Chris and Tori's Great Galapagos Getaway of 2003

Pictures
Birds
Iguanas
(land & sea)
Sea Lions
Turtles
Misc
(people & scenery)
The pictures are separated by interest rather than location or time.
I hope that will make the picture browsing more fun and interesting.
(The location where the picture was taken is in the picture name)


We spent approximately ten days in the Galapagos, plus a few travel days. It seems to be arranged just right so that you have to stay in Quito (and spend money on the mainland), between Galapagos and home.


Unlike most visitors to the Galapagos, we did a land based vacation over a cruise or yacht tour. Both of us were a bit apprehensive about the idea of being (trapped) on a boat for 7-10 days, so we decided to do a more independent thing, basing ourselves in Puerto Ayora, one of (if not the) largest settled areas in the Galapagos Islands as well as home to the famous Charles Darwin Center.


Places we checked out:
(in no particular order)

  • Santa Cruz Island (home base)
  • South Plaza Island
  • Santa Fe Island
  • North Seymour Island
  • Bartolome Island
  • Loberia


Some Cool Stuff we saw:
(in no particular order)

  • Sea Lions
  • Penguins
  • Blue-Footed Boobies
  • Masked Boobies
  • Galapagos Hawk
  • Galapagos Canary (aka 'yellow bird')
  • Lava Lizards
  • Darwin Finches
  • Sea Turtles
  • Land Tortoises
  • red eyed gulls
  • Frigate birds
  • new (100 yrs ago) lava flow
  • Land Iguanas
  • Sea Iguanas

 

FAQ:

Where is the Galapagos?
....In South America off the coast of Ecuador about 1000km - click for map . There are 13 main islands and 6 smaller islands. The landscape is mostly barren and volcanic, covered in cacti, with some higher lush rainforest areas. The Islands did not become a national protected park until 1959, after many Ecuadorians had already settled there, so approx 97% of the island land is protected park area, while 3% remains settled, and farmed. The Ecuador government and locals seems to be doing good job at recognizing what they have and finding a good balance between protecting it while sharing it to make living.

Is that where those giant poisonous lizards live?
....No. Just harmless and cute varieties of land iguanas, hybrids, and sea iguanas

What was the weather like?
....Hot and humid, probably in the 80's. The first half of our visit was mostly sunny, the second half was mildly overcast, giving some heat relief but adding to the humidity. We had tropical rain showers almost every night as well.

What did you pack? How much stuff did you bring?
...We each had a backpack, small enough to carry on the plane, big enough to hold a few shorts, T-shirts, swim suits and Iguana-napping equipment...etc

How did you get to the Galapagos Islands (from the mainland)?
... back in the day you had to take a ship from the mainland to the Galapagos, usually a cruise ship which would also do an island tour. These days though, there is an airport on the small island of Baltra (just north of Santa Cruz, about 5minutes by ferry). It was an old US military airport. Like most islands destinations, the travel time and cost were higher then other locations.

Who took the Pictures?/Who wrote the funny and informative comments?
(not really a FAQ, but figured some people may be curious)
...Tori took most of the pictures with a few exceptions. Chris took all the underwater pictures (not on line yet as of Jan10). Chris also wrote all the comments with the exception of the Birds section...apparently he has something against the birds and didn't want to write about them...so Tori did.

Galapagos Info

History: The archipelago was discovered in 1535 when Tomas de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama, drifted off course en route to Peru from Panama. In his report to the king of Spain he referenced the giant tortoise, or galapaga, hence the name of this group of 13 major islands, 6 small islands and scores of islets. Darwin visited in 1835. Five of the islands are now inhabited, with a population of about 17,000 who make their living from farming, fishing and tourism. Annual tourism is estimated to exceed 70,000 people.
For an excellent comprehensive history go to: Galapagos History

Geology: The islands were formed four to five million years ago by the eruption of underwater volcanos. The volcanos are still active, with more than 50 eruptions recorded since the islands' discovery. Most of the archipelago is surrounded by deep ocean, with depths off the western islands to 3,000 meters.

Climate and Currents: The Galapagos Islands sit astride a complex set of ocean currents and trade winds generated from both sides of the equator. As a result the climate is very mild year-round, with two seasons. During the hot season from January to May, the southeast trade winds diminish and slightly warmer water moves in from the north. The garua or misty season, from June to December, is characterized by generally increased trade winds and the influx of slightly cooler water from the south. There is no one single current but the most important is the South Equatorial Current, with significant influence derived from the Humbolt Current, Panama and Cromwell Currents. The upwelling from these streams provides the nutrient rich environment that encourages the stunning biodiversity of the Galapagos.