Chapter 1

The tour guide stood outside the baggage claim area, holding a sign that said DARWIN CRUISES: GALAPAGOS in capital bold letters, and decorated with a bright flag that was the same colors as on the Internet site. She wore a well-fitted business suit with a knee-length skirt, and her shiny black hair reflected the numerous off-color vapor lights in the lobby.

She sighted him, and he nodded to her. She said warmly with a slight Spanish accent, "Welcome to Quito and the Darwin Cruise."

David Mallory took a few seconds out from his bag search to get a view of her legs as she walked to the next carousel. Her navy pumps had silver decorations and little chains that shimmered when she walked. In all, he decided that she deserved his admiration.

Standing by the baggage carousel, he felt someone bump against him heavily, making him lose balance. He first thought it was someone reaching for a bag, but when he turned, he saw a young woman looking pale as she started to fall. He put his arms around her quickly and managed to walk her a few steps back to a row of seats. He urged, "Put your head down and breathe."

She looked at him vaguely and then did as he asked. After a few minutes, she raised her head and he noticed that blood had returned to her face. She focused her blue eyes on him and said, "I nearly fainted. Things just turned black."

He responded, "I think you did. The airport elevation in Quito is about 9500 feet, or 3100 meters, whatever. Move slowly until you get your breath."

She said quietly, "OK, but I have to find my bag and meet the tour right outside the baggage claim."

"Are you on Darwin?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"I saw the guide just outside the fence. I'm going there, too, so if you'll point out your bag, I'll get it off the carousel and to the limo for you."

She stood unsteadily, "Thank you. I don't usually just pass out."

"Until your bag comes, hold on to my arm and lean on me, just in case. It shouldn't take long."

She leaned on him with her head resting on his shoulder, as she looked for her bag. Shortly, she pointed, "That's it, the one with the orange and blue ribbons on the handle." She examined him as he went for the bag. Tall, salt and pepper hair, nice ruddy face with some wrinkles and laugh lines, and an air of confidence. She judged him to be trustworthy, but had difficulty deciding whether he was 45 or 55. All of these assessments were automatic; she wasn't sizing him up for a conquest.

He held her arm as she stepped up on the bus, and he followed her down the aisle. Two women were sitting toward the front, and one had apparently saved a seat for her. One asked, "Where did you go, Kathy? We were worried."

"I passed out, and this nice man kept me from falling on my face. Didn't you get dizzy?"

The blond next to the window replied, "Well, a little, I guess, but it went away when I breathed deeply. They told us we might have a few problems up here."

David sat next to Kathy and offered, "Since we're all in this together, I'll go first. I'm David Mallory."

She said, "I'm Kathy McEwen, the blond is Kim, and the one next to you is Jennifer."

Each acknowledged the others just as the pretty tour woman came on the bus PA system. "On behalf of Darwin Cruises, I am Amanda Santos, one of your many tour guides. Welcome to Quito. We will arrive at the hotel in about fifteen minutes. Your bags will be delivered to your rooms. Please join us in the hospitality room there to get your tour packets and schedules."

In the hospitality room, David picked up his cocktail and his tour packet, and then stood near the desk to inspect the other members of the incoming group. He had hoped to see some unattached women, but saw only the three young ones he met on the bus. Any one of them would do nicely, given a personality match, but considering that his last three birthdays had each been his fifty-ninth, he didn't see much chance there. As he watched the last stragglers get their packets, he realized that this week would be limited to celibacy, exercise, and an intellectual uplift. The last two to pick up their tour packets were John and Kevin, young men around thirty who quickly navigated to the three young women.

As David left the hospitality room, Kathy waved from her group and said, "Thanks again!"

In his room, he studied the schedule, and noticed that they were to have breakfast at the buffet starting at 7:30, then board the bus for the airport to fly to the Galapagos at 9:30. Bags out by 7:30. Tomorrow would be a busy day so he retired quickly for a needed sleep.

At breakfast, John, Kevin, and the three girls found a booth to accommodate them all, and they chatted amid bursts of laughter. At least they were able to get up and out, and did not appear to be hung over. David found the breakfast selection to be excellent; there was everything from hot tamales to smoked salmon. All too soon, he had to scurry upstairs and finish getting ready to be at the bus on time.

The flight to Baltra, the official port of entry for the Galapagos Islands, took about three hours. Upon arrival, the tour guides had them quickly loaded on the old buses for transport to the dock, where they boarded the motorboats for a brief trip to the cruise ship.

David stood by Kathy as they waited on the dock, and said, "The air down here has a little more oxygen in it. Did you sleep OK?"

She sighed, "Well, I had a headache in the middle of the night, but it seems to be gone now. Altitude, I guess."

The Zodiac boats came alongside the dock, and in ten minutes they were taken to the ship. It was small, as cruise ships go, with a capacity of 120 passengers. Even with that small number, it did not appear to be full. David examined his stateroom as he imagined having a naked partner in the queen size bed.

The new passengers had only a few minutes of free time until they were called on the PA system to report to the main salon for the safety lecture. The ship's officer then sent them back to the staterooms to await the claxon horn signaling abandon ship. All passengers had been instructed to don their life vests and move quickly to the lifeboat launching stations for the drill. The three women friends were assigned to his boat, causing him to think, "If the ship sinks, I'd rather be with them."

At dinner, David, the three women, the two men, and one other couple were seated at the same table. He surmised that the social director had managed to seat all eight singles together. The couple appeared to be about forty, and neither wore rings.

David asked them, "Why a cruise here?"

Both smiled, and she answered, "We're biologists, and came to see the weird animals of nature."

He replied, "I saw pictures in National Geographic years ago and put it on my list of places to go. I'm delighted that the government of Ecuador decided to make it a national park."

After dinner and a pleasant walk around the deck, David went to the main salon for the evening entertainment.

He approached a table with familiar faces, "May I join you?"

The woman from the dinner table quickly responded, "Oh, please do. We can scoot around so that you can see."

The combo soon took center stage and began their first set with a jazz classic, "Take the A Train." After a couple of minutes, David commented to nodding heads, "Hey, these guys have it!"

After two additional jazz numbers, they moved to playing dancing favorites. The dancers began to fill the floor, and David enjoyed the music and a brief conversation about tomorrow's events with one of the men.

After a while, he saw Kathy sitting alone in her booth, and went there immediately. "Dance with me, Kathy?"

"Thank you, David." She took his hand as they went to the floor.

Within half a minute, David realized that she was an accomplished dancer. He said, "You know what dancing is all about!"

"Thank you. So do you. You haven't missed a beat."

"I've been taking lessons. I had knee surgery, and this is my first time dancing since. You take lessons?"

"I taught ballroom at the university for three years to beginners. I kept practicing, too."

He kept her on the floor for three dances, until he felt it polite to return her to her table. He danced with another of the women at his table, but she was not skillful. He continued to watch Kathy's table and noticed that John and Kevin were concentrating on Jennifer and Kim. Each of the men danced with Kathy once. Chivalry is not completely decomposed?

He returned to her table, "Shall we try again?"

She smiled, "Please!" As they danced, she said, "I'm sure John and Kevin have important skills, but dancing is not one of them."

He said, "I know what you mean. When you reach a certain level, it's hard to enjoy the less capable."

The combo started their Latin set with a tango. He said, "That's more like it!"

"Yeah! Let's do it."

Four other couples were attempting the dance, but gradually each of them returned to their seats. Meanwhile Kathy and David tangoed with elegance and attitude. They captured the bestial sizzle of that dance, which has been described as a contest for domination between the sexes. As the tango ended, there was applause and Kathy said, "Wow! That was great. I want to do it again."

"You were outstanding. I'm sure we can get them to play another one after awhile. I have to rest between sets."

The band took a break and the other people at his table decided to call it a night. He looked toward Kathy's booth and she was alone. He quickly figured that the others had departed and approached her. "Please join me for a drink and we'll see what the combo comes up with next."

She smiled brightly, "Oh, I'd like that. I seem to be in the way here."

As they were enjoying their drinks, he said, "Somehow, this cruise doesn't seem like something you would pick. Most of the people are much older."

She laughed, "Well, we didn't actually pick it. We won it. I mean Kim's boss won it in a charity raffle and couldn't go. So he gave it to Kim. We have a nice large suite with three beds."

"The Darwin people do first class cruises. I've never been disappointed with them."

"Kim looked on the Internet and discovered that this particular cruise was supposed to have lots of singles. When I double checked, I found that the singles cruise is in two weeks, but we'd already chosen."

"Well, maybe they can make it up to you. The daytime activities are spectacular, so I'm told by friends."

"I mean, we were disappointed to see that most of the people came here already paired. We had visions of a romantic vacation in the sunny south seas."

"Oh, so you didn't really come here to see flora and fauna like no where else on earth?"

She blushed slightly, "Actually, we didn't do our geography well. I mean, what's the difference, Fiji, Tahiti, Galapagos?"