The flight from mainland Ecuador lands on the island of Baltra, where we will be greeted by park guides and staff from Xpedition. (Luggage will be sent directly to the ship.) As you approach by air, observe the rocky plateau of Baltra emerging from the blue waters of the Pacific. The terrain is flat and arid, specked with red volcanic rock and sparse growth of cactus.

The airport is your first taste of the isolated, unspoiled, out-country--it's a former WW2 military airstrip set up by the US to guard the Panama Canal during the war. You will have some time to browse the small village's shops before one of island's three buses will pick you up for transfer to the Zodiacs, which will deliver you to Xpedition.