Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - Geodyssey

The Galápagos Islands ê GUIDE
The islands
All the islands in the Galápagos are
volcanic, some actively so, and their
scenery is correspondingly varied and
often dramatic. Each has its own ecologies
supporting different species: a Galápagos
guidebook is essential to cover the details of
so much diversity.
Flights from the mainland arrive at airstrips
at either Baltra or San Cristóbal. All cruises
start at these entry points or at Puerto Ayora,
reached by road from Baltra.
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is the hub of the Galápagos, with
the largest town, Puerto Ayora, on its south
coast.
Travelling from the airstrip at Baltra Island
to join a yacht moored at Puerto Ayora you
travel across the scrubby interior, passing
between The Twins–two large sink holes.
The Charles Darwin Research Station and
its tortoise conservation and breeding centre
are just outside Puerto Ayora.
At Black Turtle Cove, small boats are
paddled in a peaceful lagoon fringed with
mangroves where pacific green turtles
breed between December and April and
schools of golden rays and spotted eagle
rays fly in formation through the water. In
contrast, Turtle Beach is a white sand beach:
brown pelicans nest here and flamingos are
sometimes seen.
North Seymour island, just to the north of
Baltra, has colonies of blue-footed boobies,
swallow-tailed gulls and magnificent frigate
birds.
South Plaza is another island just off Santa
Cruz with a shoreline packed with life: sea
lions, land iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls,
opuntia cactus and vegetation that changes
colour with the season.
San Cristóbal
San Cristóbal, supports another small town–
Puerto Moreno. Cerro Brujo offers a long
white sand beach, excellent for swimming
and snorkelling, plus sea lions, pelicans
and boobies. All three species of booby can
usually be found at Punta Pitt.
Just off the north shore, the rocks of Léon
Dormida resemble a sleeping lion, and are
frequented by tropicbirds, frigatebirds and
boobies.
Española
The southernmost island boasts large nesting
colonies of blue-footed and Nazca boobies,
a colony of endemic marine iguanas, the
fabulously chunky waved albatross (one of the
heaviest sea birds weighing in at an average
9lbs with a wingspan of 16ft) here from
April to December, and spectacular cliffs,
all reached from Punta Suarez. There are sea
lions, Galápagos doves and Darwin’s finches.
The white sands of Gardner Bay are
favoured by sunbathing sea lions, by turtles as
a nesting beach, and are home to an endemic
mockingbird.
Floreana
Sands made green by crystals of olivine, a
semiprecious stone, greet you as you land at
Punta Cormorant. A short walk leads to a
view over a large lagoon which is home to the
archipelago’s largest population of flamingos,
plus other waders.
Between December and May turtles nest on
a white sand beach a short walk away.
Nearby is Devil’s Crown rock, a sunken
cone with fabulous snorkelling.
In Post Office Bay, a letter left in a barrel
originally placed here in 1793 would be
picked out and delivered to its address by
sailors going that way: a tradition maintained
to this day by passing travellers.
Isabela
The largest island, with five of the biggest
volcanoes. Mostly barren, but there are
some excellent sites to visit around its coast.
Darwin’s Lake, a fine crater lake, and a volcano
of the same name are accessible from the
impressive natural harbour of Tagus Cove
where passing mariners have carved their
names since Victorian times.
Trails from nearby Urvina Bay offer good
prospects of seeing giant tortoises in the wild,
plus large colourful land iguanas and flightless
cormorants.
At Elizabeth Bay, accessible only by panga,
a lagoon sheltered by mangroves is home
to turtles, rays, sea lions and penguins.
Punta Moreno has spectacular views of
volcanoes and impressive lava flows. Its
pristine landscape provides a textbook lesson
in early colonisation by pioneer species.
Brackish lagoons are filled with life, including
dragonflies, gallinules, ducks and very tame
flamingos. Many sea birds also visit.
The small settlement at Puerto Villamil
has a tortoise captive breeding centre, and
flamingos in the nearby lagoon; an excursion
from here leads to Sierra Negra–the second
largest crater in the world after Ngorongoro.
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