The Galápagos Islands (Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 563 miles west of continental Ecuador. The Islands and their surrounding waters form the Galápagos Province of Ecuador, the Galápagos National Park, and the Galápagos Marine Reserve.
Formed from volcanic activity, which continues today, the islands are isolated from other land masses and developed their own ecology from the flora and fauna that was brought here by wind, water, oceanic animals and humans. Now famed for their vast number of endemic species - first studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle, which contributed to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
Galápagos or Tortoises, in case you wondered, dwell on land, whereas Turtles live in the water some or nearly all of the time.
Some history:
The first recorded visit to the islands happened by chance in 1535, when the Bishop of Panamá Fray Tomás de Berlanga was blown off course. He eventually returned to the Spanish Empire and described the conditions of the islands and the animals that inhabited them. The first crude map of the islands was made in 1684 by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley, who named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after British royalty and noblemen. The new Republic of Ecuador took the islands from Spanish ownership in 1832, and subsequently gave them official Spanish names. The older names remained in use in English language publications.
Some Geography:
The islands are found at the coordinates 1°40'N–1°36'S, 89°16'–92°01'W. - straddling the equator, with Volcán Wolf and Volcán Ecuador on Isla Isabela being directly on the Equator. Volcán Wolf is the highest point, with an elevation of 5,600 ft above sea level.
Depending on who is counting, the group consists of 18 main islands (each having a land area of at least 1 sq km), 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The archipelago is located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate, which is moving east/southeast), diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches per year. It is also atop the Galápagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes.
While the older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the hotspot, the youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed on the west side.
Of the main islands of the archipelago, we visited the following (alphabetical):
Normally, during the garúa season (June to November), the temperature by the sea is cooler 72 °F, a steady and cold wind blows from south and southeast, frequent drizzles (garúas) last most of the day, and dense fog conceals the islands. During the warm season (December to May), the average sea and air temperature rises to 77 °F, there is no wind at all, there are sporadic, though strong, rains and the sun shines.
There are about 85 yachts and ships equipped for overnight guests. In Baltra, limited overnight camping is permitted. Other inhabited islands also allow camping on the beaches designated as "recreational" use to the locals. All of these camping permits are limited to number of people and nights - not to exceed three.
Land based hotels are opening on the inhabited islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabela. More than half the visitors to Galápagos make their tours using day boats and these small hotels. Restaurants, easy access and economy make this an attractive travel option. As noted earlier, cruise tours are still the best way to see all the complex environment and wildlife of the islands.
There are only 116 visitor sites in the Galápagos: 54 land sites and 62 scuba-diving or snorkeling sites. Small groups are allowed to visit in 2- to 4-hour shifts only, to limit impact on the area. All groups must be accompanied by licensed guides.
Food for thought:
Formed from volcanic activity, which continues today, the islands are isolated from other land masses and developed their own ecology from the flora and fauna that was brought here by wind, water, oceanic animals and humans. Now famed for their vast number of endemic species - first studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle, which contributed to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
Galápagos or Tortoises, in case you wondered, dwell on land, whereas Turtles live in the water some or nearly all of the time.
Some history:
The first recorded visit to the islands happened by chance in 1535, when the Bishop of Panamá Fray Tomás de Berlanga was blown off course. He eventually returned to the Spanish Empire and described the conditions of the islands and the animals that inhabited them. The first crude map of the islands was made in 1684 by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley, who named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after British royalty and noblemen. The new Republic of Ecuador took the islands from Spanish ownership in 1832, and subsequently gave them official Spanish names. The older names remained in use in English language publications.
Some Geography:
The islands are found at the coordinates 1°40'N–1°36'S, 89°16'–92°01'W. - straddling the equator, with Volcán Wolf and Volcán Ecuador on Isla Isabela being directly on the Equator. Volcán Wolf is the highest point, with an elevation of 5,600 ft above sea level.
Depending on who is counting, the group consists of 18 main islands (each having a land area of at least 1 sq km), 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The archipelago is located on the Nazca Plate (a tectonic plate, which is moving east/southeast), diving under the South American Plate at a rate of about 2.5 inches per year. It is also atop the Galápagos hotspot, a place where the Earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes.
While the older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the hotspot, the youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed on the west side.
Of the main islands of the archipelago, we visited the following (alphabetical):
- Baltra Island – Also known as South Seymour, Baltra is a small flat island located near the center of Galápagos. It was created by geological uplift. The island is very arid, and vegetation consists of salt bushes, prickly pear cacti and palo santo trees.
- Until 1986, Baltra was the only airport serving the Galápagos. Now, there are two - the other one being San Cristóbal, the capital. Private planes must fly to Baltra, as it is the only airport with facilities for planes overnight.
- Baltra Airport was recently renovated to accommodate larger planes such as Boeing 737s. There is however only one runway - the plane lands from the right, stops at the other end of the runway, turns around and returns all the way back to the terminal for unloading and reloading.
- Up on arriving in Baltra, visitors are immediately transported by bus to one of two docks. The first dock is located in a small bay, where the boats cruising Galápagos await passengers. The second is a ferry dock, which connects Baltra to the island of Santa Cruz.
- During the 1940s, scientists decided to move 70 of Baltra's land iguanas to the neighboring North Seymour Island as part of an experiment. This move proved unexpectedly useful when the native iguanas became extinct on Baltra as a result of the island's military occupation in World War II. During the 1980s, iguanas from North Seymour were brought to the Charles Darwin Research Station as part of a breeding and repopulation project, and in the 1990s, land iguanas were reintroduced to Baltra.
Photos:
-- Santa Cruz (Baltra GPS)
-- Santa Cruz (Puerto Ayora)
-- Santa Cruz (Black Turtle Cove) - Española Island – Named in honor of Spain, it also is known as Hood, after Viscount Samuel Hood. It has an area of 23 sq mi, and a maximum altitude of 676 ft. Española is the oldest island at around 3.5 million years, and the southernmost in the group.
- Due to its remote location, Española has a large number of endemic species. It has its own species of lava lizard, mockingbird and tortoise. Española's marine iguanas exhibit a distinctive red coloration change between the breeding season. Española is the only place where the waved albatross nests. Española's steep cliffs serve as perfect runways for these birds, which take off for their ocean feeding grounds near the mainland of Ecuador and Peru. This island has two visitor sites:
- Gardner Bay is a swimming and snorkeling site, and offers a great beach.
- Punta Suarez has migrant, resident, and endemic wildlife, including brightly colored marine iguanas, Española lava lizards, hood mockingbirds, swallow-tailed gulls, blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, red-billed tropicbirds, Galápagos hawks, three species of Darwin's finches, and the waved albatross. - Floreana (Charles or Santa María) Island – It was named after Juan José Flores, the first President of Ecuador, during whose administration the government of Ecuador took possession of the archipelago. It is also called Santa Maria after one of the caravels of Columbus. It has an area of 67 sq mi, and a maximum elevation of 2100 ft.
- It is one of the islands with the most interesting human history, and one of the earliest to be inhabited. Flamingos and green sea turtles nest (December to May) on this island. The patapegada or Galápagos petrel, a sea bird which spends most of its life away from land, is found here.
- At Post Office Bay, where 19th century whalers kept a wooden barrel that served as a post office, mail could be picked up and delivered to its destinations, mainly Europe and the United States, by ships on their way home.
- At the "Devil's Crown", an underwater volcanic cone and coral formations are found. Snorkeling here was a fun challenge. - Isabela (Albemarle) Island – This island was named in honor of Queen Isabela. With an area of 1,792 sq mi, it is the largest island of the Galápagos. Its highest point is Volcán Wolf, with an altitude of 5600 ft. The island's seahorse shape is due to the merging of six large volcanoes into a single land mass.
- On this island, Galápagos penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, pelicans and Sally Lightfoot crabs abound. At the skirts and calderas of the volcanoes of Isabela, land iguanas and Galápagos tortoises can be observed, as well as Darwin finches, Galápagos hawks and Galápagos doves. The third-largest human settlement of the archipelago, Puerto Villamil, is located at the southeastern tip of the island.
- It is the only island to have the equator run across it. It is also the only place in the world where a penguin can be seen in its natural habitat in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Sierra Negra Volcano is active and its toxic (Sulfur) environment is killing a subspecies of tortoises found only around this volcano. To protect them from extinction, Government has moved all adults in to "ARNALDO TUPIZA" Breeding Center where they are now bred in captivity. If natural selection is allowed to prevail, shouldn't tortoises endemic to this area either adapt to the toxic environment, or move away to survive - without human interference? - San Cristóbal (Chatham) Island – It bears the name of the patron saint of seafarers, "St. Christopher". Its English name was given after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. It has an area of 215 sq mi, and its highest point rises to 2395 ft.
- This is the first island in the Galápagos Archipelago Charles Darwin visited during his voyage on the Beagle. This island hosts frigate birds, sea lions, giant tortoises, blue- and red-footed boobies, tropicbirds, marine iguanas, dolphins and swallow-tailed gulls. Its vegetation includes Calandrinia galapagos, Lecocarpus darwinii, and trees such as Lignum vitae. The largest freshwater lake in the archipelago, Laguna El Junco, is located in the highlands of San Cristóbal. The capital of the province of Galápagos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, lies at the southern tip of the island. Cliff Kicker Rock off the island - on west side, is a great spot for diving. - Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island – Given the name of the Holy Cross in Spanish, its English name derives from the British vessel HMS Indefatigable. It has an area of 381 sq mi, and a maximum altitude of 2834 ft.
- Santa Cruz hosts the largest human population in the archipelago, the town of Puerto Ayora. The Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) and the headquarters of the Galápagos National Park Service (GNPS) are located here. CDRS and GNPS operate a tortoise breeding center (similar to the one on Isabela), where young tortoises are hatched, reared, and prepared to be reintroduced to their natural habitat. The Highlands of Santa Cruz offer exuberant flora, and are famous for the lava tunnels. Large tortoise populations are found here.
- Black Turtle Cove is a site surrounded by mangroves, which sea turtles, rays and small sharks sometimes use as a mating area. Cerro Dragón, known for its flamingo lagoon, is also located here, and along the trail one may see land iguanas foraging.
- Isla Plaza Sur (South Plaza Island) also has cactus forests as well as colorful flora - mainly ice plants, and large bird population to observe.
- Smooth-billed Ani is an introduced species of black birds that deparisitize livestock, but they soon found liking towards tortoise eggs. As a result, during vacations, high school students are encouraged to kill these birds using sling shots, and are rewarded $20 per head. So much for survival of the fittest! - Santa Fe (Barrington) Island – Named after a city in Spain, it has an area of 9 sq mi, and a maximum altitude of 850 ft.
- Santa Fe hosts a forest of Opuntia cactus, which are the largest of the archipelago, and Palo Santo. Weathered cliffs provide a haven for swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropic birds and shear-waters petrels. Santa Fe species of land iguanas are often seen, as well as lava lizards.
- Santa Fe also has sea lion harems on one side of the island, whereas the "losers" stay on the other side to rest and gain strength for the next mating season.
Normally, during the garúa season (June to November), the temperature by the sea is cooler 72 °F, a steady and cold wind blows from south and southeast, frequent drizzles (garúas) last most of the day, and dense fog conceals the islands. During the warm season (December to May), the average sea and air temperature rises to 77 °F, there is no wind at all, there are sporadic, though strong, rains and the sun shines.
There are about 85 yachts and ships equipped for overnight guests. In Baltra, limited overnight camping is permitted. Other inhabited islands also allow camping on the beaches designated as "recreational" use to the locals. All of these camping permits are limited to number of people and nights - not to exceed three.
Land based hotels are opening on the inhabited islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Floreana and Isabela. More than half the visitors to Galápagos make their tours using day boats and these small hotels. Restaurants, easy access and economy make this an attractive travel option. As noted earlier, cruise tours are still the best way to see all the complex environment and wildlife of the islands.
There are only 116 visitor sites in the Galápagos: 54 land sites and 62 scuba-diving or snorkeling sites. Small groups are allowed to visit in 2- to 4-hour shifts only, to limit impact on the area. All groups must be accompanied by licensed guides.
Food for thought:
- Galapagos needs $125 million just to maintain the ecosystem of the islands. Where should that money come from?
- Ecuador can use its own oil money, but that may be best spent to improve the quality of life for its citizens first.
- Best way to raise money otherwise would be to sell something (some of its islands for commercial development, or its wildlife), or to permit more tourism without tipping the balance. - After years of debating, planning and consensus-building, the Galapagos Conservancy (formerly called the Charles Darwin Foundation) initiated Project Isabela, a systemic eradication of all of the goats, feral pigs and donkeys on the main Galapagos islands. -- see http://www.galapagos.org/conservation/conservation/conservationchallenges/invasive-species/ Dogs were also supposedly eradicated, but we saw a few on Santa Cruz island. Survival of the fittest?
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| Flamingo mating dance |
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| Mangroves - life finds a way |
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| Penguin fishing |
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| Sea lion pup - not backing off |
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| Second smallest penguins - only ones at the Equator |
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| White tipped sharks |
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| Mating turtles |
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