It was the next to last night on a week long cruise of the Galapagos aboard the Lindblad/National Geographic ship, The Endeavour. Unlike a mega-ship tour of the Caribbean, the Endeavour is a fairly small ship, and the exploration of the island chain included rigorous hikes and early mornings. The unintended consequence of this close-quarters cruising were quickly made friendships with the other guests.
We had swam with sea lions, stood inches away from blue-footed boobies and their chicks and scaled the top of Bartolomé Island for incredible views of the sunken caldera below. Our days began around 6am, included nature hikes until lunch and then snorkeling in the afternoon. After five days of NOT sitting in front of a computer all day, I was exhausted but revitalized. My energy level and intellectual curiosity were at all time highs and I was loving life.
Even though the Lindblad ship was small, that’s not to say it was uncomfortable. Lindblad prides itself in providing guests with unique access to some of the most interesting regions of the world, but comfortably. Most modern conveniences were provided, except one – there were no televisions to be found anywhere on board. After the first day of visible CNN withdrawals, we soon found their absence to be liberating. Instead of holing up in one’s cabin, everyone spent their evenings in the common areas, talking, laughing and just enjoying each other’s company.
Even as amazing as the days spent walking around with giant tortoises were, I looked forward to our evening ritual of sitting on the stern deck, playing board games and having some beers. The guests all came from incredibly diverse backgrounds, and it was fascinating to listen to everyone’s stories as the waves gently lapped against the side of the vessel.
On that evening, dangerously close to the end of the cruise, we decided to walk to the bow of the Endeavour, away from the lights on the stern deck. Walking on the front deck was like being in a darkroom. No lights from the ship were on and instead we found ourselves enveloped by a new world. One by one, we looked up, our mouths agape and stood transfixed by the cosmic show overhead.
I thought I had seen the night sky before and I thought I was prepared for the view of the stars from the Southern Hemisphere, but I was woefully mistaken. The sheer enormity of the sky was what hit me first; it seemed to go on forever. Living in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area, the light pollution and the tightly planned communities simply don’t afford scenes like the one I was witnessing.
I was never very good at astronomy, which constellations are which, but it didn’t matter. The dazzling light show was almost beyond comprehension. My eyes kept darting from one grouping of stars to another, unsure which was more brilliant.
Eventually, after twenty minutes or so of silent, mindless admiration of the heavens we all shuffled back inside, almost as if on cue. No words were spoken, none were sufficient to capture the brilliance of the moment.
Even after a week of remarkable displays of nature’s beauty and its tendency to amaze, that simple evening was the single most impressive moment of the trip.
Great article Matt, but I’m a little disappointed you didn’t have any pictures of the boobies and their chicks:)
LOL, sorry, there’s a picture of them in this post:
https://landlopers.com/2011/02/16/unique-galapagos-experiences/
I love the picture of the night sky. Awesome!!
Linblad cruise sounds wonderful! I have wanted to go on one of their cruises for awhile. Looks like I need to do it so I can enjoy that amazing night sky! That was spectacular.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your adventure.
What a sky!!! I saw that kind of sky in only 2 places: the Outback and the Amazon!
Wow, sounds amazing! The Galapagos are definitely on my bucket list…and that sky!! Amazing. This cruise looks like a great way to go. :)
Sounds amazing Matt. This is one place we can’t wait to vist. The Galapagos has always been on out must see list!
I hope you get to visit, it truly is an amazing place.
Would you recommend doing the Galapagos by cruise like this? Or would you do it different if you could?
well a cruise of some sort is necessary because it’s an archipelago. If you didn’t cruise, you’d just spend time at the main city and not see areas for which the Galapagos is famous. There are a wide variety of cruise options though for all budgets.
We were on a smaller ship of about 20 individuals from the tour Ecoadventurea and my wife and I went up to the top deck almost every night to stargaze for a bit… makes you feel pretty small!
I would like to see the southern cross from a linblad boat leaving soon. Is it possible in Galapagos?
Yes