Galapagos Islands Commemorated In A Historic Milestone

On January 14, a decades-long effort to protect the Galapagos Islands realized an important milestone as Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso signed a decree conserving more than 23,000 square miles of ocean around the Galápagos Islands and beyond.

The new Hermandad Marine Reserve expands the current Galapagos Marine Reserve by almost 50 percent and extends northwest to the Costa Rican maritime border. The swath of ocean will safeguard a migratory corridor known as the Cocos-Galápagos Swimway, utilized by sea turtles, sharks, whales, rays, and numerous other marine species.

Lindblad Expeditions has had a time-honored connection to the islands, ever since Lars-Eric Lindblad brought the first citizen explorers to the archipelago and funded the first Galapagos Park Rangers. Lindblad’s founder and Co-Chair of the Board, Sven Lindblad, who first visited the Galapagos Islands in 1967 as a 17-year-old, was present to witness this historic moment alongside Gustavo Manrique, Ecuador’s Minister of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition; President Ivan Duque of Colombia; former President Bill Clinton; Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, and other dignitaries.

With over 20 years of dedicated service in the travel industry, Cruises-N-More, a Virtuoso member, offers select benefits for our clients. Cruises-N-More is pleased to announce being recognized as a winner of the 2019 Online Travel Partner Excellence Award of Carnival Corporation & plc brands Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn. Contact a Cruises-N-More cruise specialist at 800-733-2048 (toll-free USA/Canada), +1-407-771-4454, 0-808-189-1292 (toll-free U.K.), or 800-076-002 (toll-free Australia).