| Galapagos Odyssey |
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The Evolution of Travel
All but 3 percent of the Galápagos is protected, keeping coastlines like this one pristine.
Jeff Potter and his son, Colby, aboard the Islander.
Pwwwwsh! I look left, right, down. The Galápagos may be famous for the tameness of its wildlife, but not everything is benign. The sharks that patrol these waters are occasionally aggressive, and even the sea lions have been known to take nips out of tourists. A few yards away, I spot a streak of bubbles that reaches down from the surface about 20 feet. It seems to have appeared out of nowhere. The minnows grow frantic, the mass of their bodies quivering as if electrified. Pwwwwsh! I lift my head above water and catch sight of a missile-shaped bird, wings tucked, arrowing into the sea. The bird knifes through the school of fish below, trailing a wake of bubbles, then somersaults and paddles upward. It’s a blue-footed booby, one of the islands’ many exotic species. Pwwwwsh! One after another, the birds come. Pwwwwsh! A whole flock circles and plunges, raining into the sea. Pwwwwsh! Pwwwwsh! For the fish, it must feel like London during a buzz-bomb raid. For me, it’s a front-row view of one of the most frenzied links in the food chain. And just another day in the Galápagos with Exclusive Resorts.  ACCESS > American Airlines (aa.com) flies direct from Miami to Quito, Ecuador. Most U.S.–to–Ecuador flights arrive in the evening, so plan to stay the night. > Swissôtel Quito is a 275-room modern luxury hotel with six restaurants an... Founded in 2002, the company began as a small destination club whose 20 members owned four properties in Colorado, Hawaii, New York, and Mexico. Then, in 2003, former AOL honcho Steve Case acquired a majority stake and poured in a share of his $850 million personal fortune. In a stroke, the company became the largest player in the burgeoning high-end destination-club business. Today the company offers access to 350 properties in 11 countries. Its holdings are valued at more than $1 billion. For the club’s 3,000-plus members, who have an average net worth of over $5 million, the appeal isn’t finding a cost-effective way to travel. Rather, membership allows participants to jet off to a new destination assured that they will enjoy top-notch accommodations. In the Galápagos, for instance, each dive ends with a staff member plucking swimmers out of the water, handing out fresh towels, and whisking the group by Zodiac to a small luxury expedition ship, where attendants in crisp white uniforms stand ready to fulfill every need. Dinner service is on white linen, and a masseuse and private doctor are constantly at the ready. For guests cruising like this through these islands, life becomes a piquant blend of nature’s rawest struggle and mankind’s most elevated luxuriance. |
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