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City information
Puerto Ayora.
With an area of 986 Km2, this is the second largest island of the
Archipelago. Its highest point, Crocker Hill, goes up to 864 Mts. above
sea level. Its principal city is Puerto Ayora, which is the place with
the main economic activity, and also the center for tourism in
Galapagos. Here functions The National Park's office, as well as the
Charles Darwin Scientific Station , where you can visit the Van Straelen
Exhibition Center and the incubation and raising of the Giant tortoises,
where you will observe the baby tortoises before their repatriation to
their natural habitat, and you will also meet Lonesome George, the only
survivor of the Pinta Island subspecies. Another interesting site is
Tortuga Bay, a beautiful beach surrounded by mangroves where you can
observe sharks, Manta rays, marine iguanas and several sea birds.
Beaches such as this one, surrounded by nature, and without the track of
humans, are the example of the unrivalled beauty of Galapagos. Bachas
are two adjacent white sand beaches, where people can swim and practice
snorkel. In a close by lagoon, you can watch flamingos. Black Turtle
Cove is a salt-water lagoon surrounded by different mangrove species and
in its quiet crystal clear waters you can observe marine turtles, sharks
and rays. Lava tunnels, of more than a kilometer in length, were made by
the solidification of the surface of a lava flow. When the flow stops,
the liquid lava inside keeps on flowing, leaving the exterior surface
solidified and forming the tunnels.
Rules of the Galápagos National Park
On the island, groups of no more than 15
visitors are led by a naturalist certified by the Galápagos National
Park Service. With this policy it is intended to reduce the impact on
the fragile ecosystems while providing a sense of solitude and privacy
on the Islands.
Don´t take anything from the islands,
but photographs, and leave only your footprints.
-
Please do not disturb or remove any
native plant, rock, or animal.
-
Please be careful not to transport
any live material to the islands or from island to island. Each one
has its unique fauna and flora and introductions can quickly destroy
their balance.
-
Please do not touch or handle
animals. Even the fearless animals of the Galápagos require a
certain distance, and do not like to be encroached upon. Please
respect this distance as attempting to touch them will disturb them.
-
Please do not feed the animals. This
can be dangerous to you and it will also affect the social structure
and natural behavior of the animals.
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Please do not startle of chase any
animal from its resting or nesting spot.
-
Please stay on the marked trails.
Many people visit the islands and it is important that people do not
damage vegetation or cause erosion.
-
Please do not leave, or throw any
litter over board.
-
Please do not buy any souvenirs made
from native Galápagos precuts, (except for wood) as this encourages
the exploitation of these resources. Especially do not buy sea lion
teeth, black coral, or tortoise / turtle shell products.
-
Do not smoke on the islands.
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Do not hesitate to show your
conservationist attitude.
Galapagos
Islands weather
click to enlarge pictures
The Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos archipelago is famous for
its fearless and unique wildlife. Here, you can swim with sea lions,
float eye-to-eye with a penguin, stand next to a blue-footed booby
feeding its young, watch a giant 200kg tortoise lumbering through a
cactus forest, and try to avoid stepping on iguanas scurrying over the
lave. The scenery is barren and volcanic and has its own haunting
beauty. The Islands lie on the equator, about 1000km west of Ecuador,
and consist of 13 major islands and many small ones. Five islands are
inhabited. The Galápagos as a whole are one of Ecuador's 21 provinces.
The islands were discovered accidentally
by Tomás de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama, in 1535. He was on his way
to Peru when his ship was swept 800km off course by the currents. In a
letter to the King of Spain, the bishop was less than enthusiastic about
the islands: "I do not think that there is a place where one might sow a
bushel of corn, because most of it is full of very big stones and the
earth there is much like dross, worthless, because it has not the power
of raising a little grass". Like most of the early arrivals, Bishop
Tomás and his crew arrived thirsty and disappointed at the dryness of
the place. He did not even give the islands a name.
The islands first appeared on a map in
1574, as "Islands of Galápagos", which has remained in common use ever
since. The individual islands, though, have had several names, both
Spanish and English. The alter names come from a visit in 1680 by
English buccaneers who, with the blessing of the English king, attacked
Spanish ships carrying gold and relieved them of their heavy load. The
pirates used the Galápagos as a hide-out, in particular a spot north of
James Bay on Santiago island, still known as Buccaneers' Cove. The
pirates were the first to visit many of the islands and they named them
after English Kings and aristocracy, or famous captains of the day.
 The Spanish also called the
islands "enchanted" or "bewitched", owing to the fact that for
much of the year they are surrounded by mists giving the
impression that they appear and disappear as if by magic. Also,
the tides and currents were so confusing that they thought the
islands were floating and not real islands.
Arrival and establishment
When the tips of the Galápagos volcanoes
first appeared above the sea's surface some three to five million years
ago they were devoid of life. The ancestors of every plant and animal
species native o the islands must have arrived there from some other
part of the world. We will never know exactly how colonization occurred,
as such events do not leave records for us, but we may guess about what
probably happened. A thousand kilometers of ocean separate the Galápagos
from the mainland. Despite this barrier, a large number of species have
made it to the islands. Oceanic volcanic islands such as the Galápagos
differ from continental islands in that they never had contact with
continental land masses. Any plant or animal now native to the Galápagos
must have originally dispersed to the island through some means or
other. If the organism survived the hazardous journey and was able to
survive in the unfamiliar environment, and if there were enough
individuals for successful reproduction to occur, a colonizing
population would exist. The question that once perplexed biologists was
how it was possible for so many venturesome, vagabond species to survive
such a long and trying ocean passage to an island when many would surely
have perished at the touch of sea water. Exceptional hardships must have
been overcome. Nonetheless, close scrutiny of the original flora and
fauna of remote islands suggests that they were indeed derived by chance
from weedy colonists from the mainland in what has been termed
"sweepstakes dispersal". Flotation rafts made of a mat of vegetation or
other debris, and even winds and jet streams can be mechanisms of
transport for living organisms or seeds to the newly formed islands.
Birds displaced from their traditional migratory routes, or seeds and
invertebrates hitchhiking on the feathers and feet of aquatic and semi
aquatic birds, can also be means of colonization. Of course, species are
present in proportion not only to their capacity to disperse, whether
actively or passively, but also to their ability to establish themselves
after arrival. The need for an appropriate mate in sexually reproducing
animals, or a compatible pollinator in out- crossing plants, poses a
formidable challenge to long-term establishment. The idea that specific
groups of organisms have different hurdle values, which determine the
limits of their dispersal, is fundamental to the c concept of disharmony
in the living organisms of oceanic islands. Disharmonic floras and
faunas are characterized by the absence of conventional groups such as
large carnivorous and hooved mammals, amphibians, freshwater fishes and
large-seeded forest trees.
Evolution
The Galápagos islands have often been
called a "laboratory of evolution". There are few places in the world
where it has been possible to find such a variety of species, both plant
and animal, which show so many degree of evolutionary changes, in such a
restricted area. Once organisms reach oceanic islands they are
essentially isolated from other land masses. If the islands are distant
enough from a source to make colonization a rare event, then they may be
thought of as almost independent biological units. Oceanic islands can
have species which, though related to mainland forms, have evolved in
ways different from their mainland relatives as a result of their
isolation in a different environment. This is a key factor in island
evolution. It is not surprising that Charles Darwin was so struck by the
life he found on these islands. Formulated by Darwin, Natural Selection
is the process by which propagation becomes change, and species diverge
one from another. A classic example of adaptive radiation in birds,
which has served generations of evolutionary biologists, is Darwin´s
finches. A total of 13 species evolved within the Galápagos archipelago
from a common ancestor whose founding type and source from the American
continent have not yet been identified. A single fourteenth species
occurs on Cocos Island off of Costa Rica, about five hundred miles
northeast of the Galáapagos. That all the finches are closely related,
and presumably evolved from the same progenitor stock, is indicated by a
complement of characteristics common to all. The word endemic refers to
organisms which are found nowhere else in the world due to the fact that
they evolved and remained isolated on a given area and therefore
developed unique characteristics. In the Galápagos you will find several
species that fall into this classification.
Conservation on the islands
The history of man´s detrimental effects
on the islands extends back to the 1600s when buccaneers introduced the
first goats and killed tortoise for food. Once settlers came to the
islands they brought with them a full range of domestic animals, some of
which went wild and started feral populations. Dogs, cats, pigs, goats,
rats, the little fire ant, guava plants, and the chinchona (quinine)
tree. Introduced plants have spread, particularly in the moist
highlands, and compete with native vegetation. Several species are
considered to be serious threats to native vegetation. The social and
environmental pressures made by the fast growing population of the
Galápagos´s inhabited areas cause worry to the national and
international communities. Between 1982 and 1990 the population growth
rate in Galápagos reached 6% mostly due to immigration from the
Ecuadorian mainland. During 1996 step forward in this area was the
introduction of an amendment to the Constitution of Ecuador which states
that Galápagos will have a special law. Hence, it is possible to
restrict indiscriminate immigration, commerce and property rights in
Galápagos. Two organizations work together for the conservation of the
islands: the Galápagos National Park (GNP), that tries to keep the
natural resources of the Islands in the best state of conservation
possible and the Charles Darwin Research Station, which conducts and
facilitates research in the Galápagos Islands.
Charles Darwin research station
 In 1959, the centenary of the publication
of Darwin's Origin of Species, the Government of Ecuador and the
International Charles Darwin Foundation established, with the support of
UNESCO, the Charles Darwin Research Station at Academy Bay 1 ½ km from
Puerto Ayora. A visit to the station is a good introduction to the
islands as it provides a lot of information. Collections of several rare
sub-species of giant tortoise are maintained on the station as breeding
nuclei, together with a tortoise-rearing house incorporating incubators
and pens for the young.
Geology
Located in one of the most active
volcanic regions on earth, the Galápagos are located on the Nazca Plate,
close to its junction with the Cocos Plate. As a result of the spreading
of the sea floor (the movement of the plates in relation to each other)
along the Galápagos Rift and the East Pacific Rise, the islands are
moving south and eastward at a rate of more than 7cm/yr., which may not
seem fast but would, over a million years or so, amount to 70km of
movement! The evidence that the plate on which the islands sit is moving
eastward is that the oldest islands are in the eastern part of the
archipelago. There is also volcanic activity where the western island
are now. In fact, it is on these Western Islands where all the recent
volcanic activity has occurred, while the Eastern Islands are the
oldest. The "Hot Spot Theory" states that in certain places around the
earth, there are more or less stationary areas of intense heat in the
mantle. These hot spots cause the crust to melt in certain places and
give rise to volcanoes. The Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands have mild
volcanic eruptions where volcanic material comes out gently to form
large lava flows rather than explosions. The result is that the major
Galápagos volcanoes tend to have smooth shield - shaped outlines with
rounded tops, rather than cones- like Mt. Fuji in Japan - which were
formed by explosive eruptions.
Map of Galapagos
Islands
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
|
INFO GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
Introduction
The Galápagos archipelago is famous for its fearless and
unique wildlife. Here, you can swim with sea lions,
float eye-to-eye with a penguin, stand next to a
blue-footed booby feeding its young, watch a giant 200kg
tortoise lumbering through a cactus forest, and try to
avoid stepping on iguanas scurrying over the lave. The
scenery is barren and volcanic and has its own haunting
beauty. The Islands lie on the equator, about 1000km
west of Ecuador, and consist of 13 major islands and
many small ones. Five islands are inhabited. The
Galápagos as a whole are one of Ecuador's 21 provinces.
90% of the land surface and all of the
ocean out to the national limits was designated a
national park in 1959 in order to preserve the original
ecology and to control the introduction of new and
potentially harmful species. To minimize your impact on
the fragile ecology, the park authorities have
established certain rules which visitors must abide by
and these will be explained by your guide. On land,
trails have been established and visitors are expected
to keep to the trails. Visitors must not touch, follow
or chase the animals and birds nor must they remove any
plants or flowers or any other part of the natural
history of the islands. Please respect all the rules
that you will be told about once there. The survival of
the islands depends on you - the visitor.
The islands were discovered accidentally by Tomás de
Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama, in 1535. He was on his
way to Peru when his ship was swept 800km off course by
the currents. In a letter to the King of Spain, the
bishop was less than enthusiastic about the islands: "I
do not think that there is a place where one might sow a
bushel of corn, because most of it is full of very big
stones and the earth there is much like dross,
worthless, because it has not the power of raising a
little grass". Like most of the early arrivals, Bishop
Tomás and his crew arrived thirsty and disappointed at
the dryness of the place. He did not even give the
islands a name.
The islands first appeared on a map in 1574, as "Islands
of Galápagos", which has remained in common use ever
since. The individual islands, though, have had several
names, both Spanish and English. The alter names come
from a visit in 1680 by English buccaneers who, with the
blessing of the English king, attacked Spanish ships
carrying gold and relieved them of their heavy load. The
pirates used the Galápagos as a hide-out, in particular
a spot north of James Bay on Santiago island, still
known as Buccaneers' Cove. The pirates were the first to
visit many of the islands and they named them after
English Kings and aristocracy, or famous captains of the
day. The Spanish also called the islands "enchanted" or
"bewitched", owing to the fact that for much of the year
they are surrounded by mists giving the impression that
they appear and disappear as if by magic. Also, the
tides and currents were so confusing that they thought
the islands were floating and not real islands.
Arrival and establishment
When the tips of the Galápagos volcanoes first appeared
above the sea's surface some three to five million years
ago they were devoid of life. The ancestors of every
plant and animal species native on the islands must have
arrived there from some other part of the world. We will
never know exactly how colonization occurred, as such
events do not leave records for us, but we may guess
about what probably happened.
A thousand kilometers of ocean separate the Galápagos
from the mainland. Despite this barrier, a large number
of species have made it to the islands. Oceanic volcanic
islands such as the Galápagos differ from continental
islands in that they never had contact with continental
land masses. Any plant or animal now native to the
Galápagos must have originally dispersed to the island
through some means or other. If the organism survived
the hazardous journey and was able to survive in the
unfamiliar environment, and if there were enough
individuals for successful reproduction to occur, a
colonizing population would exist. The question that
once perplexed biologists was how it was possible for so
many venturesome, vagabond species to survive such a
long and tiring ocean passage to an island when many
would surely have perished at the touch of sea water.
Exceptional hardships must have been overcome.
Nonetheless, close scrutiny of the original flora and
fauna of remote islands suggests that they were indeed
derived by chance from weedy colonists from the mainland
in what has been termed "sweepstakes dispersal".
Flotation rafts made of a mat of vegetation or other
debris, and even winds and jet streams can be mechanisms
of transport for living organisms or seeds to the newly
formed islands. Birds displaced from their traditional
migratory routes, or seeds and invertebrates hitchhiking
on the feathers and feet of aquatic and semi aquatic
birds, can also be means of colonization. Of course,
species are present in proportion not only to their
capacity to disperse, whether actively or passively, but
also to their ability to establish themselves after
arrival. The need for an appropriate mate in sexually
reproducing animals, or a compatible pollinator in
out-crossing plants, poses a formidable challenge to
long-term establishment. The idea that specific groups
of organisms have different hurdle values, which
determine the limits of their dispersal, is fundamental
to the concept of disharmony in the living organisms of
oceanic islands. Disharmonic floras and faunas are
characterized by the absence of conventional groups such
as large carnivorous and hoofed mammals, amphibians,
freshwater fishes and large-seeded forest trees.
Evolution
The Galápagos islands have often been called a
"laboratory of evolution". There are few places in the
world where it has been possible to find such a variety
of species, both plant and animal, which show so many
degree of evolutionary changes, in such a restricted
area. Once organisms reach oceanic islands they are
essentially isolated from other land masses.
If the islands are distant enough from a source to make
colonization a rare event, then they may be thought of
as almost independent biological units. Oceanic islands
can have species which, though related to mainland
forms, have evolved in ways different from their
mainland relatives as a result of their isolation in a
different environment. This is a key factor in island
evolution. It is not surprising that Charles Darwin was
so struck by the life he found on these islands.
Formulated by Darwin, Natural Selection is the process
by which propagation becomes change, and species diverge
one from another. A classic example of adaptive
radiation in birds, which has served generations of
evolutionary biologists, are Darwin finches. A total of
13 species evolved within the Galápagos archipelago from
a common ancestor whose founding type and source from
the American continent have not yet been identified. A
single fourteenth species occurs on Cocos Island off of
Costa Rica, about five hundred miles northeast of the
Galápagos. That all the finches are closely related, and
presumably evolved from the same progenitor stock, is
indicated by a complement of characteristics common to
all. The word endemic refers to organisms which are
found nowhere else in the world due to the fact that
they evolved and remained isolated on a given area and
therefore developed unique characteristics. In the
Galápagos you will find several species that fall into
this classification.
Conservation on the islandsThe history of man's
detrimental effects on the islands extends back to the
1600s when buccaneers introduced the first goats and
killed tortoises for food. Once settlers came to the
islands they brought with them a full range of domestic
animals, some of which went wild and started feral
populations. Dogs, cats, pigs, goats, rats, the little
fire ant, guava plants, and the chinchona (quinine)
tree. Introduced plants have spread, particularly in the
moist highlands, and compete with native vegetation.
Several species are considered to be serious threats to
native vegetation. The social and environmental
pressures made by the fast growing population of the
Galapagos' inhabited areas cause worry to the national
and international communities. Between 1982 and 1990 the
population growth rate in Galápagos reached 6% mostly
due to immigration from the Ecuadorian mainland. During
1996 step forward in this area was the introduction of
an amendment to the Constitution of Ecuador which states
that Galápagos will have a special law. Hence, it is
possible to restrict indiscriminate immigration,
commerce and property rights in Galápagos. Two
organizations work together for the conservation of the
islands: the Galápagos National Park (GNP), that tries
to keep the natural resources of the Islands in the best
state of conservation possible and the Charles Darwin
Research Station, which conducts and facilitates
research in the Galápagos Islands.
Charles Darwin Research Station
In 1959, the centenary of the publication of Darwin's
Origin of Species, the Government of Ecuador and the
International Charles Darwin Foundation established,
with the support of UNESCO, the Charles Darwin Research
Station at Academy Bay 1 ½ km from Puerto Ayora. A visit
to the station is a good introduction to the islands as
it provides a lot of information. Collections of several
rare sub-species of giant tortoise are maintained on the
station as breeding nuclei, together with a
tortoise-rearing house incorporating incubators and pens
for the young.
GeologyLocated in one of the most active volcanic
regions on earth, the Galápagos are located on the Nazca
Plate, close to its junction with the Cocos Plate. As a
result of the spreading of the sea floor (the movement
of the plates in relation to each other) along the
Galápagos Rift and the East Pacific Rise, the islands
are moving south and eastward at a rate of more than
7cm/yr., which may not seem fast but would, over a
million years or so, amount to 70km of movement! The
evidence that the plate on which the islands sit is
moving eastward is that the oldest islands are in the
eastern part of the archipelago. There is also volcanic
activity where the western island are now. In fact, it
is on these western islands where all the recent
volcanic activity has occurred, while the eastern
islands are the oldest. The "Hot Spot Theory" states
that in certain places around the earth, there are more
or less stationary areas of intense heat in the mantle.
These hot spots cause the crust to melt in certain
places and give rise to volcanoes. The Galápagos and
Hawaiian Islands have mild volcanic eruptions where
volcanic material comes out gently to form large lava
flows rather than explosions. The result is that the
major Galápagos volcanoes tend to have smooth shield -
shaped outlines with rounded tops, rather than cones -
like Mt. Fuji in Japan - which were formed by explosive
eruptions.
The Galápagos Islands
Santa Cruz
With a surface of 986 km², Santa Cruz is the second
largest of the Archipelago. Colonized since the 1920´s,
Puerto Ayora, the populated part of the Island, is the
most important harbor of the Archipelago. Here you can
find many hotels and restaurants. With altitudes
reaching 864m this island comprises all plant zones,
ranging from coast to pampas. The headquarters of the
Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Station
are also located in Santa Cruz. North of Santa Cruz,
separated by a narrow strait, is Isla Baltra, with the
islands' major airport. A public bus and a ferry connect
the Baltra airport with Puerto Ayora.
Attractions:
- Galapagos Giant Tortoise
- Pacific Green Turtle
- Land Iguana
- Galapagos Sea Lion
- Red-Billed Tropic Bird
- Swallow-Tailed Gull
- Typical humid zone vegetation
- Miconia bushes- Scalesia trees
- pampa (fern-sedge zone)
- extinct volcanic cones
Charles Darwin Research StationAlthough the great
majority of Galapagos visitors come here to observe and
appreciate the area's natural wonders, it is also
interesting to learn how the protection and conservation
of the islands is carried out. By visiting the
facilities of the Darwin Station and National Park, it
is hoped that the visitor will begin to realize that not
only scientists, but also professional administrators
and Park wardens must exert an enormous, costly effort
to maintain the islands ecosystems, and some of the
endangered species which comprise them, in their natural
state so that people may enjoy them for many years to
come.
Attractions:
- Adult Galapagos tortoises in captivity
- Center for raising young tortoises
- Van Straelen Exhibit Hall
- National Park Information Center
Isla Isabela (Albemarle)
Isabela was formed by five independent volcanoes that
came together and is the largest (4588 km²) of the
islands, and has the highest elevation as well (Wolf,
1677m). Inhabited on its southern tip, and once a penal
colony, Isabela is also characterized by its natural
diversity. The northwest coast of Isabela is a sanctuary
for whales. Ask your naturalist guide about the whale
watching program. Tagus Cove was the favorite site of
early pirates and whalers, and part of a historical
tradition (now discouraged) of graffiti, with its cliffs
filled with the names of the ships that visited
(including some famous vessels). A moderate hike up to
Darwin Lake in order to admire the vegetation and the
landscape, is worthwhile doing. Urvina Bay: This area,
located on the western coast of Isabela Island at the
foot of Alcedo Volcano, was uplifted from the sea in
1954. The site is relatively flat, distinguished by
corals and other marine formations which were lifted out
of the sea by the uplift. Flightless cormorants and
pelicans nest along the coast during their nesting
seasons.
Attractions:
-
- Land Iguana- Galápagos Penguin
- Galápagos Fur Seal
- Galápagos Sea Lion
- Galápagos Giant Tortoise
- Pacific Green Turtle
- Flightless Cormorant
- Greater Flamingo
- Vermillion Flycatcher
Isla Santiago (San Salvador)With a surface area of
585km², Santiago is the fourth larges island. Its main
volcano rises to a height of 907m. All vegetation zones,
from coastal to humid, are represented. However, the
vegetation of Santiago is altered due to the presence of
feral goats. Santiago is one of the best islands to see
the Galápagos fur seal and the hawk.
Attractions:
- Galapagos Penguin
Isla Floreana (Santa Maria)
An island with a gentle landscape dominated by parasitic
cones. If a central volcano ever existed, it has eroded,
long ago. This island, 640m high, was the first
inhabited island of the Archipelago. Still scarcely and
endowed with a bizarre collection of stories, Floreana,
beholds beautiful visitor's sites, one of the few, where
flamingos can be found. Further the island is home to
the Post Office Barrel (wooden barrel placed there in
the 18th century by the crew of a whaling ship) and the
Lava Cave.
Attractions:
- Red-Billed Tropic Bird
- Galapagos Sea Lion
- Greater Flamingo
Isla Fernandina (Narborough)Fernandina is located at
the west end of the archipelago. The colossal shield of
Fernandina Volcano, reaches 1,494 m and is still very
active. The island has a surface area of 643km² and is
one of the most pristine areas of the Galápagos. Its
vegetation, typical of the arid zone, is concentrated in
"kipukas" (small areas left untouched by recent lava).
Fernandina is an impressive island, with a broad variety
of wildlife and volcanic features. Punta Espinosa, at
the northeast coast of the island is the only area open
to visitors and is formed by lava and sand, and harbors
one of the largest communities of marine iguanas, as
well as sea lions and flightless cormorants.
Attractions:
- Marine Iguana
- Flightless Cormorant
- Galapagos Sea Lion
Isla Genovesa (Tower)
The only of the northern islands of the Archipelago open
to visitors. This 14 km² island is the tip of a
submerged shield volcano, that rises 76m above the sea
level. Its central crater is filled with salt water.
Ocean erosion created the Darwin-Bay on the southern
slope. Genovesa is a very dry island, with a
characteristic vegetation. Because of its isolated
position with respect to the rest of the Archipelago,
Genovesa lack reptiles, except for the marine iguanas.
However, it is a paradise for sea birds, including large
colonies of the red-footed boobies and great frigate
birds.
Attractions:
- Masked Booby
- Red-Footed Booby
- Frigate Birds
- Red-Billed Tropic Bird
- Swallow-Tailed Gull
- Marine Iguana
- Galapagos Fur Seal
Isla Santa Fe (Barrington)This 24km² island is the
result of an uplifting that rose the sea floor 259m
above the sea level. The vegetation of the island is
characterized by the presence of the larges species of
the giant opuntia cactus. Two animal species highlight
this island: The Santa Fe land iguana and the Galápagos
rice rat.
Attractions:
- Land Iguana
- Galapagos Sea Lion
Isla San Cristóbal (Chatham)
The southwestern half of this 558km² island is
inhabited, and is formed by an extinct volcano. This
part is characterized by lush vegetation and abundant
water (including fresh water lakes). The highest point
reaches 730m. The other half of the island, the
northeastern part, contrasts dramatically, with flat,
dry and harsh environments. San Cristóbal was colonized
during the 1860s, when Puerto Baquerizo Moreno was
founded. In 1888 Manuel Cobos founded El Progreso, a
sugar cane plantation. In 1904, Cobos was murdered by
one of his workers but his descendants still live on the
island.
Attractions:
- Blue-Footed Booby
- Frigate Birds
- Galapagos Sea Lion
- Galapagos Giant Tortoise
Isla Española (Hood)A relatively flat island (206m in
altitude). Its rocks are among the oldest in the
Archipelago. Some geologists describe the 60km² island
as the remains of an eroded archaic volcano. The
vegetation corresponds to arid and transition zones. The
west point of Española is one of the most spectacular
sites of the Galápagos, with diverse and interesting
wildlife.
Attractions:
- Waved Albatross
- Red-Billed Tropic Bird
- Swallow-Tailed Gull
- Masked Booby
- Blue-Footed Booby
- Galápagos Sea Lion
- Marine Iguana
How to get there
Flying to the Galápagos is recommended. Tame Airline and
AeroGal have daily flights on the routes Quito -
Guayaquil - Galápagos and vice versa. The airplane lands
on the Baltra Island airport, separated from the Santa
Cruz Island by the Canal of Itabaca. Flights will be
arranged by the school. This way we can assure you a
enjoyable journey without worrying about reservations
and reconfirmations. A school staff member will meet you
at the airport in Baltra and take you to Puerto Ayora.
Every visitor has to pay a National Park Tax of US$
100.--, payable only in US$ cash. It is paid on arrival,
or at Quito or Guayaquil airports on request.
Climate
Marine currents and weather despite their tropical
location, the islands are surrounded by relatively cold
waters brought northwards by the Humboldt Current. The
Galápagos has two main seasons, each of which has an
effect on the flora and fauna: the warm and wet season
from January to June and the cold and dry (garúa)
season, from July to December. During the garúa season,
cooler waters from the Humboldt Current are driven to
the Galápagos by the southeast trade winds, with an
average sea temperature of 22ºC (71ºF).
As a result, there is warm tropical air passing over
cool water. The moisture evaporating from the sea is
concentrated in an inversion layer (300 to 600 m above
sea level) and the higher parts of the islands, which
intercept this layer, receive precipitation in the form
of garúa (mist rain). While lowland areas remain dry
though cool. During the warm season the southeast trade
winds diminish in strength and warmer waters from the
Panama Basin flow through the islands. The average sea
temperature rises to 25º C (77º F). Warmer waters cause
the cool season inversion layer to break up, and
Galápagos experience a more typical tropical climate
with blue skies and occasionally heavy showers. In some
years, the flow of warm water is much greater than
normal, and an "El Niño" year results. Surface water
temperatures are higher and rainfall can increase
greatly. Life on land blossoms but seabirds and sea
life, which depend on the more productive, cooler
waters, may experience dramatic breeding failures.
Daytime clothing should be lightweight. At night,
however, particularly at sea and at higher altitudes,
temperatures fall below 15°C and warm clothing is
required. Boots and shoes soon wear out on the lava
terrain. The sea is cold July-Oct; underwater visibility
is best Jan-March. Sept is the low point in the
meteorological year.
What to bring
Take note of the weather conditions as discussed above
relative to the time of year you will be traveling. In
any case, dress is casual and informal and you should
bring shorts; long trousers, long and short sleeve
lightweight shirts; a windbreaker and light sweater;
walking shoes or tennis shoes and bathing suit. Also
remember to bring your passport; a lockable suitcase or
backpack; sunglasses with strap; wide brimmed hat;
sunscreen/ suntan lotion/ chap stick; camera (with UV
and/or polarizing filter); film (64 and 100 ASA work
best) - the use of one 36 exposure film per day is not
uncommon; a day pack; seasickness medication; a 1litre
water bottle and snorkeling equipment if you have it.
Rules of the Galápagos National ParkOn the islands,
groups of no more than 15 visitors are led by a
naturalist certified by the Galápagos National Park
Service. With this policy it is intended to reduce the
impact on the fragile ecosystems while providing a sense
of solitude and privacy on the Islands. Don't take
anything from the islands, but photographs, and leave
only your footprints.
- Please do not disturb or remove any native
plant, rock, or animal.
- Please be careful not to transport any live
material to the islands or from island to island.
Each one has its unique fauna and flora and
introductions can quickly destroy their balance.
- Please do not touch or handle animals. Even the
fearless animals of the Galápagos require a certain
distance, and do not like to be encroached upon.
Please respect this distance as attempting to touch
them will disturb them.
- Please do not feed the animals. This can be
dangerous to you and it will also affect the social
structure and natural behavior of the animals.
- Please do not startle of chase any animal from
its resting or nesting spot.
- Please stay on the marked trails. Many people
visit the islands and it is important that people do
not damage vegetation or cause erosion.
- Please do not leave, or throw any litter over
board.
- Please do not buy any souvenirs made from native
Galápagos precuts, (except for wood) as this
encourages the exploitation of these resources.
Especially do not buy sea lion teeth, black coral,
or tortoise/turtle shell products.
- Do not smoke on the islands.
- Do not hesitate to show your conservationist
attitude.
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