Newtown resident and Friends of the C.H. Booth Library volunteer Toni Earnshaw booked an action-packed vacation to the Galapagos Islands before the group’s Annual Book Sale this month.

She traveled with her good friend and former Newtowner Susan Holms for a trip of a lifetime.

In addition to packing essentials, such as clothes and toiletries, another important item they were excited to bring was a copy of The Newtown Bee.

The two had a photo snapped of them holding the broadsheet newspaper at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Ecuador’s Santa Cruz Island. Newtown Bee readers may recall seeing the image in the June 24 print edition — the first with full color photos to celebrate the newspaper’s 145th anniversary.

Neither Earnshaw nor Holms had visited the Galapagos Islands before this endeavor, but both shared a dream of going.

Earnshaw said, “To me, the Galapagos had this iconic, almost mythical, status in the natural world, because you learn about [Charles] Darwin and the unique species that exist only on the islands. It was really one of the top places on planet Earth that I wanted to visit at some point in my life.”

After Holms sold her home in Newtown, she told her friend that now would be the perfect time for them to travel together.

Natural Habitat Adventures

They decided to book their trip through Natural Habitat Adventures (NatHab), thanks to the recommendation of fellow Friends of the C.H. Booth Library volunteer Marge Gingolaski.

Earnshaw explained, “She and her husband have traveled extensively with this company. In chatting with Marge, I know she is a big lover of animals and the natural world … knowing Marge’s standards and that she had no complaints, I thought I’d research them and go with them. Since they passed inspection with Marge, I knew they were an A+ organization.”

That led Earnshaw to travel with NatHab for a trip to Africa in the past, and she let Holms know that this would be the ideal group to tour with for the Galapagos Islands.

NatHab is the world’s first 100% carbon-neutral travel company. It also is a partner of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which is a global environmental organization.

According to the NatHab website, “When you travel with Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund, you join us as a force for change in addressing the most pressing conservation challenges on Earth. Together, we offer conservation travel — sustainable travel that supports the protection of nature, wildlife, and local communities.”

‘A Lot Of Variety’

Earnshaw and Holms left the United States on May 24 and spent 11 days in Ecuador, where the Galapagos Islands are located, before returning home on June 4.

“We started in Quito, which is the capital way up high in the foothills of the Andes. It’s about 9,000 feet,” Earnshaw said. “We flew in there and we had a day of touring Quito with the tour company. Then we flew to the Galapagos Islands and landed on San Cristóbal [Island].”

While there are more than 100 islands that make up the Galapagos, Earnshaw reports that only four are inhabited.

The tour they were on visited the eastern islands and there is a separate tour option that travels to the western islands.

Holms said, “I’m really happy that we did that. It gave us a lot of variety.”

The group then traveled by boat to get to each island destination.

“It’s the best way to tour,” Earnshaw said. “We were on the boat for eight or nine days. The boat would travel in the evening and take us to a different island. During the day we would explore land and sea of whatever island we were at.”

Holms said the first island they went to was called Española.

“We did our first snorkeling there and a sea lion played with me,” Holms said with a laugh.

While visitors are instructed to keep six feet from the wildlife, there were some animals that did not adhere to the guidelines and were particularly friendly while approaching them.

Earnshaw explained, “It was a highlight for me to see the sea lions, who are the most charismatic animals in the water and on land. They are sweet and darling and kind of slow and lumber along on land. Then they get in the water and are like jet pilots, swooping and doing somersaults and interacting with people.”

She continued, “If you are very lucky, and we were very lucky, they might want to engage with you, play, and frolic around you — which is what I prayed for when going. We were so lucky to have them engage with us. It was one of the high points of the trip.”

The fact that the sea lions, and many other animals on the Galapagos Islands, were comfortable getting close to people stems from them not having any natural predators. With no innate fear of harm, they are very trusting of people.

Some other animal highlights for Holms was getting to see the Sally Lightfoot Crabs, land lizards, red and blue footed boobies, the magnificent frigate birds, the great frigate birds, and a variety of fish.

Holms added, “The spotted stingrays were gorgeous, too. We took this beautiful, tranquil Topanga trip the last day. It was so lovely. There was this huge mangrove lagoon with these spotted stingrays under the surface of the water. There were dozens of them surrounding our boat.”

Earnshaw brought up how she enjoyed seeing the penguins, marine iguanas, tortoises, Nazca Boobies, and the species of finches that helped Darwin solidify his theory of natural selection.

She even spotted the Blue Footed Boobies during their entertaining mating ritual.

Earnshaw recalled, “They have this elaborate dance they do, which is absolutely adorable. They pick up their big blue feet to show each other and the female is looking for the bluest footed male … they do this little dance and then he brings her a gift, like a pebble or a twig. Then they stick their heads up in the air. He has this little whistle, and she has a honk; and they do that back and forth.”

Not only was the wildlife impressive, but so were the prickly pear cacti on the islands.

Holms reported, “What was so interesting is that back many years ago, there were goats on the island and also rats. They are all gone. They have removed these non-endemic animals that were actually upsetting the natural balance of the islands. The goats would feed off the cactus, so the cactus had the typical hard needles you’d see out west in the United States; but as they removed the goats those needles became soft again. They no longer needed to protect itself, so the needles had no purpose.”

She continued, “We were able to run our hands over the prickly pear cactus. They were soft needles — it was fascinating to me having lived in the desert. It sort of speaks to the nature of the Galapagos that there had been all these changes and evolutions depending on what man was doing.”

High Praise

Both friends give a glowing review of their tour guides and accommodations during the trip.

“I love this company because they are so ecologically correct,” Earnshaw said. “They are correct in their interactions with the animals. They are never going to put the animals in a stressful situation. They are local guides, so they know all there is to know about finding the creatures and telling us all about it.”

Holms agreed, “The folks were wonderful. They knew so much. They were well trained and really experienced expedition leaders. They had so much to share.”

The guides were not only there for educational purposes to communicate about the flora and fauna, but Earnshaw says that they were also considered “rangers” to protect the area.

In total, there were 16 guests and at least a dozen crew members on their 115-foot boat.

The guides were responsible for adhering to the government’s rules to help preserve the care and beauty of the Galapagos Islands.

Earnshaw explained, “It’s all very controlled by the government. They give a limited number of permits for boats. There are a prescribed number of people who can visit an island on any day.”

Also, for those who were not strong snorkelers, the guides would take half the group on a zephyr to not miss out on the sites.

Earnshaw and Holms felt that the itinerary for the trip allowed them to see as much as possible in the time they had.

Holms noted, “It was a very busy, tight schedule, but I didn’t feel rushed. There was a really lovely pace to it … There were at least two activities in the morning and two activities in the afternoon before dinner. We had snacks every time we went back on the boat after going to the islands or snorkeling, which was absolutely lovely.”

Upcoming Travels

Even though the trip had to come to an end, Holms is excited to learn more about the Galapagos Islands.

“I want to get some books about the Galapagos, because there are some really fun stories and really interesting tidbits of history that I would like to read up on,” she said.

Earnshaw recommends anyone interested in going to the Galapagos Islands to use NatHab and not put off their dreams.

“I can’t encourage people enough, if there is any way, shape, or form that they can do it — just do it. You will not be disappointed,” Earnshaw said. “The Galapagos is one of those places that certainly lives up to its reputation. There is no place on planet Earth like it out there.”

Earnshaw and Holms are both in agreement that this will not be their last trip together and that they made cherished memories having each other by their side to experience everything with.

“We had a lot of laughs. It was a good time … We are really good travel companions,” Holms said.

The friends are already looking forward to a possible trip to Costa Rica next.

Perhaps readers may just see another photo of the two on vacation with The Newtown Bee in their hands.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.