Complex sentence: On handing over the role in 1984, Corley Smith was awarded the Order of Merit by the Ecuadorean government, and continued to visit the Galápagos often-eight times in the next 12 years-and to travel widely round the world.
Split into simpler sentences: On handing over the role in 1984, Corley Smith was awarded the Order of Merit by the Ecuadorean government. After stepping down, he continued to go there often-eight times in the next 12 years-and to travel widely round the world.