The following days played out in a similarly adventurous rhythm. After fuelling up on breakfasts of detox juice and eggs in saucy Ecuadorian seco de pollo chicken stew, we’d head out to hike or kayak among sea birds, turtles and marine iguanas. Most afternoons, we’d don snorkelling gear and venture undersea. In the crystal currents off Floreana Island, we stumbled onto a group of bottlenose dolphins, while the reefs around Bartolomé Island’s Pinnacle Rock brought us up-close with Galápagos penguins and a diamond ray as large as a dining table. Back on board, ravenous and salty-haired, we’d warm up in the Jacuzzi tub on the top deck and watch orange-streaked sunsets with a G&T in hand, before tucking into Ecuadorian feasts of fresh ceviche, slide-off-the bone ribs, or moreish pork hornado.
But for all the close-ups with dragon-like iguanas, giant albatrosses and even hammerhead sharks, my most gripping wildlife encounter was with a creature that had long stopped breathing. In a glass box at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, I came eye to eye with the taxidermied remains of Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise of its kind (the species was largely wiped out due to hunting and the introduction of goats on Pinta Island). While efforts were made to find a suitable partner, no viable eggs were ever produced, and when he died at the ripe old age of 101 in 2012, the species became extinct. It was a bitter reminder of how human greed and over-exploitation could change nature’s course in disastrous ways, but also offered a hopeful insight into the conservation work that has prevented other giant tortoise species from a similar fate.
And what about tourism, I wondered? Is there a place for us amidst a fragile ecosystem where we’re, quite literally, stumbling over nature’s riches? “We wouldn’t be able to run without it,” Sánchez said, pointing out the USD 200-per-person entrance fee for the Galápagos National Park, and the need for small-scale and mindful operations like the Galapagos Explorer. “Travellers get to enjoy this special place, but at the same time, they’re helping the local community and the islands’ conservation programmes. It’s a win-win situation.”