Trip 03 - Galapagos

Islands of Discovery

The Islands where the inspiration for Charles Darwin to write his book "Origin of Species" published in 1859, after he visited and studied the island chain in the 1830's. The book was controversial because it contradicted the religous beliefs that underlay the then current theories of biology.

Use the map controls to zoom in on the Map Pins and click on them to discover additional infromation.

A to Z of the Galapagos

From A to Z a list of the highlights of our trip to the Galapagos Islands

A is for....

Tiny Travel TV

Islands of Discovery

Watch our adventure continue with our visit to these unique group of islands.

View Here

Complete Video now Available

Trip Schedule

21 Sept 2008 - 25 Sept 2008

Day 1 Fly from Quito to Baltra and transfer to Santa

Cruz Island.

Day 2 Sail south to Santa Fe.

Day 3 Sail to Espanola.

Day 4 Visit Santa Maria.

Day 5 Sail to Santa Cruz and visit the Darwin Centre

before returning to Quito.

21st Sept 2008 - Santa Cruz Islands

What an amazing place this group of islands were. From the moment we arrived we were treated to an abundance of animals, birds and strange environments. The variety of the plant life and animals on each island we visited each contrasted from the previous. Our transport was the motor yacht 'Aida Maria' which was comfortable and quite luxurious. Our first visit was a forty minutes cruise from Baltra Island to Santa Cruz Island for a

beach landing using the yachts small dinghy. Our guide, Rueben, led us along the beach showing us the Flamingo in the lagoon and the small crabs that share the beach and rocks with the Iguanas.

22nd Sept 2008 - Santa Fe Island

Santa Fe Island lies south of Santa Cruz and we spent the morning walking around this baron but strangely beautiful island. The orange and yellow colours of the vegetation in stark contrast to the grey rock. Here large numbers of sea lions are found just basking on the rocks with large brightly coloured crabs amongst them. Along the cliff edge lots of gulls and frigate birds nest, whilst land iguanas sleep amongst the vegetation.

23rd Sept 2008 - Espanola Island

During the night the yacht made its way across the open waters south to Espanola Island. I had one of the best experiences whilst snorkelling around the rocky out crop. A sea lion decided it wanted to swim with the group and was very friendly to the point of swimming close and blowing bubbles into my face before dashing off into the distance. It repeated this many times whilst we swam around. It was amazing to see these creature in the sea instead of just waddling around on the beaches.

Tiny's Top Tips

1. Ensure you take the correct type of travel plug adaptor. I didn't and had to ask to use one from one of the other passengers.

2. Take plenty of travel pills, they helped me to enjoy the cruise and I never once felt sick.

3. Also have a supply of probiotic tablets, they helped to keep my digestion in check.

4. Make sure that the country you are visiting accept travellers cheques. We had trouble exchanging ours in Quito and on the Galapagos.

5. Buy a standard sink plug. Many hotels dont have them.

Galapagos Islands

The group of islands lie on the equator, six hundred miles from the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are home to various species of birds, animals and plants with many of them being found nowhere else in the world. Even individual islands have their own unique exclusive species that are not found on any of the other part of the archipelago.

24th Sept 2008 - Santa Maria Island.

Again the yacht sailed during the night to reach the island so that we could go walking. From the small beach we heading up volcanic rocks to visit a lava tunnel. The climb down into the tunnel was tricky, using a rickety wooden stair case. Inside the tunnel opened out into a large cavern. From here we walked down to another beach where sea turtles were swimming in the swell of the sea. On the rocky shore large numbers of crabs and iguana sat soaking up the heat from the sun. That afternoon the yacht sailed to Devils Crown, an extinct volcano where we were to go snorkelling again. This was the toughest because of the strong current that sweeps through the centre of the crater top. Again it was a fantastic experience swimming with large shoals of fish, the odd shark and the ray laying on the bottom amoungst the coral. Late afternoon the yacht sailed to Santa Cruz island where we spent the evening walking around the tourist shops and drinking in one of the local bars.

25th Sept 2008 - The Darwin Centre.

The Darwin Centre was set up to help the Giant Tortoise population to survive the threat of extinction. Here research and controlled breeding of the tortoises takes place. It was early morning and we had the place to ourselves. We where allowed to walk amongst the captive tortoises. They are very shy creatures and would disappear into their shells when approached. Even though in captivity their surroundings looked very natural with rocks and vegetation designed into their living areas.