{"id":398,"date":"2011-08-17T11:33:31","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T17:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/?p=398"},"modified":"2012-03-13T15:35:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-13T20:35:29","slug":"making-the-galapagos-cruise-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/making-the-galapagos-cruise-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the Galapagos Cruise HAPPEN!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>Special Waterway Cruises Report<\/h6>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #ff6600;\"><em>For many people, a visit to the <strong>Galapagos Islands<\/strong> off the coast of Ecuador hovers near the top of their travel &#8220;bucket list&#8221;&#8230; my advice is<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-424\" style=\"border-style: initial; border-color: initial;\" title=\"IMG_9371\" src=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/IMG_9371-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><em>-Do it NOW<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">&#8211;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/?p=502\">Do it with a reputable operator<\/a>, and,<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">&#8211;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/?p=391\">Do it at discount!<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">[adsenseyu2]<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n  google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-2632865458600424\"; \/* WaterwayBlog *\/ google_ad_slot = \"8381973889\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\n\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><br \/>\nDO IT NOW&#8230;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span>One criteria we have for our travel &#8220;bucket list&#8221; \u00a0is to <em>visit the most fragile destinations FIRST,<\/em> and the Galapagos is certainly one of these <em>&#8220;endangered destinations.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Galapagos National Park<\/strong> has become a\u00a0laboratory for how to manage tourism in ways which protects a unique endemic and\u00a0indigenous wildlife\u00a0population.\u00a0As a result, however, many regulations proposed for <strong>2012 cruises<\/strong> will impose significant limits on how many islands visitors can access in one week.<\/p>\n<p>According to press releases, the positive spin is that &#8220;<em><em>New Itineraries Developed to Comply with New Galapagos National Park Regulations Will Enhance Experience While Minimizing Visitor Impact.&#8221;<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">In fact, the impact on the <em>traveler<\/em> is that\u00a0an one-week cruise will soon require a \u00a0two-week cruise to see all twelve <em>key<\/em> islands and wildlife species that are on your list. With cruise tickets running at least $3500 per week, shopping for discounts will become increasingly critical.<\/div>\n<p>We&#8217;ve received some <em>sample itineraries<\/em> from cruise operators which would come into effect under the new regulations. \u00a0There are some 58 islands in the Galapagos archipelago, which means the park is making a concerted effort to more efficiently\u00a0disperse\u00a0the 140,000 visitors currently allowed into the park each year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/G-Bartolomo-Island.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-474\" title=\"Bartolome Island from the Bartolome Summit-2000 feet\" src=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/G-Bartolomo-Island-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/G-Bartolomo-Island-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/G-Bartolomo-Island.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Passengers who chose\u00a0<strong>Itinerary A<\/strong>\u00a0might visit the Southern &amp; Central islands stopping at La Galapaguera, Cerro Brujo, Punta Pitt on San Cristobal, Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay on Espanola, Punta Cormorant, Post Office Bay and Devil\u2019s Crown on Floreana, Humedales, Wall of Tears, Sierra Negra on Isabela, Bartolome, Black Turtle Cove and South Plaza Island as well as the highlands of Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>Passengers who book\u00a0<strong>Itinerary B<\/strong>\u00a0might visit the Northern &amp; Western islands stopping at Playa Ochoa, Leon Dormido in San Cristobal, Prince Philips Steps and Darwin Bay in Genovesa, North Seymour, Bachas Beach, Darwin Station on Santa Cruz, Punta Espinoza in Fernandina, Tagus Cove, Elizabeth Bay and Urbina Bay in Isabela, Puerto Egas on Santiago, Santa Fe and Rabida Island.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>By visiting in the remaining months of 2011, it is still possible to visit all twelve\u00a0<\/strong><strong>key\u00a0<\/strong><strong>islands throughout the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">archipelago<\/span>, and see all the most\u00a0desirable\u00a0wildlife and waterfowl within the confines of a one-week tour.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Galapagos fur seal-Hood Island\" src=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/fursealpup-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We recently returned from a cruise on the 32-passenger classic cruising yacht,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.galapagosexpeditions.com\/\">Galapagos <\/a><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.galapagosexpeditions.com\/\">EVOLUTION<\/a> <\/em><\/strong>(owned and operated by <strong>Quasar Expeditions).<\/strong> Quasar \u00a0was one of the very first cruise\/tour operators in the Galapagos. The naturalist on our cruise was born in the Galapagos and had over 20 years of guiding experience.\u00a0We thought they were a prime example of the &#8220;ethical operator&#8221; in the Galapagos. Quasar made planning our Ecuadoran visit simple. We found our visit to be very comfortable, safe, and memorable.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/booby3.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-471\" title=\"Blue Footed Booby\" src=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/booby3-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Each day of our <em>EVOLUTION<\/em> cruise involved two guided land hikes and two water-based excursions. Each island is unique in its geologic formation, and several have one or more endemic populations (found no where else on earth). The\u00a0sea life\u00a0among the islands is\u00a0incredibly\u00a0rich and each day involved snorkeling, dingy rides and kayaking.<\/p>\n<p>Among these daily excursions, we had ample opportunities \u00a0to see iconic species of wildlife that make Galapagos famous: giant tortoises, penguins, frigate birds, boobies, flamingos, Darwin Finches, albatross, flightless cormorant, marine and land iguanas, lizards, many varieties of sea birds, whale, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and sea lions&#8230;. and, yes, we did see <em>hammerhead<\/em> sharks!<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">Upcoming blog entries will share our Galapagos experiences with you!! So please return and join our conversation!<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-2632865458600424\"; \/* WaterwayBlog *\/ google_ad_slot = \"8381973889\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\n\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>We also have some 30+ waterwaycruise destinations featured in our #1 rated WATERWAY CRUISE REPORTS at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/waterwaycruises\">www.greatriver.com\/waterwaycruises<\/a> (click to visit!)<\/h4>\n<h4>\u00a0Click here to return to our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\">RAMBLIN&#8217; ON Blog<\/a><\/h4>\n<h4>Click here to return to the MISSISSIPPI RIVER HOME PAGE at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/\">www.greatriver.com<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Waterway Cruises Report For many people, a visit to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador hovers near the top of their travel &#8220;bucket list&#8221;&#8230; my advice is -Do it NOW &#8211;Do it with a reputable operator, and, &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/making-the-galapagos-cruise-happen\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,111,7,109,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birding","category-galapagos","category-ramblin","category-small-boat-cruise","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.greatriver.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}