Unique Galapagos

The landscape is fantastic, but no doubt the most exciting thing in Galapagos is the contact with the animals. We walked through a colony of sea lions and swam with their babies (they look like torpedoes when they're swimming!). We visited colonies of masked boobies and blue-footed boobies (witnessing their courtship ritual) and of nesting albatrosses and frigate birds. We roamed through sea iguanas basking on volcanic rocks and stepped into waters with baby sharks. We visited Charles Darwin Station, a research center that protects Galapagos' giant turtles, including Solitary Jorge, the last one of his species. We even saw penguins! The diversity of the archipelago is amazing. The nature guides that lead each group are trained and well informed about the animals and their habits.

Quick Tips:

Some companies offer 3, 4 or 7 night cruises. If your budget allows it, take the 7-night one: each island has unique attractions, so you will enjoy all of them. We arranged a cruise from home, after some research using Frommer's guide, choosing the Ambasador I, a ship from Islas Galapagos Vapores y Turismo. Prices vary according to the type of accommodation and length of cruise. Ecuatorians and South Americans had also a discount. I don't have the prices here anymore, but we paid around US.

Best Way To Get Around:

Although it is possible to get to Galapagos by a ship from Guayaquil, it is better to fly from there or Quito. Only one island offers accomodation and most tourists stay in boats - small ones or cruise ships - and this is how you hop from island to island.

We contacted travel agencies in Quito by fax (Internet was not so popular back then!) and after studying the available itineraries and choices, we chose the Ambasador, a cruise ship dedicated to Galapagos trips. Because of a last minute change in the departure date, they upgraded us, so our cabin was a very good one, on a higher deck, far from the engine room. Despite the limited water supply, fresh towels were always available when we were back from the on-shore excursions. It has room for around 150 guests, but the normal occupation is about 100. Their website is http://www.ambasadorcruises.com/.

In some of the stops in our cruise, we had time to snorkel. One of the most exciting moments was when our guide showed us a shark on the bottom of the sea! I was expecting more fish, but nevertheless it was interesting.

'Leon dormido' means 'sleeping lion,' and this is the name of a rock formation, because they look like one, depending on the position you look at them. It is more beautiful early in the morning or late in the afternoon, because the low sun enhances the shape and texture of the rocks.

It offers spetacular views of the bay that is one of the postcards of the archipelago. The island was formed by lava flows. Great for sunset.

This is a research center where they study and help preserve the natural wonders of the Galapagos, especially the giant turtles. We could see the turtle hatching area, as they help recover the islands' turtle population, endangered specially by introduced species like goats and rats. Their souvenir shop is also good. Check their website at http://www.darwinfoundation.org/

Here is one more image from the Galapagos. I plan to upload some more in the future, as I have so many beautiful slides from this magic place.

This is a very good book I bought there, by Michael H. Jackson. It offers a lot of information about the fauna, flora and geology of the Galapagos. I highly recommed it.