Exploring the Galapagos Islands

I don’t have a bucket list, per se, I’ve just been trying to see as much of the world as is possible while I am still able to travel.  However, the Galapagos Islands is one of those places that is a must-see for any world traveler, and maybe even for those who have more limited ambitions.  While exploring the Canadian Arctic on the Silversea Endeavour last summer, Scott and I met some people who had been to the Galapagos and recommended it highly.  One man in particular, said that we should book a two-week expedition on Silversea.  The more we considered the possibilities, the more enthusiastic we became.  Before disembarking the Endeavour, we booked a Galapagos expedition on the sister ship, Silversea Origin.  

The Origin was built specifically for use in the Galapagos and was put into service in 2020.  Throughout the year, it sails two itineraries in the Galapagos Islands:  a North-Central route and a Western route.  Having heard from our Endeavour friend that we would see different islands and different animals on the two routes, we elected to do both as back-to-back expeditions. 

A map of our expeditions, from my sketchbook.  The numbers are the order of our stops.

Most of us probably know of the Galapagos from high school science courses that included a segment on Charles Darwin’s theories expounded in “Origin of the Species.”  A primary source of material for his theories came from the months he spent in the Galapagos Islands in the early 1800s.  This group of 19 islands is located about 650 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.  The islands straddle the equator with some in the northern hemisphere and some in the southern hemisphere.  This means that there is little temperature variation and there are no seasons as most of us know them.  The Galapagueños (people from the islands) report two seasons:  wet and dry.  We visited in December, the transition month between seasons and the time when temperatures are rising.  They ranged from the mid-60s to the mid-70s throughout our two weeks in the islands.  

The Galapagos Islands are buffeted by three main ocean currents—one from the South Pacific, one from Panama, and one that comes up the coast of Chile from Antarctica.  The currents have brought animal and plant species from those parts of the world.  The transplants have adapted in unique ways to their environment, and over millions of years have evolved into species that exist nowhere else in the world.  

So, if you travel to the Galapagos Islands, what can you expect to see?  Most people know of the giant tortoises and iguanas, others may have seen photos of blue-footed boobies, and still others might be aware that there are penguins and flamingos in the Galapagos Islands.  (There are photos of these to come, I promise.)  The islands are volcanic; in fact, there continue to be relatively frequent eruptions on one island or another.  Hiking on some of the “younger” islands is quite challenging as they are covered with lava rocks.  

There are four inhabited islands (Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Isabela, and Floreana), and the terrain on these is greener and less challenging; however, the biggest challenge for the people living in the Galapagos is fresh water.  Only two of the islands have fresh water sources; the others must rely on desalination processes to make the abundant ocean waters that surround them drinkable.

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Our trip began and ended in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.  Quito was founded in 1534 and is populated by indigenous peoples and those of Spanish descent.  The founding of Quito was being celebrated while we were there, so things were a bit chaotic in the city.  Due to the celebratory crowds, we were unable to get into Old Town, which was the first recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The city sits in a valley at 9,350 feet elevation, surrounded by volcanic mountains.  

Before flying to the Galapagos island of San Cristobal, we had a free day in Quito.  Scott and I walked to a very large park in morning and went on an included excursion in the afternoon. The weather was perfect, about 70 and sunny.  Our afternoon expedition included a chocolate and spirits tasting.  Did you know that Ecuador produces most of the world’s high quality cacao beans?  We sampled five varieties, paired with wine, rum, and Misqui—an agave-based spirit akin to tequila or mezcal.  All were delicious.  Ecuadoran chocolate has a very smooth taste that requires no sugar.  The ones we sampled were sweetened lightly with fruits and none had the bitter taste of most 80% chocolates available in the United States.

The next morning, we flew on a plane chartered by Silversea to the island and town of San Cristobal.  While waiting our turn to travel by Zodiac (a rubber inflatable boat) to our ship, we enjoyed watching the sea lions cavort in the bay and sun on the beach below.

The Silversea Origin carries 100 passengers, the maximum allowed by a law enacted in the 1990s that provides a variety of protections to the Galapagos Islands.  For example, all ship’s crew and expedition leaders (guides) must be from the Galapagos.  There are some limited exceptions allowed, but only Ecuadoreans can be hired.  The islands (except for the inhabited towns or settlements) are also designated as a national park, and all of our expedition leaders wore park ranger uniforms.

And now, for those promised photos of the animals found on the Galapagos Islands.  Both of our itineraries provided ample opportunities for bird watching.  There are three different varieties of boobies.  We started our explorations on the island of Genovesa, also known as Bird Island.  This is the only island on which to see Red-footed boobies.  These birds always have red feet, but the color of their plumage can vary.  The females typically nest in trees or shrubs.  When we visited in December, we saw several females sitting on nests but only glimpsed a few chicks.

We saw lots of Nazca boobies on this island and others.  They nest on the ground and usually lay two eggs. The first chick to hatch typically kills the smaller weaker second chick.  Note in the top left photo below a newly hatched chick on the left and the all but abandoned egg on the right.  In a very rare occurrence, both of the chicks in the top right photo have survived, but are fighting while mom looks on.  The chicks are fluffy and  cottony.  They begin to molt at about three months.

The most common species is the Blue-footed booby.   Look closely at the photo of the pair of Blue-footed boobies. The sexes have different eyes and different feet. The females have royal blue feet and larger eyes. The males’ feet are more turquoise.  Note also the blue bills which are pointed like an arrow. Boobies hit the water at 60 mph and stab fish. 

We saw Galapagos penguins on several of the western islands. They are solitary creatures, and nest inside lava tubes.  Galapagos penguins are the smallest penguins, are the only ones that can be found north of the equator, and do not migrate.  According to information our guides shared, El Niño events have a detrimental impact on these birds.  Due to the severe 1983 El Niño, nearly 70% of the Galapagos penguin population died.

Swallow-tailed gulls (top photos below) are notable for the red-rings around their eyes. These birds mate for life. After the chicks have flown, the females migrate to Chile and the males to the Caribbean. Then they return to the same place on the same day.

We saw three Short-eared owls (bottom photos above). They hunt during the day and are especially fond of kestrels.  Barn owls are also on the island, but they are nocturnal hunters so we didn’t see any of them.

Another common Galapagos bird is the Great Frigatebird. The males have red pouches that inflate as part of their mating ritual.  One of the photos shows two males fighting.  Frigatebirds are easy to identify when they are flying as they have forked tails.  The chicks are fuzzy-headed and stay in trees or bushes until they are old enough to take flight.

Flightless cormorants are a species that has evolved in the Galapagos.  Since they have no predators and spend most of their time swimming in search of food, they have no need to fly away.  Big wings inhibit underwater propulsion, so smaller wings are more adaptive.

The Waved albatross is the largest bird in the Galapagos with a wingspand of about seven feet.  They migrate to the island of Espanola where they breed.   They nest in the ground and communicate by touching beaks.  Once the chicks are able to fly, the entire flock migrates to Chile and Peru.

Darwin’s work focused primarily on finches, and mockingbirds which he confused with finches.  Here are some photos of other birds:  Great blue herons, finches, mockingbirds, small shore birds, a hawk, and Brown pelicans.

The Galapagos islands are home to a small population of American flamingos.  We looked for them in a couple of locations without luck.  Then on the last morning of our trip, our small group happened upon one.  We watched it for quite a while as it made its way across a shallow body of water and took many, many photos.  Here are a few of them.

 We saw lots of species with new babies, including the abundant sea lions.  Sea lions differ from seals in that they have external ears.  We often saw babies alone or in groups.  There were about six young ones frolicking in one pool (top left photo) while their mothers were off finding food.  An old male was nearby.  His neck was covered in wounds, probably from defending his territory.

Sally Lightfoot crabs are plentiful and very colorful. They serve an important ecological function of cleaning debris from the rocks.  According to one of our expedition leaders, her family used to catch and eat the crabs, but they are no longer able to do so because the crabs are now a protected species.

We saw lots of iguanas, both marine and land varieties.  A group of iguanas is called “a mess,” and that is exactly what a bunch of them looks like.  It was sometimes hard to tell iguanas from lava where they warm themselves on the rocks and each other after swimming in the cold water.  The main food source for Marine iguanas is algae.  The largest Marine iguanas live on San Isabela Island. We watched one of these big males trying to mount a female, who escaped into the water. Then he went after another male. They had quite a tussle before the loser went over the edge.

The largest inhabited island is Santa Cruz.  There is an airport here and a very busy harbor for tour boats.  The highlands of Santa Cruz are quite verdant and farming was the mainstay of the island’s economy until tourism overtook it.  We visited a farm owned by a man who came to Santa Cruz as a child.  His family left the Ecuadoran highlands when their land was covered by lava from a volcanic eruption.  His main crop now is sugar cane.  We learned how the juice was traditionally extracted from the cane.  We sampled the cane juice and the moonshine it is distilled into. When boiled, the sugar cane juice makes molasses which the woman in the photo is turning into toffee.

On our second trip to the Santa Cruz highlands, we hiked through a lava tube, which is something like a cave.  A lava tube is formed when hot magma meets air which cools off the top and forms a crust.  The flowing lava continues down the mountain leaving a tube, or series of tubes. A sink hole is left when magma boils but does not flow. When the activity stops, the earth sinks.  (That’s my very unscientific explanation of both phenomena.)

The Santa Cruz highlands are one home of Giant tortoises.  When the wet season begins in January or February they move down to the low lands where they breed.  These tortoises can live 150 or more years and can weigh as much as 700 pounds. There is no parenting of tortoises. If the babies survive to five years or so, they make their way up to the highlands and join the annual migrations up and down.  (And Giant tortoise turds are as big as my foot!)

The Giant Tortoises were a favorite food of the pirates and whalers who frequented the islands in the 1800s.  Many species are now endangered or extinct.  Several breeding centers focused on rebuilding native tortoise populations have been established, one of which is on Santa Cruz Island.  One species which nearly died out was the Longneck Tortoise.  In an example of mutual adaptation, the prickly pear cactus, the favored food of these tortoises, grew tall to get out of the way of the tortoises and the tortoises developed long necks to reach the cactus.

Another interesting fact I learned here is that the sex is not determined at conception but toward the end of the incubation period of the egg.  Warmer temperatures produce females and lower temperatures lead to males (“hot chicks and cool dudes”). The breeding center keeps eggs at a certain temperature depending on whether they want to hatch males or females.

Young tortoises are kept in separate pens, depending upon their age.  One photo shows a group of two year olds under a rock.  Three to five year olds are put into a more natural environment to learn how to negotiate rocks and find food.

Sea turtle are difficult to spot as they spend most of their lives in the water. They come onto land to bury eggs in the dunes, about 600 at a time!  After the exhausting work of laying so many eggs, the females need to rest.  The “rocks” behind me in the beach photo are actually resting sea turtles.  While in a Zodiac one day, we witnessed a mating ritual.  One or more males mount the female, who tolerates it for awhile, they escapes to get a breath.  

We both did some snorkeling—Scott more than me.  The water was cold—between 64 and 72 degrees—and the ship provided us with short wetsuits, which helped some.  We did not get good underwater photographs, so the ones here were taken by the ship’s professional photographer, Jorge.  The black object in the top right photo is an octopus swimming.

On Bartolome Island, we hiked up a volcanic cone.  Plants are beginning to grow in the volcanic soil on this relatively young island.  From the peak, we could see across to Buccaneer Cove on Santiago Island, which was where (according to our guide) Darwin first experienced the Galapagos Islands.  

We also visited the island of Floreana, one of two islands in the Galapagos chain with a fresh water source.  There was a settlement here at one time (Norwegians who hoped to process tuna), and it was a favorite spot for pirates and sailors.  The barrel serves as a post box. The tradition dates from the 1789 when pirates hid out in these islands. Leave a letter here and take one from the stacks on the board to deliver to someone who lives near you. I left a postcard and found one with an Arizona address to take home to mail.  We had hoped to see flamingos here, but they evidently decided to be elsewhere.  (Our postcard was delivered to us during the Christmas holidays by a couple visiting relatives in Mesa.  Unfortunately, we weren’t home but they left our card with a note.)

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So, if you are planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands, what do I recommend?  If you can afford it, I highly recommend the trip we booked on the Silver Origin.  Why?  First, I recommend doing an ocean-based rather than a land-based trip.  We learned that about 60% of the visitors to the Galapagos Islands book land-based trips.  In discussing pros and cons of land vs. ship trips with two women we met on the way home, we were glad we had chosen the trip we had.  The land-based trips can visit only the four inhabited islands, where accommodations were available.  The women we talked to had missed several of our favorite uninhabited sites, reached by way of those Zodiacs.  The major benefit of their land-based trip was exposure to the people, culture, and cuisine of the islands.  We missed out on some of that by being on a ship.  However, we had many opportunities to learn about the people and culture from our guides and the on-board lectures, and our Ecuadoran chef prepared delicious traditional dishes using local ingredients. 

An option to the Silversea Origin are the National Geographic/ Lindblad ships.  According to our research, however, their ship’s staterooms are smaller and less luxurious than those on the Origin and their prices were higher.  Celebrity operates a ship in the Galapagos, the Flora, that is nearly identical to the Origin, and offers two different one-week itineraries.  

While there are many ships and tour providers operating in the Galapagos, their itineraries are also controlled such that only one ship can visit a given island or section of an island at a time, so that we rarely saw other tourists on our expeditions.  Many of the other ships are small, carrying as few as sixteen passengers.  While that would provide a small-group experience, the waters around the islands can be a bit rough (all those ocean currents and trade winds), so we were glad to be on a more substantial ship.  We were always divided into small groups for our expeditions, since the Zodiacs we rode in could only accommodate a maximum of twelve people.

Since we did two one-week itineraries, I can say that I preferred the one that included visits to the islands of Genovesa and Espanola.  Genovesa is the only place to see Red footed boobies, and Espanola is where the Waved albatross nests.  We saw most of the other species on the islands common to the two itineraries.  Regardless of how you decide to travel and what islands you visit, I guarantee that a trip to the Galapagos will be an experience like no other.   And, in addition to the unique animal and plant species, the sunsets are often spectacular.