landing in paradise

“and then, we’ll feed you.” i could sense a collective sigh of relief from the group of weary travelers when natural geographic-lindblad expeditions naturalist tanya helmig uttered those words in the airport lobby. up before dawn and off by 6 am, our planet forward team flew from quito to guayaquil, then from guayaquil to baltra island, passing through several biosecurity checkpoints before finally arriving in ecuador’s enchanting galápagos islands. 

stepping off the plane felt otherworldly. maybe it was the dissonance of seeing the abundance of cacti in what i thought would be a tropical paradise, or maybe it was the inkling of realization that i — a small town girl from rural north carolina —  now stood in a place famous the world over for inspiring the theory of evolution. 

our smiling scottish-born guide gave a warm welcome to the gaggle of tourists and shared some logistical instructions, but it was all a blur until she said those magic words: “and then, we’ll feed you.” last night’s dinner was long ago and i, like many others, passed on breakfast in lieu of a later wake up call. she promised we were in for a treat that week, starting with a grand buffet lunch to welcome us onboard. but once we sat down to eat, i realized this wasn’t just another restaurant experience — it was a window into a complex food system that keeps the people in the galápagos fed.

a “bucket list trip” is how many (if not all) of the guests aboard the national geographic gemini expedition ship described their journey to the galápagos islands. our group of planet forward storyfest winners shared the experience with members from three generations of a midwest family celebrating the life of their beloved grandfather, a mother-daughter pair from northern california capping off a longer tour of ecuador, and a semi-retired arizona snowbird who was on the trip to better understand the experience she recommends to her travel clients.

some people were adventure enthusiasts signing up for all the adrenaline-pumping hikes and dives; others were savoring the opportunity to get up close and personal with wildlife from the convenience of the zodiac (a brand of rigid inflatable boats). bookending the breathtaking natural beauty of time spent exploring the islands was the comfort and attention to detail experienced aboard the gemini. 

this floating hotel provides shelter and transportation for up to 48 guests and 50 crew members at any given time. in addition to the private cabins, there’s an indoor dining room, outdoor dining patio, lounge area, pool deck, and library for guest perusal. as you might imagine, there’s way more space behind the scenes that keeps the gemini going.

most intriguing to me was the galley, where an expert culinary team preps, serves, and busses a world class meal — influenced by the local cuisine and catered to myriad dietary restrictions and preferences — three times a day. there were (seemingly) endless assortments of delicious and freshly made foodstuffs available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner delivered right to guests’ tables by the knowledgeable and courteous waitstaff. 

meal times were so elegantly choreographed that they belied the logistical challenge of feeding 100 people while floating more than 600 miles away from the nearest commercial food supplier. that distance matters because, according to a study by carolina sampedro and colleagues published in 2018, around 75% of all food consumed on the islands is imported from mainland ecuador, a share that could grow to 95% in the next decade without policy and infrastructure investments.

and tourists like myself (~270,000 people each year) account for more than 70% of the islands’ total economy, increasing the demand for fresh food in a place with limited agricultural land and strict conservation zoning. 

from farm to fork

as a food and agriculture researcher, i knew there was more complexity to the food service than meets the eye. i sought out a variety of crew members to learn more about our meals and agricultural development in the galápagos islands. 

my first stop was the hotel office, where hotel manager fernanda orellana walked me through how menus are designed and groceries are purchased, not just around guest expectations, but around the agricultural realities of the islands and the company’s commitment to sustainability.

fernanda, a bubbly and easygoing person, started her career as a hospitality student in guayaquil, ecuador’s biggest city and coastal hub, furthering a lifelong dream to live in the galápagos. a stint as a waitress on a cruise ship brought her to the islands a decade ago and she worked her way up the hierarchy of numerous tourism companies before beginning her current role aboard the gemini. 

as the hotel manager, fernanda manages the culinary team and approves all purchase orders, giving her great insight into the food system onboard. she described the company philosophy of local purchasing in the following way: “most of our products are purchased here in galápagos: the first option is always local farmers.

many companies bring food from guayaquil because it’s cheaper, but buying local food supports the economy here. some companies make a whole video campaign about buying one local product; lindblad doesn’t brag about it, but they really do it.” 

sourcing local ingredients also contributes to the goal of building a delicious and diverse menu that’s 100% ecuadorian. fernanda uses her interactions with guests to promote culinary curiosity. she said, “it’s good because guests get to explore the culture and tradition through food. ecuador has every kind of dish you can imagine. food has history, and i love sharing the stories behind how dishes came to be so people understand ecuador more fully.”

from seco de pollo (ecuadorian chicken stew) to pan de yuca (cheesy cassava bread) to locro de papa (potato and cheese soup), i for one walked away with a more expansive view of ecuador through its cultural foods.

next, i had an opportunity to speak with head chef victor bodero. my conversation with victor — nestled into a few moments of spare time before dinner service and interpreted by fernanda — started with his tenure on the gemini, covered his perspective on galápagos food systems as a local, and ended with innovative efforts to reduce food waste. 

victor was born in guayaquil and moved to santa cruz island at age seven. he worked his way from dishwasher to line cook to head chef on the vessel under previous management, and was happy to be continuing a world-class culinary experience with lindblad expeditions. responding to a prompt about the company’s commitment to local food sourcing, victor said, “buying directly from the people [on the islands] allows farmers and fishers to create new pathways to market and start upgrading [their operations] because they know they have a steady buyer.” 

for victor, it’s not just about getting quality produce straight from the galápagos; it’s also important to ensure as little food waste as possible. approximately one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. wasted food isn’t just about lost meals, it means wasted water, land, energy, and fertilizer. 

one way lindblad expeditions and the gemini team reduce food waste is by asking guests to pre-register for dinner entrees. each afternoon, the team placed a sign-up sheet on the end of the bar with evening meal options. by indicating your preferences ahead of time (as opposed to ordering on the spot in the dining room), victor could tightly tailor the dinner service to only prepare what was requested.

“for example, if i have 10 guests pre-registered for the chicken and five unregistered, i’ll take out 15 portions of chicken in case the unregistered folks want some. that’s an improvement from prepping 45 portions (the full guest list), but it would be so much better if everyone pre-selected their entree,” he said. 

a fond farewell

having embarked on the gemini on a saturday, when the next saturday rolled around it was time to leave. the last meal was a tranquil mid-morning breakfast on the patio, a bittersweet time to get our fill and say goodbyes. peering over the guardrails, i caught a glimpse of a small, nondescript white boat that was cozied up beside the gemini.

i wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but figured it out after a few minutes of curious observation: the crew members were exchanging loaded coolers for empty ones, bringing all sorts of meats and produce from the islands to replenish the galley for the next voyage.

the circularity of it all struck me with another thought, that the food service experience on the gemini was at once uber global and hyper local: we were international tourists eating ecuadorian meals sourced from — almost exclusively — the galápagos islands. more than 2,500 miles away from my own family farm, my once-in-a-lifetime adventure was powered by family farms in the galapagos. now, that’s something to chew on. 

editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made these series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. we thank lindblad expeditions for their support of our project.