If You Could Talk To The Animals | Galapagos Ecuador
Ecuador is a place of immense diversity, and there is no doubt the Galapagos Islands are unique. I splurged and took a little side trip from the mainland to visit this amazing area with animal species found nowhere else on the planet. It is the place where Charles Darwin formed his theory of evolution, and because they have been isolated from the mainland for millions of years, the animals have no instinctive fear of humans. You really can just stand and talk to them as they stare curiously straight at you. The trip involved flying from Quito to Guayaquil, an overnight stay then a short flight from Guayaquil to San Cristobal Island, and a short bus ride to board a zodiac to our small ship, The National Geographic Islander for our Galapagos expedition.
The following morning we visited Española Island - home to Darwin’s finches, Galapagos hawks, & large blue-footed Nazca booby colonies as well as species endemic to this island such as the waved albatross, hood mockingbird, and Hood lava lizard. We walked among red & black marine iguanas & sea lions before going deep-water snorkeling at Gardner Bay - saw a white tipped shark!
The next day at Floreana Island we took a hike at Punta Cormorant where we saw flamingos, shore birds, Sally Lightfoot crabs and a turtle nesting beach (actually witnessed a couple mating in the water) before an afternoon snorkel at Champion Islet – some of the sea lions joined us in the water - so cool!
Our fourth day was spent at Santa Cruz - home of the Charles Darwin Research Station – captive breeding program for Galapagos giant tortoises and land iguanas. We also traveled to the highlands where wild tortoises forage in the wild. It's amazing to see a field covered with what you think are large rocks until you get closer and realize they are actually huge tortoises.
My favorite sighting on Bartolomé Island were the penguins - so cute!
On Genovesa – known as “bird island” - we hiked among frigate birds, red-footed and Nazca boobies and after a short shower of rain were fortunate to spot a couple of short-eared owls.
The last day we took the final zodiac ride to the island of Baltra for a bus trip to the airport. It really was an amazing week exploring a different world where you really feel you can talk to the animals. Oh - and I did meet some great people (and new friends) as well!
From Baltra I flew back to Quito to start the next part of my journey – 25 days on the road in Ecuador!
Click here to see more photos of the awesome Galapagos wildlife.
