We were excited to be in the fabled islands of Charles Darwin's inspiration. Riding from the airport to our Galapagos cruise ship, however, it seemed as if we'd caught a flight to Hawai'i by mistake. The soft air, red dirt and tropical vegetation (bananas, hibiscus, crotons, ti and palms) reminded us of the Hawaiian archipelago. At times, we thought we were traveling through lush Upcountry Maui and at other times in dry, volcanic areas of the Big Island.

Our ship was being cleaned and refueled between cruises, so we were taken from the airport straight to the Charles Darwin Research Center. This plan upset one European on the bus so much that he loudly demanded to be taken directly to his "luxury cabine" on the boat and not "dragged around on land" when he'd paid for a cruise! The rest of the passengers were quietly appalled at his behavior, but an obliging guide agreed to take him directly to his ship. Later, we giggled at the thought that he'd spent the whole afternoon on the boat with the cleaning crew, lifting his feet as they vacuumed. (One of the down sides of travel is encountering the occasional boorish tourist. Fortunately, this guy wasn't on our ship.)

The name Galapagos comes from some of the islands' most famous inhabitants, the giant tortoises (galapagos in Spanish). Advertiser library photo • Oct. 7, 2003

Soon we were zooming off in a panga (motorized inflatable boat) to our cruise ship, the Coral, anchored at the mouth of the harbor. Some of our friends have said they'd never want to travel the way we do — for long periods of time, often in uncomfortable conditions. But almost everyone would enjoy cruising in the Galapagos. And anyone who can walk slowly for a couple of miles over rocky terrain can do it, then return to a cruise ship with all the comforts (air conditioning, familiar foods and hot showers).

We joined our fellow passengers for a welcome drink in the Coral's teak-paneled lounge. We were there in mid-May, off-season, and there were only 13 of us on a boat that holds 20. We came from the United States, Australia, Britain and the Netherlands. After dinner, our naturalist guide Hernan described the eight-day cruise in detail and the following day's activities. The ship motored out of the harbor about 9:30 p.m., and when we awakened the next morning we were anchored off beautiful Española — the first of the seven islands we would visit on this seven-day tour.

After breakfast, we climbed into pangas for the 10-minute ride to the island — bobbing over the waves like a flock of orange-vested boobies. After landing on a stairway of wet rocks on which bright-red crabs wriggled, we climbed a path and came face to face with a tangle of sunbathing marine iguanas — the only deep-sea-diving lizards on the planet.

Marine iguanas dive to the ocean floor to graze on algae. Salt deposits form a helmet of crystals on their spiky heads. Lou and Joan Rose • Special to The Advertiser

On one of our panga rides, Hernan scooped up a baby marine iguana struggling in the water. It had been washed off the rocks before it grew strong enough to swim against the surf and was in danger of dying of hypothermia. Hernan gave it to Joan, who cradled it in her hands for 20 minutes until it was warm enough to be returned to the rocks. For her, this was the highlight of the cruise.

Over millennia, the various creatures that washed up on the shores of the Galapagos had to fit themselves into any available biological niche. Green iguanas who arrived too late to find room in the algae beds along the shore hauled themselves several miles up to the hot, dry inland areas, where they evolved into three-foot yellowish land dragons that live on prickly cactus fruit. To escape the heat, they tunnel as much as 18 feet into the ground. (One land iguana was so curious about the camera that he came right at Lou, who had to keep backing away to get enough distance for a photo!)

Lou's favorite experience was swimming with two Pacific green sea turtles that flapped gracefully along just below him as he snorkeled. He swam with the giant creatures for much of an hour, at times coming within a foot of them as they munched on algae along the rocky cliffs. These turtles can reach 300 pounds and may live as long as 80 years.

Lou and Joan Rose travel extensively, but their Galapagos cruise was "the trip of a lifetime." Lou and Joan Rose • Special to The Advertiser

After years of watching wide-winged frigate birds from a distance in Hawai'i, we were able to see the birds up close in the Galapagos. Pirates of the air who steal their meals from other birds, they were named after the armed ships used by the pirates of old. The male frigate bird establishes a territory and puffs up his red pouch to attract a female. The females sit nearby, debating the merits of each male and trying to decide if he's worth the trouble or not. On one island, we walked within a few feet of a nesting frigate bird with downy chick. We also got close to a waved albatross, in the Galapagos for breeding from April to December, then spending the rest of the year at the South Pole. The fastest long-distance flier of all birds, the waved albatross, can go 8,000 miles in just five days.

Hernan told us that the eyesight of the Galapagos hawk is so good that he could read fine newsprint at a distance of 1,500 feet — if he could read. We snorkeled over a sleeping shark (Hernan promised he was a "vegetarian" shark because that species doesn't bother humans), and watched from pangas as an school of about 70 golden manta rays flapped gracefully through a lagoon. We saw a red-lipped batfish, visited the island where the Russell Crowe film "Master and Commander" was shot, crossed the equator (didn't see any line) and happily disembarked after a fine cruise through these "enchanted isles."

When we were planning this trip, we looked at several ships on the Internet, many of them less expensive than the Coral. But this was the trip of a lifetime and the time to splurge on quality. We'd read too many horror stories of cheaper boats with guides who spoke almost no English or knew little about the wildlife, and of boats where all the passengers got sick from the food, or where the plumbing quit, the water ran out or the promised itinerary was changed.

In contrast, the Coral lived up to its brochure promises. We were comfortable on this well-appointed, air-conditioned classic motor yacht. We ate well, went to the most interesting islands, saw everything we wanted to see and had an excellent guide. We usually travel more modestly; having a really good naturalist to explain the Galapagos was the primary reason we chose a first-class boat. Only the best boats (first-class and deluxe) carry Naturalist III guides, who must have a university degree in marine biology and speak several languages. The rest of the ship's crew of eight (captain, bar/dining room steward, panga drivers, engine-room guys and cabin steward) were friendly, competent and spoke almost no English. We had fun trying our fractured Spanish on them, which they good-naturedly pretended to understand.