Taking the Kids to Galapagos

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Taking the Kids to Galapagos Eileen Ogintz October 7, 2008

The teen was having a fit. He was hungry, and his mother had left to go to work. His father couldn't calm him down and finally gave up trying. The teen stomped around, squawking. Sound familiar?

Except we're not talking about humans here, but rather birds - a juvenile Nazca booby a few feet away from me on an island in the Galapagos that is home to more than half a million birds. The bay we're anchored in - Darwin Bay at Tower Island (also known as Genovesa Island) - is in fact a caldera formed by an ancient volcano, and we walk around looking at more birds than I've ever seen in one place: red-footed boobies, blue-footed boobies, gulls and frigates, which ignore us just like teens often do. We hike up steep steps to the rim of the caldera and watch the Nazca boobies' mating dance-the male whistles to try to attract a female.

All week, as we cruise the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, we joke about the parallels between the amazing creatures we encounter here and human family behavior.

We pose with giant tortoises that ignore our presence, and we try not to disturb the marine iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks. Sea lions swim circles around us in the water. We hike over black lava fields and snorkel with sea turtles and stingrays. I feel like we've stumbled into an episode of "Nova."

This wouldn't be everyone's first choice for an expensive vacation. There are no beach chairs or tiki bars on these protected beaches, where tourists may only venture with a guide. But this is an adventure we'll never forget, starting with those sea lions we spotted on San Cristobal Island, snoozing on rowboats as if they owned the place.

The sea lions are everywhere--under the dock, even sunning themselves on rowboats. There's one empty boat where it seems as if they've taken over the whole place as we wait at the dock on San Cristobal Island for the skiff to take us to the 83-foot boat called Flamingo, our home for the next week. Along with three other families, we've signed on for a weeklong cruise organized by Seattle-based Wildland Adventures.

The crew toasts our arrival with champagne the first day. The Flamingo is comfortable but certainly not luxurious. We're surprised that we can find room for all of our gear in the small cabins. There are perhaps 85 tour boats in the Galapagos Islands, from a 100-passenger cruise ship to small boats that sleep four to six people. Some of the tour boats are yachts, including one designed to replicate Charles Darwin's ships, the HMS Beagle. Ours seems just the right size, sleeping 20 passengers. It has a crew of 11, including two experienced naturalists, Harry Jimenez and Orlando Romero, who make every excursion an adventure - even for the 8-year-old twin boys on board.

Captain Manolo Martinez has five children at home, he tells us over dinner. He invites a different family to dinner each night. We're a varied group: my husband, Andy; 22-year-old Matt, who's going to start an exciting new job when he gets back; 20-year-old Reggie, our college junior; and 15-year-old high-schooler Melanie. There are also the Peets, from Seattle, with 12-year-old Summer and 9-year-old Graham; and the Strausses, from Bethesda, Md., with 8-year-old twins Joshua and Daniel. Then there is Subodh Das, of Lexington, Ky., who is here with his 35-year-old daughter Mona Mullin, friend Diane Moore and 25-year-old Som Das. They try to take an exotic trip every year, Subodh says, his children joking that they're happy to travel with dad since he's paying. "And I'd rather leave them memories than money," adds Subodh, a divorced engineer.

Many families we meet seem to agree with that philosophy. These remote islands off the coast of Ecuador, where the wildlife (especially the giant tortoises) inspired Charles Darwin's work, have emerged at the top of many families' travel wish lists. Where else can you snorkel with sea lions or watch a sea lion nurse her pup? Even at a cost of more than $10,000 for a family of four, adventure companies such as Wildland Adventures report increasing interest in Galapagos trips designed for families.

The Peets, veterans of other Wildland Adventures trips to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, said they wanted to take their kids a little further this time. "We're not the kind of family that likes to go and sit on a beach," Sam Peet, the mom, explains. "Definitely not," confirms 12-year-old Summer as she races off to splash in the surf, sea lions lazing nearby.

The beach where we've stopped to swim and snorkel is full of sea lions - mamas and their nursing pups, frisky adolescents, fathers marking their territory. Every day is a different island and a different adventure. We see Sally Lightfoot crabs, bright red against the black lava rocks; great blue herons; penguins (yes, there is a warm-water species here); and even a short-eared owl, which is small and is apparently the only owl on the planet to hunt food during the day (no predators for the owls to worry about). Frigates hitch a ride on the mast of our boat, much to the kids' delight.

Before dinner each night, the naturalists tell us what we'll do the following day. Important clothing details--hiking shoes vs. flip-flops, shorts vs. swimsuits - are discussed. It's nice to leave all the planning and cooking to others. We do have to keep track of our own snorkel gear and wetsuits (provided by the boat) and our beach towels. That's not as easy as it sounds with the gear in identical mesh bags. And because we're so close to the equator, we see stars in both the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere at night. They are both so bright. I can't believe we're here in the Pacific Ocean at the center of the globe.

The dining room is small, with each family sitting at one booth-like table. The food is plentiful and good--vegetarian pasta for lunch, turkey or pork for dinner with bountiful salads, rice and cake for dessert.

"You may not remember the food, but you'll remember everything we saw," said Som Das.

"This has really exceeded expectations," said Steve Strauss, whose only worry is that his two boys aren't old enough to fully appreciate this trip.

But even in paradise, kids get hot and tired, siblings bicker, teens want to get away from their parents, the boat rocks too much some nights, and the food gets tiresome. It's all part of the adventure, we tell each other.

On a small boat like this, everyone must make an effort to get along. It's not as if you can go elsewhere and get away from anyone, whether your own family or others on board. There's no entertainment except that which we supply ourselves. When we're not hiking, snorkeling or exploring, we congregate on the top deck with cushioned chaise lounges, shaded from the sun, to read, talk or take a snooze--just like the sea lions. The kids play Scrabble and cards. The crewmembers do all they can to make us happy.

"Remember, you're in paradise," the naturalists keep reminding us.

How can we forget?

Read Eileen's account of her daughter's adventures getting stranded in a snowstorm on her way to the Galapagos.