Ecuador Adventures in the Galapagos Islands

Two travel companions and I recently visited Ecuador, a smaller country situated on the planet’s equator in South America. Below are photos and commentary about my Ecuador adventures in the Galápagos Islands. (See this companion post about the Andes Highlands.) Click the images to see larger versions.

Geology of the Galápagos

The Galápagos Islands are about 600 miles (965 kilometers) east of the coast of Ecuador. They are an archipelago created by a tectonic plate sliding over a stable mantle plume, otherwise known as a hotspot.

The plate bubbles up with volcanoes that emit lava, sourced from the planet’s core. When the plate moves eastward, the burned area cools off and becomes a permanent feature. Then, over time, pioneer plants and animals start taking advantage of the new above-ground real estate. Meanwhile, a new area of the Nazca tectonic plate is heating up. Four global ocean currents converge in the area, contributing to bringing plant and animal life to the islands. This is geologic time, so we’re talking about a 3- to 5-million-year process. See a longer explanation here.

Fun fact: I love science (good thing I write science fiction, eh?)! Case in point: This article from PhysOrg describes how evolution still going strong on the Galápagos.

Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration

One of the first questions I asked about a visit to the Galápagos Islands was whether a cruise would be compounding human-caused damage to precious ecological resources. The answer is two-fold.

First, Ecuador is not a rich country; preservation, conservation, and restoration efforts are expensive. Bluntly, tourists have money. Ecuador is working diligently to balance protection with visitors.

To that end, reputable cruise companies register with the local government and agree to abide by sustainable practices, including hiring professional, certified guides and limiting the number of people who can visit a given island on any day and for how long. Cruise operators request schedule slots months in advance, then plan their itineraries around that. Tourists sleep and eat on the cruise boat and visit the islands on an inflatable dinghy.

Giant Tortoises

You may have heard of Lonesome George, the last of his subspecies in the Galápagos. He was likely over 100 years old when he died in 2012, though it’s impossible to tell with tortoises. Each island’s subspecies is unique. Unfortunately for tortoises, human pirates and whaling crews found them tasty and nearly wiped them out. There are now two breeding centers on the islands that are attempting to save the other subspecies. Hampering the effort to repopulate the islands is the need to first restore the habitats, or the tortoises will starve. The program will likely take decades.

Fun fact per our guide: Famous naturalist Charles Darwin, who only spent 6 weeks in the Galápagos Islands, was very susceptible to seasickness and was perpetually ill during the entire 5 years he spent on the HMS Beagle. His detailed observations of Galápagos wrens helped solidify his thoughts on evolution.

Birds

Ecuador is justifiably renowned for birds. The Galápagos have some you may recognize, including blue-footed boobies, pelicans, and flamingos.

My favorite birds in the Galápagos are the frigates. From certain angles, they look like small pterodactyls. They like to follow ships, and will rest at night on the masts and rigging. Unlike boobies, pelicans, and egrets, frigates are not water birds. They make their living stealing the catch from birds that don’t mind getting wet. The Spanish common name for frigates is “lobos de mar,” which translates to “sea wolves” and means “pirates.”

Animals & Iguanas

Sea lions are found on most every island in the Galápagos. Various species of them appear up and down the western coasts of South and North America. They are protected by the people who live and visit their home. They are also hilarious as they interact with each other and humans. Therefore, sea lions sleep where they want; humans should respectfully walk around them.

The Galápagos have two types of iguanas: land and marine. The land iquanas are only on the oldest islands, where they have food to eat. The marine iguanas swim in the ocean and catch their food there, and climb onto the younger, more visibly volcanic islands to warm up in the sun. Like the sea lions, iguanas expect others to walk around them, as the iguanas were there first.

Tourists

One last photo of tourists. Almost every town in Ecuador has a charming 3-dimensional sign like this one. Some are high on a mountainside or fenced off, and some are like this one for the island of Isabela. If I ever go back to Ecuador, I will make sure to take a photos of them.

See also: A companion post about our visit to the Andes Highlands.