So, to all future honeymooners, skip the Thai massages, Japanese baths and jump right into the thick of things with a 5:30AM outing into the ancient world on some extra treks. That is, only if there is not an earlier adventure scheduled. Or, perhaps sleep in a little and start at nine in the morning instead to follow what was originally set for the program. Don’t worry, you will be back for dinner at 7:30PM, until then there is an entire catalog of flora and fauna to be seen.

Two days are dedicated to the islands of Bartolome, Santiago, and Espanola where everything that defines the Galapagos in the minds of many; snorkeling with penguins, blue-footed boobies, lava, mangroves and tortoises. With all this activity, you might be worried that quality might be sacrificed for quantity, according to Liz this was not the case.

“Having signed up through National Geographic, I expected I was going to live a documentary that they air on the Galapagos. I was not disappointed in the least… Everything was spectacular, it's like nothing you have ever experienced. When the wildlife has no fear what so ever of humans, and walk up to you to investigate you, it's incredible…The crew was also amazing. Especially the naturalists. When in the Galapagos, you are required to have a naturalist with your group all the time. They are some of the most well educated people I have ever encountered. These guys know everything about the Galapagos, and many grew up on Santa Cruz island. There was not a question that they did not have the answer to. They also have such passion about the islands and the wildlife.”

The element of danger has always been synonymous with adventure and a good personal story makes a trip so much more special. So when I asked Liz if she had a good story to come home with she replied with a resounding “HAHA our zodiac sunk!” Not always what you would want to hear on an island expedition. “We were returning from one of the Islands and our Naturalist thought that it would be a nice detour to go over to a reef to watch the iguanas feed. It was a great idea, no doubt. For about 2 minutes we cruised around this rocky reef where there was two or three iguanas feeding. Then out of blue there was this explosion of bubbles. At first I thought it was some sort of blow hole from the surf in the rocks, but I quickly realized that was not the case! We had rubbed some barnacles and there was a slice in our boat, we were quickly losing air. Generally these zodiacs have multiple chambers of air, so sinking is not an issue, but we found out that the other chambers were not functioning! As the zodiac lost air another one came to our rescue, and we transfered over to it mid water. I don't think anyone was concerned with drowning, as we were not far from shore or shallow waters, but concerned more for the camera equipment on board...The Captain, "Super G", of the zodiac then tried to go back to ship, only to make it about 1/4 of the way before he could no longer move forward without going under water. He got a tow from another zodiac back to the ship…By the end of the trip they had patched up the zodiac and it was back in the water. There were a few paranoid guests who did not want to ride in zodiac #3, but it was completely safe (I am sure it's not the first one to get patched!!).”

At the end of the day, our adventurous newlyweds claimed their glory, saw things that exist only in such a remote part of the world and had their cocktail over a sunset as well. So, as Liz put it, “how do you top that?” A perfect adventure for the adventurous couple.

All Photos Taken by Liz Sobol

Labels: Adventure Travel, Destinatons, Ecotourism, Expeditions, Islands