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South America
Enjoy the best that South America has to offer, cruising from port to port, but save time for excursions because you won't want to miss the fabulous terrain, history, and cities that make up South America. There's so much, just imagine a night of dancing in the birthplace of Tango, Buenos Aires. Then shortly afterwards you're breathing the mountain air in Patagonia. The land packages for cruises to South America are among the best in the cruise world. It's easy to see why South America is rapidly becoming one of the most popular cruise destinations.
South America is a super place to embark on a luxury cruise with the family partly because the wildlife is so different from most other places in the world. If you come from North America and Europe, which are temperate zone climates, the wildlife and flora will both seem unusual and exotic to you. One of the best places on earth to explore wildlife is The Galapagos Islands.
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The Galapagos Islands
Charles Darwin made the Galapagos Islands famous over one hundred years ago, when he formed his Theory of Evolution. Transfixed by the wildlife on these remote islands, Darwin couldn't pull himself from the amazing diversity and uniqueness of the various repitiles, birds, and mammals found on the Galapagos Islands. Still today, luxury cruise passengers are mesmerized by the natural wonders found on the Galapagos Islands, thanks partly to the excellent job the government of Ecuador and some international groups have done in preserving and protecting these valuable resources. The 21 islands in the archipelago are almost totally protected by National Park status (97%), and tourism is strictly monitored and limited. Nevertheless, lxury cruise trips to the Galapagos Islands are full of fascinating excursions, up-close encounters, and unforgettable experiences you'll hold with you the rest of your life.
Small luxury cruise ships are the best way to see the Galapagos Islands, because you will have more opportunities to dock, anchor, and cruise near the small islands and atolls, affording passengers the best views of the wildlife and scenery. The islands lie 650 miles off the west coast of Ecuador and because of their remoteness, are inhabited by creatures whose development has progressed through the centuries separately from their mainland cousins. There are so many endemic species on the Galapagos Islands, scientists still flock here every year to study the variety.
Choose an on-shore excursion that takes you trekking across lava fields to find giant iguanas, and you will find yourself transfixed by the strangeness of creatures that have developed with not much fear of human interaction. That doesn't mean you should interact, however! Keep your distance, and stay on the marked trails. Wandering off designated areas for trekking may mean you're trampling on the precious life underneath you...turtle eggs, whatever. Respect the trail rules always!
Small luxury cruise ships have the advantage of approaching the various islands more quietly and with less impact on the environment, and of traversing areas where larger luxury cruise ships can't go at all. Watch green turtles and sea lions drift past you as you approach islands like Fernandina or Genevesa Island. Catch glimples of flightless cormorants, one of the Galapagos Islands' most famous endemic species (that means they're only found in this one place on earth, that the species has developed uniquely to that spot on earth). Penguins waddle over the rocks and dive into the frigid waters, baby sea lions waddle up to quiet tourists patient enough to stand quietly and wait for curious wildlife to discover them and approach. Frigate birds, another famous resident of the Galapagos Islands, swoop over passengers as they go bird-watching on a special excursion, looking for red-footed boobies or short-eared owls, which are native to the Galapagos Islands.
Shore excursions can involve Pangas, special long boats used by locals to ferry people and goods around the islands. Your Panga tour can take you to places where Darwin's Lab is on display for tourists, where fur seals cry out, ginat land tortoises struggle to survive, and strangely, penguins exist in the mangroves. Climb volcanic pipes to remote areas and see seeping views from atop cliffs, with the sea below, and just consider yourself lucky that you've come to one of the most beautiful and strange places on earth.
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Activities
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