Wildlife in the Galápagos is awesome, stunning, or whatever other superlative you can come up with, it really is! Visiting these islands is an experience of a lifetime!
The Galápagos Islands are located on the equator, about 1,000 km (600 miles) west of Ecuador in the Pacific. There are a dozen or so major islands, and lots of small ones. The largest one is Isla Isabela, the main island for the tourists is Isla Santa Cruz, with Puerto Ayora the main tourist center. Five of the islands are inhabited, the others are protected. There are about 20,000 people living in the Galápagos, about half of them in Puerto Ayora. The Galápagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Galápagos were discovered in 1535 by Tomás de Berlenga, the Bishop of Panamá. They were used by pirates and fishermen. These visitors slaughtered the large tortoises by the thousands for food. Many of the subspecies are extinct now. One of them, the subspecies from Isla Pinta, has only one surviving member, Lonesome George, who is in the Darwin Research Center in Puerto Ayora. The Darwin Station has a breeding program for the Galápagos tortoises to re-introduce them into the wild. Tortoises of different subspecies are raised till they are 3-4 years old and then repatriated to the island where the subspecies belongs.
All the Galápagos islands are protected in the Galápagos National Park. The entrance fee for the park is $100.00. This sounds a bit high at first, but when you consider that there are only about 50,000 to 60,000 visitors per year, the resulting income of $5-6 million is not nearly enough to maintain such a huge park. I was quite happy to pay this small fee for seeing an extraordinary nature reserve. Visits to the islands are restricted to the official visitor sites. All boats must have an official park guide on board. Hopefully this will help to maintain the islands and their flora and fauna.
One of the most serious problems that the wildlife has is the introduction of foreign species. Domestic animals such as cats, rats, and goats create havoc on these islands. Some small successes have been made in eradicating introduced species, but only very few. One very annoying introduction are the mosquitoes. The islands used to be free of biting insects. Now the mosquitoes even carry Dengue Fever in the Galápagos.
Being on the equator, the weather in the Galápagos islands is nice year-round. Temperatures are around 30°C (90°F). There is the occasional tropical rain shower, but most of the time it is sunny. The water is relatively warm in most places (around 25°C (77°F)), but there are very cold currents around in some places. These cold currents have temperatures of around 15°C (59°F), which makes for very cold scuba diving.
During my trip I was scuba diving for 7 days, and then visited four islands on land (Isla Plazas, Isla Floreana, Isla Seymore Norte, and Isla Bartolomé) in addition to Isla Santa Cruz.
Isla Bartolomé is a fairly young volcano. It has only the very earliest pioneer plants that colonize freshly formed volcanoes. Near Isla Bartolomé is Cousins Rock, a small white island. It is white from sea bird guano, and has a great diving spot. This is where I saw the sea horses.
Isla Santa María (mostly called Floreana) is one of the inhabited islands. We saw mostly cultivated land on our short drive around. You can see plenty of birds. Some of the rock formations were quite interesting. Altogether I didn't have enough time to see much on that island.
Isla Plazas has nesting sea birds, a colony of Galápagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki, german: Galápagos-Seelöwe, french: Otarie des Galápagos), endemic to the Galápagos islands, and a large colony of Galápagos Land Iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus, german: Drusenkopf, french: Iguane terrestre des Galápagos), as well as Santa Cruz Marine Iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus hassi, german: Meerechse, french: Iguane marin des Galápagos). The iguanas are quite interesting looking creatures.
Isla Seymore Norte was the most interesting, with a colony of Galápagos Blue-footed Boobies (Sula nebouxii excisa, german: Blaufußtölpel, french: Fou à pieds bleus), Nazca Boobies (Sula granti, german: Nazcatölpel, french: Fou de Nazca), Great Frigatebirds (Fregata minor, german: Bindenfregattvogel, french: Frégate du Pacifique), and Magnificent Frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens, german: Prachtfregattvogel, french: Frégate superbe).
Isla Santa Cruz is one of the islands that has wild Santa Cruz Giant Tortoises (Chelonoidis porteri). There is a nature reserve for the tortoises, but it is much easier to see them on a private farm, Rancho Primicias, next to the tortoise reserve. I hired a cab for $20. That included the tour around the Rancho and a walk through the lava tube nearby. The largest tortoise that I saw was over 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long, and over 150 years old. These tortoises are amazing creatures.
The major part of my visit was dedicated to scuba diving. Scuba diving in the Galápagos is, without a doubt, the most mind blowing experience in the Galápagos! This was the best scuba diving that I have done so far. Swimming among a school of 10-20 sharks is awesome. If you behave right, sharks don't attack scuba divers, so I wasn't worried. One time when one of the sharks swam right at me though, I retreated a bit to give him way .
There are not too many corals there, but the variety of fish is immense. Besides the sharks (Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks (Sphyrna lewini, german: Bogenstirn-Hammerhai, french: Requin-marteau halicorne) and White-tipped Reef Sharks (Triaenodon obesus, german: Weißspitzen-Riffhai, french: Requin-corail)), we saw several different kinds or rays, moray eels, all kinds of reef fish, sea horses, and the ever-present sea lions playing around us. Besides the fish, the starfish are really interesting. The cushion sea star, and chocolate chip sea star and the blue sea stars are quite spectacular in their colors. Other fish of note were barracudas, trumpet fish, stone fish and puffer fish.
I didn't see dolphins while diving, but we saw lots of them while driving to the dive sites and back. We also saw a school of Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus, german: Kurzflossen-Grindwal, french: Globicéphale tropical) playing around our boat for a while. A school of manta rays feeding of the surface was quite spectacular. Seeing them jump out of the water is quite a sight. Another impressive sight are the sea turtles. The largest that we saw was about 2 m (7 ft) long, a huge creature.
The day trips for diving go to different islands. The boat trip takes between 45 min and 2.5 hours. The longest trip that I took was a trip to Floreana, the shortest was one to Gordon Rocks.
I had a new digital underwater camera. Having the viewing screen in the back of the camera finally allows me to see what I am aiming at. Unfortunately I can't focus my eyes that close anymore. Reading glasses in the dive mask are out of the question, so I have to figure out something else. I hope that one of the flat reading lenses may work, I'll try that next time. Unfortunately I had a problem with the case leaking. The moisture condensed on the front window, which blurred a lot of images. Fortunately it didn't damage the camera.
From my experiences during this trip I have a few recommendations if you want to visit the Galápagos:
1. If you plan to do both scuba diving and land visits, please do yourself a favor and do the land visits first. The land visits are very interesting, but they are completely eclipsed by the spectacular scuba diving, they seem ho-hum after diving. If you do the land visits first, they are much more captivating.
2. For scuba diving you have two options, live-aboard or land based. I stayed land based, and I liked it very much. I like to have a solid bed. The diving was so spectacular on land based trips, that a live-aboard tour isn't really necessary, unless you want to go to the outer islands Darwin and Wolf. The diving there is very challenging and only for really experienced divers. I would have been in over my head if I had tried that. Even the diving on day trips from Santa Cruz is quite challenging due to very strong and very cold current, certainly not for beginners.
3. For the land visits on the other hand I would suggest a live-aboard cruise. The day trips from Santa Cruz don't let you see very much of the islands. I can imagine that you can experience a lot more during a cruise.
4. To get there, you can fly either through Quito or through Guayaquil. Staying overnight in Quito can be a headache (literally, because of the altitude). You will probably sleep pretty badly because of the altitude. On the other hand, Quito is certainly worth a visit of 2-3 days. If you don't want to visit, it is better to fly through Guayaquil.
There are quite a few hotels in Puerto Ayora, so it would probably be OK to just go there and arrange everything when you get there. Arranging scuba diving on a day-by-day basis is no problem, there are several scuba diving operators. The same goes for day trips to other islands. A live-aboard tour however, should probably be arranged in advance.
Altogether, the trip to the Galápagos was a trip of a lifetime. I can really most strongly recommend a visit there. It is amazing!
I have the bird pictures from the Galápagos Islands, together with bird pictures from other parts of Ecuador on a separate page:
My first view of the Galápagos Islands on approach to Isla Baltra (I believe it is Isla Isabela). (371k) Isla Baltra with the airport in the upper left corner. (514k) Sea birds over Isla Enderby (near Floreana). (714k) One of the small islands off Isla Santa Cruz. (623k) A dormant volcano on Isla Santa Maria (also called Floreana). (582k) The volcano of Isla Bartolomé with the sparse pioneer vegetation. (783k) Lava flow on Isla Bartolomé. (1459k) Lava tube on Isla Bartolomé. (1234k) A much larger lava tube on Santa Cruz. It is up to 20 m (70 ft) high and about 400 m (1,310 ft) long. You can walk through the tube (crawl in one place). (845k) View from the volcano on Isla Bartolomé. It looks like a view of Mars. (994k) View from Isla Bartolomé towards Isla Santiago. (606k) View from Isla Bartolomé with the white Cousins Rock right of center. (534k) Isla Daphne Mayor. (518k) Isla Daphne Menor. (637k) View of Isla Santa Cruz from the north. (563k) I believe this was somewhere around Isla Bartolomé. (541k) A rocky outcrop of volcanic lava with some cacti. (709k) Volcanic lava beach on Santa Cruz. The marine iguanas (see below) blend right in with that color. (909k) Column basalts on Isla Baltra. Column basalts form when certain kinds of lava cool and fracture in the typical columnar forms. (808k) Column basalts on Isla Baltra. (867k) Rocas Gordon (Gordon's Rocks). That was where we hit the really cold and strong currents (15°C (59°F)) while scuba diving. (734k) Sunset between Floreana and Santa Cruz. (398k)
Wildlife on the Islands
Lava Cactus or Banana Cactus (Brachycereus nesioticus, french: Lava cactus) on Isla Bartolomé. Named after the color and shape of its branches. It is one of the early colonizers of new volcanoes. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (808k) Plant on Floreana. (776k) Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides, german: Spanisches Moos, french: Mousse espagnole), a relative of the pineapple. (722k) Galápagos Prickly-pear Cactus (Opuntia galapageia) on Isla Plazas. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (852k) Opuntia cactus flowers. (545k) Galápagos Carpet Weed (Sesuvium edmonstonei) on Isla Plazas. A large part of this island was covered with this plant. Sesuvium turns orange/red when there is a water shortage, otherwise it is green. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (1109k) Galápagos Carpet Weed plants (Sesuvium edmonstonei) on Isla Plazas. (1255k) Galápagos Carpet Weed flowers (Sesuvium edmonstonei). (606k) Yellow Geiger (Cordia lutea). (482k) Mangroves. I did not see many areas with mangroves. (1425k) Galápagos Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello encantada). (456k) Gaudy Sphinx Moth (Eumorpha labruscae). (489k) Galápagos Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello encantada). Large, day active moth, collecting honey. (531k) Galápagos Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello encantada). You can see the long proboscis, collecting nectar. (522k) Peters' Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus reissii) hunting. (416k) Santa Cruz Lava Lizard (Microlophus indefatigabilis). It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (526k) Santa Cruz Lava Lizards, ready to fight (Microlophus indefatigabilis). (999k) Santa Cruz Lava Lizards in a fight. They weren't hurt, just holding on to each other and wrestling. (889k) A colony of Galápagos Land Iguanas seeking shade under a cactus. They are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (1220k) Galápagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus, german: Drusenkopf, french: Iguane terrestre des Galápagos), endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (909k) Galápagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus, german: Drusenkopf, french: Iguane terrestre des Galápagos). (758k) Galápagos Land Iguana. (709k) Galápagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus, german: Drusenkopf, french: Iguane terrestre des Galápagos). (584k) Galápagos Land Iguana. (507k) Galápagos Land Iguana. (731k) Galápagos Land Iguana. (713k) Galápagos Land Iguana feeding on a cactus. (815k) Santa Cruz Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus hassi, german: Meerechse, french: Iguane marin des Galápagos). They were hard to see on the black lava rocks. The Santa Cruz Marine Iguana is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (627k) Santa Cruz Marine Iguana. (1193k) Santa Cruz Marine Iguana close up. (766k) Santa Cruz Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus hassi, german: Meerechse, french: Iguane marin des Galápagos) close up. (844k) Santa Cruz Marine Iguana close up. (767k) Santa Cruz Marine Iguanas. According to our guide, they were not mating, they keep close to help with regulating their body temperature. (548k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri). The Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise is endemic to Santa Cruz. (770k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri). (1157k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise. (894k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise. (652k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise. (1100k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise. (618k) Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri). (705k) Tracks from a sea turtle that went ashore to lay eggs and then returned to the sea. (947k)
Marine Wildlife
Sally Lightfoot Crabs (Grapsus grapsus, german: Rote Klippenkrabbe, french: Crabe rouge des Galápagos). These crabs are everywhere on the shores. (661k) A crab on a high perch. (330k) The darker one is presumably a freshly molted crab whose shell has yet to harden. (1001k) Beautifully colored Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus, german: Rote Klippenkrabbe, french: Crabe rouge des Galápagos). (734k) Sally Lightfoot Crab close up (Grapsus grapsus, german: Rote Klippenkrabbe, french: Crabe rouge des Galápagos). (560k) Sally Lightfoot Crab close up. (507k) Galápagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki, german: Galápagos-Seelöwe, french: Otarie des Galápagos) on shore. (923k) Galápagos Sea Lion climbing ashore. I saw them in the most unlikely place, wondering how they got there. (843k) Galápagos Sea Lion colony (Zalophus wollebaeki, german: Galápagos-Seelöwe, french: Otarie des Galápagos). They are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. (744k) Swimming Galápagos Sea Lion. (561k) Baby Galápagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki, german: Galápagos-Seelöwe, french: Otarie des Galápagos). (660k) Relieving an itch. (637k) Those eyes! (464k) Amore! (503k) Dolphins playing in the bow wave of our boat. (472k) Dolphins. (506k) A school of Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus, german: Kurzflossen-Grindwal, french: Globicéphale tropical). (822k) Pilot whales. (520k) Short-finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus, german: Kurzflossen-Grindwal, french: Globicéphale tropical). (799k) Short-finned Pilot Whale closeup (Globicephala macrorhynchus, german: Kurzflossen-Grindwal, french: Globicéphale tropical). (625k) Giant Oceanic Manta Rays (Mobula birostris, german: Riesenmanta, french: Raie manta océanique) feeding near the surface. (552k) Giant Oceanic Manta Ray (Mobula birostris, german: Riesenmanta, french: Raie manta océanique). (450k) Giant Oceanic Manta Rays. (545k)
Underwater Life
Colorful underwater scene. (1.8M) Orange Cup Coral (Tubastraea coccinea, french: Tubastrée orange). (1.8M) Sea anemones. (1.5M) Orange Cup Coral (Tubastraea coccinea, french: Tubastrée orange). (1201k) Sea Fan (Alcyonacea fam., german: Weichkorallen), a type of Soft Coral. (1.7M) Brain Coral and Blacktip Cardinalfish (Apogon atradorsatus). (1482k) Brown Sea Cucumber (Isostichopus fuscus). (1418k) Sea Cucumber. (1164k) Sea Egg (Tripneustes depressus, french: Oursin blanc). (2.1M) Galápagos Slate Pencil Urchin (Eucidaris galapagensis). (1.6M) Galápagos Slate Pencil Urchin. (1259k) Galápagos Slate Pencil Urchin (Eucidaris galapagensis). (1298k) Panamic Panamic Cushion Star (Pentaceraster cumingi, german: Panamaischer Noppen-Seestern, french: Étoile-coussin des Galápagos), left, and Chocolate Chip Sea Star (Nidorellia armata, german: Schokoladen-Seestern), right. (2M) Panamic Panamic Cushion Star (Pentaceraster cumingi, german: Panamaischer Noppen-Seestern, french: Étoile-coussin des Galápagos). (1230k) Panamic Panamic Cushion Star. (1.8M) Panamic Panamic Cushion Star. (1.8M) Panamic Panamic Cushion Star (Pentaceraster cumingi, german: Panamaischer Noppen-Seestern, french: Étoile-coussin des Galápagos). (1.8M) Blue Sea Star (Phataria unifascialis). (2.2M) Blue Sea Star (Phataria unifascialis). (1.8M) Blue Sea Star. (1.6M) Blacktip Cardinalfish (Apogon atradorsatus). (2.1M) Inside a school of Pacific Creolefish (Paranthias colonus). (1358k) School of Blue-and-gold Snapper (Lutjanus viridis) with Pacific Creolefish (Paranthias colonus) in foreground. (1481k) School of Razor Surgeonfish (Prionurus laticlavius, french: Chirurgien des Galápagos). (1.7M) School of Pelican Barracuda (Sphyraena idiastes). (1323k) Two King Angelfish (Holacanthus passer, german: Kalifornischer Engelfisch, french: Poisson-ange à barre blanche). (1.9M) Three Mexican Hogfish (Bodianus diplotaenia), young terminal phase (center) and initial phase (below and right). (1.5M) Two Razor Surgeonfish (Prionurus laticlavius, french: Chirurgien des Galápagos). (1162k) Galápagos Ringtail Damselfish (Stegastes beebei). (1082k) Guineafowl Pufferfish (Arothron meleagris, german: Perlhuhn-Kugelfisch, french: Poisson ballon pintade), spotted phase (center), with Black Wrasse around (Halichoeres adustus, french: Labre noire). (1.9M) Guineafowl Pufferfish (Arothron meleagris, german: Perlhuhn-Kugelfisch, french: Poisson ballon pintade), yellow phase. (1116k) Starry Grouper (Epinephelus labriformis, french: Mérou étoile). (1.6M) Starry Grouper (Epinephelus labriformis, french: Mérou étoile). (1.9M) King Angelfish (Holacanthus passer, german: Kalifornischer Engelfisch, french: Poisson-ange à barre blanche). (740k) Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus, german: Halfterfisch, french: Zancle cornu). (642k) Pacific Trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis, german: Pazifischer Trompetenfisch, french: Poisson-trompette). (889k) Giant Damselfish (Microspathodon dorsalis). (1.7M) King Angelfish (Holacanthus passer, german: Kalifornischer Engelfisch, french: Poisson-ange à barre blanche). (1281k) King Angelfish (Holacanthus passer, german: Kalifornischer Engelfisch, french: Poisson-ange à barre blanche). (1323k) Pacific Spotted Scorpionfish (Scorpaena mystes). (1.9M) Giant Hawkfish (Cirrhitus rivulatus). (1.8M) Pacific Seahorse (Hippocampus ingens, german: Seepferdchen, french: L'hippocampe du Pacifique). (892k) Diamond Stingray (Dasyatis dipterura). (1148k) Zebra Moray Eel (Gymnomuraena zebra, german: Zebramuräne, french: Murène zèbre). (1.7M) Panamic Green Moray Eel (Gymnothorax castaneus). (1.6M) Panamic Green Moray Eel (Gymnothorax castaneus). (1485k) Closeup of Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas, german: Grüne Meeresschildkröte, french: Tortue verte). (1.6M) Huge Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas, german: Grüne Meeresschildkröte, french: Tortue verte). This one was about 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long. (993k) Diving Galápagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki, german: Galápagos-Seelöwe, french: Otarie des Galápagos). (926k) Sea Lion playing with scuba divers. (1039k) Group of Galápagos Sharks (Carcharhinus galapagensis, german: Galapagoshai, french: Requin des Galápagos). (954k) Two White-tipped Reef Sharks (Triaenodon obesus, german: Weißspitzen-Riffhai, french: Requin-corail). (909k) White-tipped Reef Shark. (863k) White-tipped Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus, german: Weißspitzen-Riffhai, french: Requin-corail). (1252k) White-tipped Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus, german: Weißspitzen-Riffhai, french: Requin-corail). (962k) White-tipped Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus, german: Weißspitzen-Riffhai, french: Requin-corail). (1197k) White-tipped Reef Shark in school of fish. (1128k) Large Scalloped Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini, german: Bogenstirn-Hammerhai, french: Requin-marteau halicorne). (943k)
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Dr. Günther Eichhorn Travel Website
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