A - Z of the Galapagos

A is for Albatross

Albatrosses are amongst the largest of flying birds. They pair for life and hatch one young bird each season. The young are left alone  for many hours during the day while the adult birds go in search of food.

B is for Blue Footed Boobie

The name 'boobie' comes from the Spanish term bobo, meaning 'dunce.'  It is not known why they have bright blue feet only that the males have a slighly lighter colouring.

C is for Crab

The brightly coloured Sally Lightfoot crabs can be seen tip toeing over the rocky outcrops by the shore scavaging for fresh and dead material to eat.

E is for Espanola Island

The island is also known as Hood Island, and is considered to be one of the oldest at approximatley four million years.  It is the most southerly island in the Archipelago and is home to Albratross and Blue Footed Boobies.

H is for Hawk

The Galapagos Hawk is a large bird endemic to the islands surviving on locust, centipedes, lava lizards, snakes and rodents.

L is for Las Bachas Beach

A section of beach on Santa Cruz Island where there are two rusty barges near to the sea turtle nesting area and a lake with pink flamingoes searching for food.

F is for Flamingo

The wadding bird can be seen in the lakes and lagoons searching for brine shrimp with their specially adapted beaks.  Their pink colouring comes from the carotene in their diet.

I is for Iguana

The land iguana obtains most of its moisture from the cactus that is found on the islands it inhabits.  The marine iguana has the ability to forage for food in the sea and can be found sun bathing on the rock shores.

O is for Opuntia Cactus

One of the largest species of giant cactus and grows on Santa Fe Island providing succulent nourishment for the Iguana that populates the island.

M is for Mockingbird

The Galapagos Mockingbird is endemic to the islands and shows no fear of man often approaching visitors looking for food.

N is for Names

All of the Islands originally had English names but the Ecuadorian Government gave them new Official Spanish names.

Baltra was South Seymour

Santa Fe was Barrington

Espanola was Hood

Floreana was Santa Maria

Q is for Quito

Captital city of Ecuador.

T is for Tortiose

The Giant Galapagos Tortoise is the largest living tortoise, native to seven islands of the Galapagos archipelago. Fully grown adults can weigh over 300 kilograms and measure 1.2 metres long.

R is for Ray

Lying camouflaged on the sea bed they are hard to spot whilst snorkeling above.

U is for Unique

Darwin discovered many unique species of finches on the islands and this was crucial in his development of the theory of natural selection explaining evolution, which was presented in book The Origin of Species.

P is for Post Office Bay

Since the 18th century whalers kept a wooden barrel that served as post office and now visitors can search through the postcards taking any home they can post on to the intended recipient.

S is for Sea Lion

Sea lions can be distinguished by the presence of the external ear and are found on most of the islands we visited.  The dominant male sea lion patrols the waters, barking, close to the beach protecting the rest from any preditors in the area.

The have a very long life expectancy estimaed to be over 150 years.  Populations have fallen dramatically because of hunting and the introduction of predators by humans since the seventeenth century.

W is for Whalers

Whalers killed and captured thousands of the Galapagos tortoises to extract their fat. The tortoises could also be kept on board ship as a means of providing fresh protein as these animals could survive for several months on board without any food or water.

X is for eXtinction

Many of the species of animal and plants are under constant threat of extinction but with the succesful work of the conservationists many are now thriving and being removed from the endangered species list.

V is for Volcanic Rock

The Galapagos Islands are very young in geologic terms and are formed from a volcanic hot spot located on the sea floor. The hot spot is an area where the magma is so hot it burns through the earth's crust accumilating, spreading and rising eventuallyto break the ocean surface.

Y is for Yacht

The Aida Maria is a tourist class yacht we boarded to sail around the group of islands.