8 Days in the Galapagos Islands: A Photo Tour
Filed Under: Ah, the Galapagos Islands. An iconic destination if there ever was one. But what’s it really all about?
Swimming with penguins and sea turtles, watching waved albatross couples do their mating jig, playing with sea lions, and laughing at boobies (birds, that is). And that’s just the beginning. This was not a typical week in our journey around the world. But then again, the Galapagos Islands are not your typical destination.
The Galapagos Islands are exotic, but not in a big game wildlife sort of way. You won’t find lions, tigers or bears. The area plays more like a sort of prehistoric petting zoo, without the petting. It’s startling how close the animals — an unusual collection of birds, reptiles, and mammals — allow visitors to approach.
We share photos from the eight days we spent around the Galapagos Islands aboard a boat appropriately named Eden. From the remote northern island of Genovesa to the southern island of Espanola, this is a taste of what we experienced.
Two Photographic Tours of the Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Islands: Highlights – for those of you seeking a quick show, click here for the documented photo set and here for the slideshow.
Galapagos Islands: The Full Story – for something more complete, click here for the documented photo set and here for the slideshow.
Humans and Nature: A Delicate Balance
The Galapagos Islands: “off the beaten path?” Well, not quite. When you visit, you are required to do so with a guide who ensures that you stay on well-worn paths throughout the islands. This is just one of the steps that the folks running the national park take to reduce the growing stress on the animals and their environment.
Although the islands absorb between 500-600 tourists per day in the high season, it’s not just the flow of visitors that affects the delicate Galapagos Island ecosystem. The natural population growth of large families already present on the islands and increased immigration of mainland Ecuadorans wanting to cash in on the tourism boom mean an increasing drain on natural resources, more garbage to dispose of and greater stress on the animals that call these islands home.
As our guide Jorge, a native Galapageno who has guided tourists for over 20 years, said, “If you stay on the path, there may still be something here in 20 years for other people to see.”
“Jorge, what about in 30 or 40 years?”
“I don’t know.”
Humans have inhabited the Galapagos Islands for almost 500 years. The conflict between their needs and the animals’ environment is nothing new.
But it now feels more fragile than ever.
Article Series - Galapagos Islands
- 8 Days in the Galapagos Islands: A Photo Tour
- Dating Advice from Galapagos Birds (or, When Charles Darwin Meets Cosmo)
August 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Beautiful photos as usual!
August 13th, 2009 at 8:56 am
WOW! Great pics. Must have been quite an experience.
August 13th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
The photos are amazing. I especially like the sandy seal.
What an experience!!
August 14th, 2009 at 11:19 am
LOVED THE PHOTOS! what a magic place. must have been amazing being there!
August 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
These photographs are AMAZING.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Wow! Those are great pictures. It’s amazing that they still allow travel and tourism to the Galapagos Islands because of environmental concerns. Hopefully tourists and travelers respect the environment and the animals. It would make for a great travel article.
August 19th, 2009 at 8:03 am
These pictures are really amazing.The tourists will definitely enjoy this spot. They should take at most care of the environment .
August 20th, 2009 at 8:57 am
The Galapagos Islands are the most incredible living museum of evolutionary changes, with a huge variety of exotic species (birds, land animals, plants) and landscapes not seen anywhere else.
August 20th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
These photos are excellent what an amazing way to capture your memories. You are so lucky to have these to remember your experiences by.
August 23rd, 2009 at 3:39 pm
It’s when you see such wonders that you better understand how amazing nature is.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Thanks everyone. It was quite an experience. The Galapagos Islands and the environmental impact of tourism (and population growth) on them has been and will likely continue to be a subject of ongoing discussion and disagreement. We hope a long-term strategy — one that protects the animals and their environment while allowing future generations to enjoy it all — emerges soon.
August 25th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Your photos brought up good memories. The Galapagos Islands were definitely one of our highlights. I know people say it’s a once in a lifetime destination, but I’d love to get to go a second time.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Wow – amazing. Just as gorgeous as I’d imagined it.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
@Theresa: We’d also like to return to the Galapagos Islands one day (likely, many years from now) during a different season to see other birds during the mating season. We’d also like to see Fernandina Island, one of the islands high on our list that we missed this time around. And, we’d love to do some scuba diving at Darwin and Wolf islands. Even with everything we did this time around, there’s still lots to explore.
@Andy: It is a pretty incredible place!
February 12th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
It’s a beautiful place. I have awesome experiences in Galapagos of excurtions, scuba diving, kayac, mountain bikes, climbing, trekking, surfing, boating. The species are inimaginables. There is a station for conservation called Charles Darwin. So, if you want to know what to do before visiting Galapagos I recommend you to visit this website, there is a lot of useful information about the country and Galapagos Islands.