Touring The Galapagos Islands in Ecuador

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Thanks to Darwin's The Voyage Of The Beagle, the Galapagos Islands are synonymous with wildlife. Anyone that has visited the islands will tell you, though, that pictures and words cannot prepare even seasoned travelers for the unique experience offered by this equatorial paradise. Few places in the world offer such an up-close, unspoiled interaction with such a vast variety of land and sea life.

My Galapagos Islands adventure started on the island of Santa Cruz. Our tour group was eager to see the famous giant tortoise Lonesome George. George passed in 2012 but was taxidermied and returned to the island where he serves as a symbol of hope. Some of his distant relatives still roam the island freely, and we were able to get pictures of them eating in their natural habitat before returning to the tour boat and our own dinner and welcome cocktails. We retired for the night to start the first day of the tour well-rested.

Each day of the tour followed a similar schedule. We anchored early to enjoy the islands on foot before the temperature got too high. This time was ideal for birdwatching and identifying the local floral and fauna. The island landscape is almost as diverse as the life it supports, making it a pleasant but challenging hike. Sometimes it felt like I walked straight out of the desert and into the jungle.

Afternoons were reserved for snorkeling, which I never tired of. The life above the water is beautiful, but the life underwater is incomparable. The only other snorkeling experience that came close was the Great Barrier Reef. If you snorkel in the Galapagos Islands, bring an underwater camera.

I could fill pages with everything I saw, but here are my favorite experiences from the islands:


• Spotting a blue-footed booby bird.
• Swimming with both sea lions and sea turtles.
• Watching the sea lions hunt the fish that followed our boat.
• Watching sharks (from a safe distance).
• Getting close to manta rays and eagle rays.
• Spotting an octopus that was camouflaged, though I wasn't fast enough to get its picture.
• Counting the famous sea turtles all over the islands.
• Photographing starfish in every color of the rainbow.
• Watching dolphins jump and play at night thanks to the luminescent algae.


Tour Details

This was just one in a string of Galapagos Island tours I have taken by Gap Adventures. Every Galapagos tour I've taken has been excellent, and the Galapagos Islands were obviously no exception. Our boat was clean and well-appointed with big, comfortable rooms and reliable housekeeping. You don't take these tours for the food, but it's always good, and they even served wine on the last night. Because you work up an appetite on these adventures, they serve snacks twice a day. I was surprised by how much I looked forward to these breaks. Our guide was also a consummate professional with an excellent grasp of English.

Because I'm obviously a fan of Gap, you might question my ability to be unbiased. To be fair, I asked the others in my tour group how they felt about the experience. Many had booked the tour on the advice of enthusiastic friends (like me). Fortunately, none of them were disappointed by their own experience. In fact, when I asked if any of them would travel with Gap Adventures again, they all said they would.

To make my review of the Galapagos Islands any longer would be redundant. After all, there are only so many different ways that I can say that something is "breathtaking" or "gorgeous." Everything I saw truly was breathtaking, but even that word doesn't do the islands justice. Enjoy the pictures; they're just a glimpse of the beauty that awaits in the Galapagos Islands.

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