We journeyed to the Galápagos Islands, whose unique and rich flora and fauna inspired Charles Darwin to formulate his theory of evolution. More than 150 years later, these remote islands are still as enthralling as Darwin described them in his journals. Much of the same animals and plants that he witnessed and studied still thrive in the Galápagos Islands today. Witnessing them for ourselves was an experience of a lifetime.
Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands lie in isolation about 960 kms/600 miles west off the mainland. It is consist of 15 main islands and numbers of smaller islands and islets. Some of the islands straddle the equatorial line. The flight from the capital city of Quito takes about a two hours and a half (via Guayaquil) and visitors can land on either the island of Baltra or San Cristobal. The only way to explore the islands is to do it the way Darwin did, by boat.
Day 1: Baltra – Black Turtle Cove
Our lazy welcome committee on the dock of Baltra, where we started our Galápagos journey.
This is Archipell II, the yacht that took us from one spectacular island to the next during our 5-day journey. It came to our rescue after we were bumped off from our original vessel, the Queen of Galapagos; it was chartered at the last minute by the President of Ecuador to bring his staff to Galapagos!
The deck of Archipell II, which we shared with 14 other passengers. It may not be as nice as the Queen but it was comfortable and we liked that it run on solar power.
From the yacht, we took a small watercraft called panga to explore the coves and to reach the shores. We went on our maiden voyage on a panga to explore Black Turtle Cove, named after the species that abundantly inhabit the area.
Our first sighting of a black sea turtle!
A brown pelican.
Our first sunset in the Galapagos.
Day 2 Espanola Island (Gardner Bay – Osborn)
Espanola is the southernmost island of the archipelago and has a high concentration of endemic fauna due to its remote location.
Hanging out with the sea lions on Gardner Bay. The animals in Galapagos are very approachable as their isolated evolution has not conditioned them to fear humans.
Keith chatting with a seal.
The divas of Gardner Bay basking in the sun.
Napping in piles.
Mommy seal nursing her pup.
“We need to get more tan!”
From Gardner Bay, we hiked around the island and encountered the delightful wildlife right along our path.
An oystercatcher.
Sally Lightfoot Crabs
Sally Lightfoot crabs are named such because they walk on tip toes and can run very fast.
An iguana and a seal along the walking path.
The iguanas in Espanola Island are multi-colored. Iguanas found on other islands are darker and some have solid colors. The animals of the same kind in Galápagos differ in characteristic from island to island – the factor that led Darwin to theorize that a species evolved into many subspecies to adapt to their environment for survival.
Upclose and personal with an iguana of Espanola.
Young iguanas looking at a much more colorful old folk. They too will get more colorful as they age.
A blue-footed boobie.
Blue feet!
A nesting blue-footed boobie sitting on her egg right on our path. They are named boobie after a Spanish term “bobo” meaning stupid or fool because they are clumsy on land and can easily be captured and killed by other creatures.
A masked bobbie.
A male lava lizard.
A female lava lizard.
With our new friend in Osborn Bay.
A pair of swallowtail seagulls. Unlike most birds that change mates every season, these birds are lovers for life.
Keith with Samu, a friend from Finland who we met on this trip. Samu is our travel hero. He has been to ALL countries in the world! Yes, ALL of them. When South Sudan was declared as the newest country in the world, he flew there a few weeks later. We want to be like him when we grow up.
The cliff in Espanola Island.
A colony of Nazca boobies.
A blowhole. It is a fissure in the lava that spurts water high up in the air like a geyser.
Pelicans on a panga.
Day 3: Floreana Island (Post Office Bay – Devil’s Crown)
Exploring Cormorant Cove on a panga.
A group of turtle passing by our panga.
A white pelican.
Post Office Bay
In the 18th century, whalers kept a wooden barrel that served as post office so that mail can be picked up and delivered by any ship heading to where the mail was addressed. Today, travelers drop their postcards without stamps to be picked-up and delivered by other travelers who live in the same city as the addressee.
We picked up a couple of postcards addressed to our city.
Our guide Mauricio putting back into the mailbox the postcards that were not picked for delivery by other travelers.
Snorkeling in Devil’s Crown, a volcanic crater that was eroded by the waves and is teeming with myriad of corals and fish.
The parrotfish was one of the many beautiful species of fish we saw in Devil’s Crown.
A large Sally Lightfoot crab in Floreana.
Some kind of centipede found by one of our fellow traveler.
A hermit crab on Mauricio’s collar.
The landscape in Floreana.
Floreana daisies.
A hill in Floreana.
A colony of pink flamingoes.
A pink flamingo.
Track of the sea turtles. This part of Floreana island is their breeding ground.
A sea turtle and an island.
A heron and some Sally lightfoot crab.
A head of a Moray Eel peering out from the water.
A rainbow in Floreana.
Watching the rainbow with our fellow travelers.
Our excellent naturalist guide, Mauricio, giving a lecture to the group.
Keith and I enjoying the beautiful late afternoon sky in Floreana.
Floreana Island just before sunset.
Day 4: Isabela – Puerto Villamil (Tintoreras and Playas)
Isabela is the largest and one of the most volcanically active islands in the Galapagos. The island has five active volcanoes and it is well-known for the 5 subspecies of giant tortoise. It is one of the five islands with human settlement.
The port of Isabela Island.
One of the ubiquitous benches in Isabela.
The group checking out a lava tunnel.
The iguanas in Isabela Island are darker and tend to blend with lava rocks.
Mini-godzilla!?
The exuberant landscape of Isabela Island.
The floras that thrive in Isabela.
A giant cactus.
A mangrove forest.
Mangrove seeds and pods.
Intertwined mangrove roots.
A striped heron in the mangrove forest.
Darwin’s weed
The giant turtles of Isabela Island. The history of Galapagos may be closely linked to Darwin but the islands were actually discovered in 1535 by a Spanish Bishop named Fray Berlanga who named the island Galapagos after the impressively huge tortoises that inhabit the islands.
Shell size and shape of the tortoises vary from island to island. They are larger and have dome backs on islands with humid highlands like Isabela and they tend to be smaller and have saddle backs on islands with dry lowlands.
Waiting for a pedicure.
Ready for her close-up.
Here comes the 200-pounder.
Don’t dive, read the sign!
A shark canal.
The port in Puerta Villamil, a small village in the south end of the island.
The beachfront in Puerto Villamil.
A cute little boy in the village who didn’t look happy. He was on a time out. He was adorable and reminded me of my nephews.
I took over as captain.
Keith and Samu napping on the elastic deck of the moving boat.
The dolphins raced our boat to Punta Ayora while performing their best acts.
Pink sunset.
Our boat docked in Puerto Ayora in the island of Santa Cruz for the night. It is the most populous town in the Galapagos and has the most developed infrastructure.
Celebrating Valentine’s Day in Puerto Ayora.
Day 5 Santa Cruz – Reserva El Chato
Fellow passengers preparing to disembark the boat for the last time as we headed to Santa Cruz Island for our final leg of the journey.
Watching the giant tortoise having breakfast at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Santa Cruz. The center helps preserve endangered Galapagos species from extinction.
“I love greens for breakfast.”
“Got more greens?”
A saddleback and a domeback.
This is Lonesome George, the last remaining tortoise species from Pinta Island and is named by Guiness Book of World Record as the “rarest living creature.” In order for him to procreate, he needs to mate with the same exact species as him. Scientists have tried to mate him with the closest possible species but to no success.
(Update: Lonesome George passed away in June 2012. He never produced an offspring.)
A land iguana.
Her peeling skin means she just finished mating.
Our wonderful Galapagos journey ended and one of these ferries took us to the airport.
Adios Galapagos! Thanks for an adventure of a lifetime!
___________________________________
Travel Notes
Travel Date: February 2008
Suggested Links:
To book you cruise: Galaterra Travel Agency and Tour Operator
Travel Info: Galapagos Islands.com
Suggested Reading: The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathan Weiner
Beautiful photos Marisol!
Hi Leigh! Thanks, glad you enjoyed them.
This pbotoessay is so delightful! I enjoyed viewing those marvelous wildlife and learning about Galapagos. What an amazing place. Thanks for sharing this journey.
Hi Carrie, It truly is an amazing place. Glad you enjoyed the photos and found them educational Thanks for dropping by again.
Marisol and Keith, what can I say? Such an amazing trip! This is a kind of place that most people can only dream about.
As always, I enjoyed the photos and captions. Thanks again for taking me vicariously in your travel.
Hey Kira, we’re glad you enjoyed the trip with us. Thanks again for visiting.
Thanks for letting me to guest star on your story!
That was certainly one of my best trips ever. Amazing pictures, as always!
Hi Samu, it’s our great pleasure to have you as our guest star. I hope someday you can guest star in one our trips again.
What an awesome trip! Ahhh a travel dream come true for me :). So glad you were able to do it, so I could read about it haha. Wonderful pictures and so many unique animals that you were able to see. Thanks for letting us come along for the ride.
Hi Sere, so glad you enjoyed it. I hope you can get there soon and see it for yourself. Thanks for dropping by and see you soon at your end. -Marisol
How I wish I’ll win the lottery, hahaha! I’ve always wanted to visit this archipelago but they tend to be pricey.
HI Dennis, you definitely should visit! You can actually find reasonable packages. Go check out Galaterra (see link above on Travel notes); they offer packages in all range of budgets.
Beautiful photos!! We visited the Galapagos in January this year. We did a land tour and stayed in Puerto Ayora. We visited Floreana and Islabela also. It was an amazing trip and I loved reading about your trip.
Hi Natalie, Galapagos is such an amazing place indeed. I’m sure you had a grand time during your trip. I’m glad when I hear from people who had been there because I know they had experience something really extraordinary like we did.
I dream of making it to Galapagos one day… Your photos are simply stunning and looks like you guys had TONS of fun! Would love to see BLUE FEET with my own eyes – those are especially astonishing!
Antoinette recently posted..Panamá City in a Heartbeat – A Photo Essay
Hi Antoninette,
Galapagos and its wildlife are truly astonishing. I hope you get to go there soon. Yes, we had tons of fun and I’m pretty sure you’ll have a time of your life as well when you get there.
WOW – all your photos are really beautiful, but I’m awfully impressed with your shot of the dolphin mid-jump. It looks like your trip was pretty amazing! We recently got back from the Galapagos and couldn’t help sharing some of our favorite wildlife shots, too – some even made it in as GIFs
Hehe.
Anyway, love this recap. Just beautiful!
Shannon recently posted..Galapagos Wildlife and Scenery on Land, Sea, + Air (with Animated GIFs!)
Wowwwwww amazing picture and very great travel experience . . . . U make me so jealous and want to come there,, i wish soon can visit this wonderful islands. Btw, what’s inside lava tunnel, is there any secret room?