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CAU > Seminars and Study Tours > A Family Cruise and Study Tour aboard the M.V. Galapagos Explorer

A Family Cruise and Study Tour aboard the M.V. Galapagos Explorer

December 24, 2007-January 3, 2008

The registration period for this program has passed.
Please contact us if you have any questions.

Overview

We are indeed delighted to be returning to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Beautiful, historic, and fascinating—a great destination for youngsters as well as adults—this amazing archipelago is a perfect place to savor and explore the workings of nature and the discoveries of science. Here, following Charles Darwin's footsteps, we'll encounter primeval terrain and the bird and animal communities that inspired Darwin's revolutionary ideas about natural selection and the evolution of species. Aboard our cruise ship, the M.V. Galapagos Explorer, with Cornell counselors organizing the kids on land and in the water, delightful Ecuadorian naturalist guides leading our daily island forays, and a terrific Cornell faculty member sparking and challenging us, you and your family will be sure to enjoy a memorable expedition.

Faculty

Led by CAU favorite Howard (Howie) Evans, professor emeritus of anatomy in the College of Veterinary Medicine, we'll examine the creatures and habitats of the islands, the adaptations of the Galapagos's famed birds, iguanas, tortoises, and marine mammals to their surroundings, the great evolutionary discoveries and debates that began with Darwin's Origins of Species and continue unabated today, and the conservation challenges that face the fauna and flora of this, and most other, oceanic islands. Everyone, especially the youngsters, will be delighted with Howie's amazing knowledge and his sheer delight in hands-on exploration.

Itinerary

Our voyage will begin in Quito, Ecuador, set spectacularly in the Andes Mountains. From our lodgings at the very pleasant Swissôtel Quito, we'll explore the city's extensive sixteenth- and seventeenth-century colonial district, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then we'll be off by air to the Galapagos Islands, situated in the Pacific Ocean about five hundred miles off the Ecuadorian coast. Arriving on Baltra Island, we'll board the very comfortable Galapagos Explorer (which accommodates ninety passengers).

For the next week, we'll sail among the islands of the Galapagos, making several landings each day from hard-sided pangas (like Zodiacs, but not made of rubber), never needing to wear anything dressier than a bathing suit or shorts and a T-shirt. Be prepared to be awed by the stark beauty of the islands, by the variety and uniqueness of their flora and fauna, and, above all, by the animals' approachability. Having no instinctive fear of humans, the local bird, seal, and iguana residents let folks like us wander freely among their (sometimes huge) colonies (adult and junior photographers will enjoy more close-up photo-ops than you can imagine). At some points we'll climb to the rims of extinct volcanic craters; in other places we'll snorkel from beaches and visit with resident seals (who have nuzzled snoozing CAUers in the past). Our terrific team of Cornell student counselors and our master of the waterfront, Frederick W. DeBruyn, director of aquatics at Cornell, will keep youngsters eight years and older well engaged and safe.

You'll discover quickly that the islands are surprisingly varied. Bartolomè, with its towering craters, jagged volcanic heaps, and swirls of hardened lava encircling a spectacular beach, seems almost extraterrestrial. Isabela Island is a great place to see brown pelicans, blue-footed boobies, flight-less cormorants, and, with a bit of luck, one of the world's few penguin colonies outside Antarctica. At Punta Suarez on Española (Hood Island), we'll walk along black lava beaches past huge iguana colonies and tidal pools surrounded by families of sea lions. We'll observe North Seymour Island's impressive colony of frigate birds. Other landings will take us to Santiago, Genovesa, San Cristobal, Fernandina (to visit the Galapagos penguins), Santa Fe, and to the Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz Island, where we'll visit the Galapagos's most famous residents: the enormous, lumbering, mild-mannered tortoises for whom the islands are named. Reluctantly, at week's end, we'll bid farewell to the Galapagos Explorer, fly to Guayaquil for a final overnight and closing festivities, and depart early the next morning for home.

Singles, couples, and families are all welcome to join the expedition. Youngsters age eight and older may take part; we'll organize them into age-appropriate groups (teens and pre-teens) when we gather in Quito and during the cruise. For most outings and meals, as well as for the faculty lectures, teens and youngsters are free to be with their youth group or with their families. Counselors will be on hand throughout, but we expect families to oversee all their members at the start and end of each day. Also note that all young people on the trip must be able to swim.

Program Cost and Travel Arrangements

Adult program fees start at $6,960 (per-person, double-occupancy), depending on the cabin you select. Depending upon whether your children share a cabin with two adults, or room with another young person, the special rates for youth age eight through eleven start at $4,690, while the rates for teens age twelve through seventeen start at $5,690. We will send you a deck plan with cabin descriptions and rates as soon as we receive your deposit and registration form—or, if you prefer, we'll mail or fax it to you in advance. Program fees (adult and youth) include all accommodations, most meals in Quito and all meals aboard ship, day trips, site visits, group activities aboard ship, round-trip airfare between Quito and the Galapagos Islands, full escort services, emergency medical-evacuation insurance, daily youth activities and supervision, and the full educational program. Tips to the crew will be at your discretion. The group airfare offered between New York (or Miami) and Quito is $915, but you are free to make your own international air arrangements if you prefer.

Physical Requirements

This is not a strenuous trip, but we will be physically active every day. We'll be making wet landings on many islands and walking over rocky, hilly, and occasionally slippery terrain. We do not expect rough seas to be a problem, because we will be sailing in short hops from island to island.