unenthusiastic observations—or more accurately, because of what he drew from them—the Galápagos Islands have become a popular tourist destination. So much so, in fact, that the government of Ecuador, which owns the islands, is struggling to control both the tourist trade and the permanent residents who serve the islands.

Yet despite the swelling ranks of would-be tourists, traveling to a location like the Galápagos isn’t for everyone. There are no resorts, no cocktail-carrying waiters, no nightclubs. It is the scientifically minded, and in particular those interested in tracing Darwin’s famous footsteps, who are drawn to this remote island chain some 600 miles west of the coast of Ecuador.

Not surprisingly, getting the most out of such a trip takes a little more organization than a simple book-it-online family holiday. Ninety-seven percent of the archipelago is a protected national park, and a tour guide is a must. Travelers journey between the islands by boat, of course, and only a limited number are licensed by Ecuador to ply the waters of the archipelago.

“Getting the most out of such a trip takes a little more organization than a simple book-it-online family holiday.”

The companies that book tours must work with licensed operators, and although most are professional and dedicated to conservation, there have been some unfortunate incidents over the past several years, including one tour boat owner whose license was suspended when his crew was discovered shark fishing in protected waters. Others are suspected of introducing invasive species, perhaps unwittingly, to the islands. In short, quality matters when it comes to such a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

One of the benefits of membership in the ACS is its travel program (see Resources), which offers an ever-evolving roster of trips to the Galápagos, the Antarctic, China, and dozens of other spots around the globe. Organized by Betchart Expeditions, these journeys focus on areas renowned for their natural or cultural history, each led by expert naturalists, archaeologists, anthropologists, or social scientists. And if you book through the ACS, you’ll get not only a competitive rate but also a group of companions that includes other ACS members with a similar interest in adventure travel.

Bon Voyage

It was an advertisement for one such trip that last year piqued the interest of Joe Peterson (ACS ’66), emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee.

“Galápagos had been on our list of desired destinations for some time,” says Peterson. When he saw a brochure for a trip leaving for the islands last November, “the timing was just right, and we snatched it up right away.” He and his wife met other travelers in Miami and flew to the Ecuadorian coastal city of Guayaquil. After an overnight stay at the local Hilton, they flew to the island of Baltra, where almost all flights to the Galápagos land. From there, they boarded the M.S. Polaris, their home for the next seven days.

On these educational tours, members are always accompanied by leaders who, according to Margaret Betchart of Betchart Expeditions, “have to have years of experience in the destination and speak the local language,” as well as being deeply versed in the scientific facts of interest to tour groups. Tours are accompanied by other experts who offer lectures and answer questions in the field. The trip was particularly well documented, as it also included professional photographers and a video chronographer from National Geographic.

The November 2006 cruise came toward the end of the islands’ cool garua season—garua being the fine mist that falls steadily and makes vegetation lush from June to November. It was also several months after mating season for the resident fur seals and sea lions, so mothers with pups were a frequent sight.

Aboard the Polaris or via inflatable Zodiac trips ashore, the travelers (about 80 in all) visited several of the 19 major and minor islands in the archipelago. First was Española (also called Hood), the oldest and southernmost in the chain, where blue-footed boobies, courting albatrosses, and sea lion mothers with young pups abounded.

“It was the albatrosses’ mating season, and the mating dances were fabulous, beautifully choreographed,” says Peterson. “And they were completely undisturbed by our presence. You realize that this is exactly what they would be doing if we weren’t there.”

Visitors generally have to stick to prescribed paths and walkways on most of the islands, but that doesn’t limit contact with the animals. “Sea lions are everywhere, and normally we would walk around them,” recalls Peterson, “but I remember one place where the walking pathway was very narrow, like a little jetty. The naturalist had his emergency equipment with him in a box, and he eventually had to bang his hand against it to get a mother and baby sea lion out of the way.”

Next stop was Floreana, known for its pink flamingos and nesting green sea turtles, as well as for a “post office” dating back to the 18th century—actually a floating barrel originally used by whalers to leave mail that was picked up by ships heading back to Europe or the United States. It is still used by tourists today.

Fernandina, the youngest and westernmost island, is named for King Ferdinand of Spain. A pod of bottlenose dolphins was out hunting when the Polaris sailed in. Other highlights on Fernandina included snorkeling with sea turtles and penguins, and catching sight of the marine iguanas and a flightless cormorant, which displayed its atrophied wings for the visitors.

Santa Cruz, the next stop, is home to most of the permanent residents of Galápagos, the majority of whom live in the town of Puerto Ayora. It is also home to the Charles Darwin Research Station and the headquarters of the Galápagos National Park Service. This is one spot where the travelers left the coast far behind, traveling by bus to a highland farm, where large populations of the famous Galápagos tortoise live.

“We saw, without exaggeration, at least 50 as we walked around,” says Peterson. Although Darwin himself subsisted on tortoise meat for much of his stay (a meat that he described as generally “indifferent,” although “very good” when roasted on the breast plate), today’s visitors aren’t allowed any such indulgence. Strict regulations are in place about not touching or disturbing the wildlife, and the naturalists make sure visitors abide by the rules.

Nevertheless, rules occasionally have to be bent a little. “As we were getting up to the farm, the bus ahead of us stopped because there was a large tortoise in the road,” Peterson recalls. “I guess it was startled, because it had pulled into its shell. Eventually, the naturalist and several other men—six, I think—had to pick it up and put it to the side of the road so we could get by.” If that sounds like a lot of manpower, consider that most of these tortoises have shells that rise above your knee and can weigh more than 600 pounds.

The island chain actually gets its name from these large, gentle reptiles. In 1535, a Spanish ship blown off course by storms encountered the islands, and the crew members were amazed by the huge tortoises. “Galápagos” derives from the Spanish word for “saddle,” a description of the distinctive shape of some tortoise shells. They are extraordinarily long-lived creatures—In June 2006, a Galápagos tortoise named Harriet died at the Australia Zoo in Queensland at the ripe age of 176. She was reputed to have been one of three tortoises taken aboard the H.M.S. Beagle by Darwin in 1835, although this claim is disputed.

Bartolomé, a tiny island north of Santa Cruz, is where scenes from the 2003 movie Master and Commander were filmed. But there were no movie stars in sight—instead, penguins, pelicans, and blue-footed boobies kept the visitors company on a hike to the summit of the island among the lava formations. A Galápagos hawk swept down to catch a lizard right in front of some of the visitors.

At neighboring Santiago (also known as San Salvador or James), the passengers of the Polaris went swimming with sharks—a few of the 30 species of shark endemic to the islands. This is one of the islands where naturalists have made a concerted effort to eliminate non-native species, eradicating large populations of pigs and goats that once overran the island, doing great damage to the natural fauna and flora.

The trip also included sail-bys of some restricted islets, such as Daphne Major and Daphne Minor; only 12 people are allowed on the Daphnes at any time, so it is very difficult to actually set foot there. Daphne Minor is the site of ongoing research, and it was the setting of The Beak of the Finch, Jonathan Weiner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book that followed Princeton-based researchers Rosemary and Peter Grant. Over a 20-year period, the Grants studied the island’s finches and elucidated some complex mechanisms of evolution. They also demonstrated that evolutionary change among birds is observable over a relatively short period.

Resources

ACS Member Benefits Page

• Click on "Personal Benefits" and, after you've looked them over, on “Auto Rental, Hotel, and Travel Discounts,” then "Travel Programs."

http://betchartexpeditions.com/acs.htm

• You'll find a list of about 50 trips a year that you can take with a highly qualified scientific staff and fellow ACS members.

Birds of a Feather

Peterson says that he and his wife learned an enormous amount from the trip and enjoyed the company. “My impression is that ACS members really like to travel with other people of their professional stature and interest in science,” he says. “It’s not just a cruising party group,” a big plus in his mind.

The next ACS trip to the Galápagos is scheduled for November 17–26, 2007, with an optional 10-day extension trip to Peru. But Betchart will be traveling to many other locations this year as well, including a first-ever trip to Tanzania and Gombe Stream National Park, where Jane Goodall famously studied the behavior of the native chimpanzees. ACS members are welcome to join any of these voyages.

Karl Thiel is an experienced adventure traveler who’s been to Africa, Venezuela, and other wondrous sites. When not traveling, he writes for the Motley Fool from his home in Portland, OR.