The Galápagos & Kimberley: The next big thing in expeditions
The location alone is exotic, a string of jewels on the Pacific Ocean far away from the Philippines. The Galápagos are a chain of islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and are part of Ecuador in South America.
According to National Geographic, “The Galápagos are best known for their diverse array of plant and animal species. Many species are endemic, which means they are not found anywhere else in the world.”
According to world traveler Shan Dioquino David of CITTI Elite, the Galápagos, along with Kimberley in Australia, are the next big thing in expedition cruises. I have been on an expedition cruise to the Arctic with Silversea, and believe you me, it’s not your ordinary cruise. In an expedition cruise, you’re going to be an explorer — but in six-star style.
My expedition to the Arctic on the Silver Cloud in 2022 was surreal. From the ship, we took Zodiacs to islands inhabited only by wildlife (like penguins, walruses and Polar bears). Some islands were castles of ice and snow; some were like floating icicles. One of the most adventurous things I have ever done in my life was to go to the Ice Edge, where all you see for miles on end are floating ice bars, some as big as a refrigerator. From afar, the sea looked like a giant bowl of halo-halo — or a Margarita.
After the daytime excursions, we all went home to a floating six-star hotel, with a personal butler for each suite. It was an expedition of the senses.
Shan tells me the Arctic is just the beginning for many who go on expedition cruises, as she notes the increased “curiosity” about doing expedition cruises.
“Adventure seekers who have been to Antarctica and the Arctic are looking for other exciting remote destinations to do expeditions in and are already dreaming of, or planning them,” says Shan, who heads CITTI Elite, a luxury travel company that offers exclusive itineraries to some of the world’s most breathtaking and remote destinations.
After the adventures on ice, many “look at options that are maybe closer to home like Kimberley, or somewhere with warm water exploration like the Galápagos Islands.”
According to National Geographic expeditions, “Stretching along Australia’s northwest coast, the Kimberley Plateau is a vast landscape of plunging waterfalls, wild sandstone formations, deep gorges and very few people.”
Kimberley is said to have “otherworldly geological formations,” rare birds, marine life, ancient rock art and “horizontal” waterfalls.
Some would prefer the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, but there are those who want to indulge the inner explorer in them and be the first in their barangay to reach such exotic, remote places.
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Shan, who has been in the travel industry for 35 years — 30 of them with CITTI — has traveled to 95 countries and seven continents. In other words, she has been to all seven continents in the globe: Oceania, Europe, Antarctica, South America, North America, Africa and Asia.
Shan and her daughter Dana established CITTI Elite as the luxury arm of her travel agency “because of partnerships with luxury cruise lines like Silversea, Ponant, Scenic luxury cruise, and The Yatch of Ritz-Carlton. CITTI Elite also represents two luxury trains, the Orient Express and Rovos rail; and two African Camps and Lodges, which are the Sanctuary Retreats and Safari Collections.”
Despite all the countries she has visited, this jetsetter and mother of four still dreams of adding more boarding passes to her bucket list.
“There are still a lot of exotic destinations I plan to visit in the next two years like Tunisia, Algeria, Namibia, French Polynesia, Iran, Mongolia, Lebanon and more African countries,” she says. “There are many unusual and exotic travel destinations around the world that are worth visiting for their unique natural beauty, culture, history, and adventure opportunities.”
She herself is visiting the Galápagos on the Silver Origin in February next year.
“The Galápagos is famous for a wealth of unique plants and animals found nowhere else in the world,” she explains. Another box ticked off her bucket list! *
(You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.)
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