All of us sat in the tender, looking at the steps and trying to figure out what to do. We thought we were headed ashore for a hike to the summit of Bartolome, a craggy, volcanic islet in the Galápagos archipelago. But several sea lions—each of them weighing well more than 200 pounds—were quite comfortable lounging on the stairs where our feet needed to go.
Such is the typical experience during a yacht charter in the place where giant tortoises roam, blue-footed boobies abound and sea lions cavort without fear of humankind. The Galápagos are their world, not
