SOMETIMES ALL YOU NEED ARE A FEW PIECES OF GEAR AND A RUGGED LANDSCAPE TO ESCAPE and sometimes all you need is a sea kayak on the open water. Some of the most beautiful places on Earth are best seen from the quiet solitude of a kayak.
Cari Morgan is a freelance writer and founder of Evoke PR. She currently lives and plays in the Sierra Foothills.
Jacques Yves Cousteau spent halcyon days gliding above and beneath the ocean. He lived among the largest mammals and sea drift. He was the master educator and voice for the sea.
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols is a scientist, activist, community organizer, author and dad. J. is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences, founder/co-director of Ocean Revolution and co-founder of SEEtheWILD.org. He earned his M.E.M. in Environmental Policy and Economics from Duke University’s Nicholas School and his Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of Arizona.
Although O.A.R.S. does not offer whitewater rafting trips to the Galapagos Islands, they do offer 11-day sea-kayaking trips, 10-day multi-sport trips, as well as 10-day sailing trips to these enchanted islands.
If you are fortunate enough to be one of O.A.R.S.’ Galapagos Islands vacationers, you can be instrumental in protecting the area’s priceless natural heritage!
The Galapagos Islands face serious threats to their unique biodiversity. In 2007, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre placed them on their list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. In response these threats, the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) has launched a new education and funding program to help meet the challenge of lasting protection for the islands.
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It’s the "slow season" for commercial California whitewater rafting, so it’s a great time to run away from the office. Upon return from my recent escape, a co-worker asked, “Why would you want to visit the Galápagos Islands? Aren’t they a bunch of barren, volcanic islands and you see the same wildlife over and over again?”
Interesting, I’d never heard that response before.
I suspect if one tires easily of swimming and snorkeling with playful sea lions, turtles, rays, eels, sharks, iguanas and countless fish, or if the 29 endemic species of birds, such as the Galápagos penguin and hawk, flightless cormorant, and the gray lava gull aren’t intriguing, then the Galápagos Archipelago might not be a place of interest. (Did I mention fields of wandering giant tortoises and the native populations of blue footed boobies, Nazca (masked) boobies, waved albatrosses, magnificent frigatebirds and brown pelicans?)
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Many reports state that if Charles Darwin were alive today, he’d be excited by the acceptance of his theories, and he’d probably be a whiz in the online world. Personally, I think he would also be out enjoying whitewater rafting with O.A.R.S., since so many O.A.R.S. trips feature the beauty of the natural world, including intriguing wildlife, discussions about history, geology and the earth’s natural elements. Shoot, he probably would have been asked to be a guest lecturer on any number of their vacations!
Sally Lightfoot crabs.
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Did you know…
According to a recent AP story, Charles Darwin was the inventor of the modern office chair. He put wheels on the chair in his study so he could get to his specimens more quickly — and, bingo, the modern office chair was invented! (Don’t quote me on this, I can’t verify the fact.) The world celebrates the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birthday this week.
I say, get up out of your office chairs and visit the Galapagos Islands with O.A.R.S. and see for yourself some of the very wildlife that so inspired Charles Darwin.
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February 12th marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday. His most famous work, "Origin of the Species," will also celebrate an anniversary this year … 150 years old.
The man who was born 200 years ago Thursday did not stumble on his theory of natural selection in one blinding insight when he observed the varied finches and mockingbirds and tortoises of the Galapagos Islands during the HMS’ Beagle stopover there. His first insights on evolution came to him two years after the Beagle returned to England. It wasn’t until 1859, more than 20 years after his visit to the Galapagos Archipelago, that Darwin completed his first great work, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection: The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life."
The Galapagos Archipelago and the Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz remain an international monument to his achievement.
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O.A.R.S. offers three adventure travel itineraries in the Galápagos Archipelago:
Galápagos Multi-Sport Adventure
· 10 days
· Maximum group size 8
· Basecamp is on a 50-foot catamaran
· Visit the four largest islands and several islets of the archipelago
· Activities include: sea kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, beachcombing, hiking, biking, surfing, horseback riding and photographing
2008 Dates: Nov 22, 29; Dec 6, 13, 20 (12/20 is the last chance for our land-based itinerary)
2009 Dates: Jan 4, 31; Feb 7, 14, 21, 28; Mar 7, 14, 21, 28; Apr 4, 11, 18, 25; May 2, 9, 16, 23 (Additional dates available upon request)
Sea Kayaking the Enchanted Islands
· 11 days
· Maximum group size of 8
· Basecamp is on a catamaran
· Explore a different island each day, including 7 islands and several islets on (itinerary subject to change by the National Park)
· Activities include: sea kayaking*, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, beachcombing (*Professional sea kayaking guide included)
2008 Dates: Dec 12, 26
2009 Dates: January 2, 9, 23, 30; March 6, 13, 20, 27; April 3, 10, 17, 24; May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; June 5, 12, 19; July 3, 10, 17; August 7, 14
Galápagos Naturalist Sailing
· 10 days
· Maximum group size 12 guests
· Basecamp is an 82-ft, 12-passenger, wide and stable catamaran, mooring each night in a unique destination.
· Explore 8 islands and several islets
· Activities include: snorkeling, swimming, beachcombing and twice-daily short hikes at National Park sites, with a panga delivering us through mangroves
2009 Dates: February 7, 14, 21; March 7, 14, 21; December 19, 26
(Additional dates available upon request)
How to get to Galápagos?
The meeting location is Quito, Ecuador – Mariscal Sucre International Airport. Continental Airlines offers direct service to Quito through Houston. American flies to Quito via Miami and Delto flies to Quito via Atlanta. LAN offers direct service from Miami. LAN and TACA are reliable South American airlines and COPA is quickly becoming the Southwest Airlines of Latin America.
I frequently check in with http://itasoftware.com/ and http://www.kayak.com/ to search for cheap airfare and discount travel deals. Kayak.com searches 140+ travels sites at once and does not charge fees – it is completely free.
Galápagos is home to many endemic animals, most of which are fearless because of their lack of natural predators. From the world’s only seagoing lizards to flightless cormorants and penguins, flamingos, inflatable frigate birds, wave albatrosses, clownish boobies and 13 species of Darwin finches, you can enjoy thrilling encounters with animals—up close—on any one of O.A.R.S.’ three Galápagos trips.
Take for example…
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Each of O.A.R.S. three Galápagos adventure travel vacations
Sea Kayaking the Enchanted Islands / Galápagos Multi-Sport / Galápagos Naturalist Sailing
offer extraordinary opportunities to swim with marine mammals such as sea lions, fur seals, dolphins, and manta, eagle, and golden rays, as well as thousands of the 300 species of colorful fish. More adventurous folks may relish the chance to snorkel with the friendly Galápagos sharks or even hammerheads and white-tipped reef sharks. Marine turtles and whales are commonplace and simply add to the magic.
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