Lat: 00 53.7S / Long: 089 36.9W
Lat: 00 44.9S / Long: 090 18.4W
The Ecuadorian authorities
take their responsibility for this special wildlife sanctuary very seriously.
In an effort to protect the flora and fauna and to leave the islands as far as
possible in their natural state, there are lots of restrictions and without a
guide you don’t get to go anywhere. All land tours are carefully regulated.
For sailing yachts there
are still more regulations. Without government approval one cannot stop in the
archipelago. In order to cruise the islands, there are still more costly
regulations and throughout the entire period a guide of the national park has
to be on board.
Therefore we decided to call
at two ports and make daytrips with local excursion boats from there to the
various isles.
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| Excursion boat off the island of Bartolome |
The Galapagos Islands are the
result of primeval forces of nature, and are one of the most volcanic regions
in the world. Each island has its own character - some are covered with
forests, while others are rough and barren, others flatten down over time,
depending on the climate that effects them and others continuously sink deeper
in the sea.
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| View of the volcanic landscape from the peak of Bartolome Island |
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| The second largest volcano in the archipelago is the Sierra Negra on Isla Isabela. It is 1490 meters (almost one mile) high and covered with lush vegetation. Its volcanic crater with its nearly 10 kilometers (6,2 miles) in diameter is the biggest on the island and one of the largest volcanic craters in the world. |
Where volcanic hotspots
are at work, new islands arise continually; each year they are driven by inches
on migratory oceanic plates to the southeast, which means that the oldest
islands are to be found in the East and the youngest islands in the West.
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| The hills of Isla Cristobal |
The uniqueness of the
Galapagos is not only based upon the charismatic landscape and its vegetation,
but especially upon its unusual and impressive wildlife.
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Following us on our Galapagos trip was the Pelican, always on the lookout for fish. In his youth his plumage is gray-brown, later, his head turns white.
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In braquic waters one can find flamingos - emigrants from the Caribbean.
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The Frigate birds are robbers and go after other bird species such as swallows. Here it is the male who shows off cleavage: with its red throat sac
it wants to attract the female Frigate. |
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| The Yellow Wobbler lives in the forests on Isla Isabela. |
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| The blue-footed boobies are artful hunters. With their cries they jointly plan their attack and dive together into the water up to one meter (3 feet) deep. |
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| We were particularly impressed by the Galapagos hawks, whom we met on the island of Bartolome. They are very trustful... |
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... and their plumage has a beautiful drawing
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The lizards in the stony deserts can only exist because there are flies and other insects. At the time they were ...
|
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| ...probably washed ashore on tree trunks like the marine iguanas and then had to adapt to their environment in order to survive. |
In Part 3
we’ll report about the marine life of the Galapagos archipelago.
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