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Published: February 25th 2016
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Guayaquil
It's all in the name The Galapagos Islands, Darwin and evolution are closely connected in most people’s minds. The truth, however, is far more mundane. The breeding of dogs by English dog-breeders and pigeons were what inspired Darwin. The Galapagos and its wildlife on the other hand hardly features in his book, ‘The Origin of Species’. In fact when Darwin came to the Galapagos he was far more interested in its geology than its wildlife. Though presumably he became more interested in its wildlife once he was there. You can hardly not become more interested in its wildlife. He seems to have ridden on the back of one of the giant tortoises, so clearly he had a bit of fun while on the islands.
Evolution also had very little to do with me coming to the Galapagos, and neither did geology. My mum and I came for the wildlife, though we didn’t ride on any tortoise’s back, which is a shame. They don’t allow it anymore. Boohoo!
Darwin came by boat as we all know. We came by bus, and plane. A long 27 hour bus from Lima to Guayaquil. A bus ride that almost did my mother in. It seems we haven’t evolved
Guayaquil
Las Penas district in Guayaquil to find 27 hour bus rides comfortable. To recover from the ride, we stayed in Guayaquil for two days. Guayaquil isn’t as unpleasant as many people make it out to be. For one it has a park full of iguanas. What more do you want from a city? You can’t diss a town that has an iguana park.
After two days my mum had… not really recovered, but we had our flight so there was nothing for it but to go. She gritted her teeth and on we went. And so we arrived in the famed Galapagos Islands, with a bit of stomach trouble and a bit of pain in the hips. The first was inflicting both of us, the second only my mother. None of this deterred us to make the most of it though.
It is hard not to be amazed by the wildlife. It is so abundant and so tame. Sea-lions laze on the benches, white tipped reef sharks swim around the pier, finches try to steal your food while you have dinner, while sea-iguanas catch the sun on the sidewalks or beaches, and that is just in Puerto Ayora, the main town on the
Guayaquil
A street in Las Penas Galapagos. Go diving, or if you are lucky while snorkeling, and you will encounter hammerhead sharks, and you are certain to spot various rays, huge schools of fish, more sharks, loads of starfish, and pacific green turtles. And none of them are particularly shy. On land there are the giant tortoises, land iguanas, and the birds, of which the blue footed boobies are probably the most photographed.
I went diving and I did see those hammerheads, a whole bunch of them. I got so excited by it that by the time the dive was finished I had actually exhausted my tank. We went snorkeling and saw eagle rays, spotted rays, a manta ray, white tipped reef sharks, a Galapagos shark, and more. I took pictures of those blue-footed boobies, just like everybody else. We watched the pelicans wait for some innards at the fish-market, while a sea-lion strategically had placed itself right below the counter where they cut the fish up. Smart! We patiently waited for a giant tortoise to move… his neck! It seemed a lot of trouble for him or her. Lazy bugger. And we sweated a lot as well. It was rather hot.
After three
Guayaquil
View of the Malecon from Las Penas days on Santa Cruz Island we left for Isabella Island. It is quieter and in some ways even more pristine. As we got off the boat and walked down the pier I spotted two different rays, a Galapagos penguin darting after some fish, and a sea-lion. All within the space of two minutes. As always the sea-lions had taken all the benches, leaving the bemused tourists wondering where they could sit while waiting for a boat.
We found ourselves a hotel on the beach, from which we could watch pelicans and boobies plunge headfirst into the water in search for fish, while sipping a cold beer. Ah, life can be grand. A block inland flamingoes sifted through the salt water lake in search of food. A snorkeling tour further brought us in close proximity with dozens of green turtles, penguins, a school of golden rays, a sea-horse or two and the ubiquitous white-tipped reef sharks.
It was truly a dream come true. I saw more than I had expected and I left wanting more. We had a week, and we did a lot. But there is so much more to see and do. I shall return!
As
Guayaquil
And another view from Las Penas for our health problems. The stomachs settled down, as did my mum’s hips. The Galapagos can do wonders. It must be all the fresh air. The Galapagos obviously also sucked up a lot of our money, but it seems that is the price you pay for seeing how the world would look like if humans had never existed, or if we had not been the top predator on this planet and made full use of that power. Then again, if we had not been the top predator we would have died out. Because that is evolution baby!
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Rat on the Road
Kris and Kate
Amazing.
As an ex evolutionary biologist, I'm reading this green with envy. It looks amazing and the pictures are fab. Did you do it all land based and would you recommend this? Seems to be much cheaper (although still pricey) than doing a cruise.