The Galapagos Islands earn their reputation as a must-do vacation destination. The sheer beauty of the volcanic islands and the turquoise waters of all shades are enough to greatly satisfy any traveler, but it’s the natural history, wild life and diversity of terrain from island to island within the archipelago that really make it a trip of a lifetime. Visiting the different islands – some thousands of years old, others that are still forming – one can see how Darwin was able to develop the theory of evolution based on the drastically varying landscapes of the different islands and the adaptation of the wild life from island to island.
Having lived in Quito this past year, I knew I couldn’t leave Ecuador without a trip to the Galapagos. As part of a final wrap-up of my time in the country, my mom came to visit and we visited the Galapagos. From mainland Ecuador, the flight is about an hour and a half (don’t forget your $100 cash per person for the National Park entrance fee). We flew into San Cristobal where we were able to visit the Interpretation Center and received a brief history of the islands (some good, juicy information surrounding the colonization of the islands!), and then met up with our boat tour.
Striking black lava field at Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island in the wondrous Galapagos
Cruising the Islands to See it All
Due to major conservation and protection efforts, there are two ways to visit the islands: guided boat cruise, or staying on Santa Cruz Island or San Cristobal and making day trips (also with a guide). My mom and I decided to go with a guided boat cruise, with a level 3, English-speaking, naturalist guide, which I highly recommend. Cruises range from 3 nights/4days to 10 nights/11 days, with the longer cruises taking you to more distant islands. We went on a boat with 16 passengers (plus crew), but some boats allow for 100+ passengers. If staying on the islands, Santa Cruz is the recommended island. I have friends who have spent time in the Galapagos doing research, and this seems to be the consensus among them.
To give you an idea of the diversity of wildlife in the Galapagos, during our 5 days across 6 islands, we saw: Black Iguanas, Flamingos, Pacific Sea Turtles, Golden Rays, Manta Rays, White Tipped Sharks, Blue Footed Boobies, Red Footed Boobies, Nazca Boobies, Frigate Birds, Sea Lions, Seals, Tortoises (including the famous Lonesome George!), Galapagos Penguins, and countless species of finches. Much to my dismay, I did not see the Hammerhead Shark that others in our group saw from the boat.
Spotting a Pacific Green Sea Turtle in the mangroves at Black Turtle Cove, Galapagos
On the boat tour, we would generally travel at night and be at bay during the day, visiting the islands and snorkeling. One of the days we got up early to visit the island of Bachas where we saw pink Flamingos in the wild. In the same bay were jet black, land-and-sea iguanas – they match the jet black lava, perfect camouflage. Following our bird/reptile watching, we headed down to the beach for snorkeling. In the afternoon we hopped in a dingy to visit the mangroves of Black Turtle Cove. On this excursion we saw White Tipped Sharks, Golden Rays, Boobies and Pacific Green Turtles (they used to be called Black Turtles, as the name of the cove suggests, but have since been renamed).
The Natural Wonders Never Cease
Having traveled over night, another morning we woke up to find ourselves in the large crater of Genovesa Island – most of the crater is submerged under the sea and so from the water one has a wonderful view of the sharp cliffs of the volcano sinking into the ocean. On Genovesa Island we had some of our most spectacular bird watching (all the Boobies, Frigate Birds, etc). It was the end of mating season, so the male Frigate Birds were still puffing up their red throat pouches to attract females and doing a lovely song-and-dance. After walking around the island, we snorkeled off the dingy along the steep cliffs. It was near here that other people on our tour (unfortunately in the other dingy!) saw a Hammerhead Shark. I’m a huge shark fanatic, so I was pretty disappointed to have missed it. When we were snorkeling later, I kept my eyes peeled to no avail.
'Winner' and 'loser' Frigate birds in their mating game, Genovesa Islands, Galapagos
My favorite day, in terms of island visits, was the day we spent in Sullivan Bay and Bartolome Island. We got up really early to ride the dingy to Bartolome to view Galapagos Penguins, the only equatorial penguins in the world. After breakfast we headed to Sullivan Bay where we walked across a black lava field less than 100 years old, before coming to the edge where we could see older lava that had since oxidized and is now reddish-orange with more plant life. It was spectacular, and made only more spectacular by our afternoon trip to the top of Bartolome Island where we could see the full expanse of the black lava field, in one direction going into the ocean and the other direction you could see the discreet border with the older lava.
View of deep blue Sullivan Bay from Bartolome Island
Only in the Galapagos
Our final day we visited the Darwin Center on Santa Cruz Island where we saw the famous tortoise, Lonesome George. He’s the last of his specific species and they can’t get him to breed, hence the “lonesome.” After the center we toured some around Santa Cruz, one of the older islands in the archipelago. In contrast to Sullivan Bay and Bartolome, one can really see the increases in vegetation over time from pioneering plants in the black lava to whole forests on Santa Cruz. It helps one to understand why animals on the different islands had to develop different qualities to survive in the distinct conditions. Good find, Darwin!
The famous tortoise "Lonesome George" at Darwin Research Station - last of his species!
Note to divers: The Galapagos are one of the premier dive spots in the world. When planning your trip, it is important to know that as part of recent conservation efforts, restrictions have been placed on diving. While in the past many of the regular cruises offered diving as an extra activity, there are now limitations in place that prohibit these dives. Diving must be done from a dive-specific cruise ship. There are only a few, and some websites for regular cruise tours are out of date and still mention the dive possibilities, so double check when booking. Or if you stay on the islands, there is a wide offering of PADI certified shops that can take you on day trips. Sadly, I did not have this information ahead of time and did not get to dive… another reason to go back some day!
- Anne Stiles Davis
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August 4, 2011 at 1:44 PM
This looks fantastic. I’ve been dreaming of a Galapagos adventure for years. Did you get the idea that a boat cruise provided you with better opportunities to view the wildlife than would a land-based trip?
January 23, 2012 at 2:21 PM
The boat cruises allow you to reach more islands. The land-based trips are limited to two islands, so you can’t take a day-trip to the further-out islands. However, for diving, there are more options to dive if you do a land-based trip (because recent regulations have limited the number of cruises that can do diving– so day trips are more accessible).