YOLO Trips (You Only Live Once)
Budget Galapogos
Touring Galapogos serves two purposes. First, you get to see them, and second, your tourist dollars can help save the Galapogos wildlife, which otherwise might be killed by poachers, or natives trying to make some money.
The tour:
Day 1 Arrive Quito
Arrive in Quito at any time.
Day 2 Baltra/North Seymour (B,L,D)
Early flight to Baltra, in the Galapagos Islands. Upon arrival meet our naturalist guide who will assist with the transfer to our boat, the g3. Set sail and reach Seymour Island in the late afternoon. Our first landing shows us the great bird life of the island, including magnificent frigate birds, blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. We may also catch a glimpse of sea lions and several species of endemic plants.
Day 3 Rabida/Puerto Egas (B,L,D)
Cruise to Rabida Island in the morning and visit a salt water lagoon rich in wildlife and vegetation. A large sea lions colony provides great photo opportunities. Spend the afternoon visiting the lava rock beaches for which Puerto Egas is known.
Day 4 Sombrero Chino/Bartolomé (B,L,D)
This morning we visit Sombrero Chino, located on Isla Santa Cruz. Arrive at Bartolomé Island in the afternoon. Learn the geological history of Bartolomé as our naturalist explains its dramatic volcanic features, including unusual splatter cones. We may spot rare Galapagos penguins, of which less than 1000 pairs exist.
Day 5 South Plaza/Santa Fé (B,L,D)
Set sail and reach South Plaza Island in the morning. One of the smallest islands in the Galapagos, South Plaza has one of the largest populations of Land Iguanas. In the afternoon visit Santa Fé Island. Santa Fé Island (also called Barrington) is well-known as a great place for watching (and swimming with) sea lions.
Day 6 Santa Cruz (B,L,D)
The morning we visit the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. Visit the Charles Darwin Station, see giant tortoises and learn about Charles Darwin’s studies of Galapagos wildlife. Free time to do some shopping and exploring.In the afternoon visit the highlands of Santa Cruz.
Day 7 Floreana (B,L,D)
Reach Floreana Island in the morning and stop at Champion Islet. In the afternoon we go to Punta Cormorant to see a variety of birdlife.
Day 8 Española (B,L,D)
Head to Garner Bay, an excellent swimming and snorkeling site. In the afternoon head to Puenta Suarez on Española Island. The southernmost island in the Galapagos is home to several wildlife species, including masked and blue-footed boobies.
Day 9 Black Turtle Cove/Quito (B)
Located on the second-largest island in the archipelago of Isla Santa Cruz, we venture to the picturesque Black Turtle Cove by panga ride to experience the full splendour of the diverse marine life and birds. We then transfer to the airport and fly to Quito. Enjoy one last night on the town.
Day 10 Depart Quito
IF YOUR TOUR STARTS ON A THURSDAY IN QUITO PLEASE FOLLOW THE BELOW ITINERARY
Day 1 Quito
Arrive in Quito at any time.
Day 2 Puerto Ayora (B,L,D)
Early flight to Baltra, in the Galapagos Islands. Upon arrival we will be transferred by ferry and bus to Puerto Ayora where we meet our naturalist guide and visit the Highlands of Santa Cruz in the afternoon.
Day 3 Floreana (B,L,D)
Reach Floreana Island in the morning and stop at Champion Islet. In the afternoon we go to Punta Cormorant to see a variety of bird life.
Day 4 Española (B,L,D)
We make our way to Gardner Bay in the morning and Punta Suarez on Española Island. The southernmost island in the Galapagos archipelago is home to several wildlife species, including masked and blue-footed boobies.
Day 5 Black Turtle Cove/North Seymour (B,L,D)
Located on the second-largest island in the archipelago of Isla Santa Cruz, we venture to the picturesque Black Turtle Cove by panga ride to experience the full splendor of the diverse marine life and birds. In the afternoon we continue on to North Seymour, home to abundant animal life including the magnificent frigate bird.
Day 6 Rabida/Puerto Egas (B,L,D)
Cruise to Rabida Island in the morning and visit a salt water lagoon rich in wildlife and vegetation. A large sea lion colony provides great photo opportunities. Spend the afternoon visiting the lava rock beaches for which Puerto Egas is known.
Day 7 Sombrero Chino/Bartolomé (B,L,D)
This morning we visit Sombrero Chino, located on Isla Santa Cruz. Arrive at Bartolomé Island in the afternoon. Learn the geological history of Bartolomé as our naturalist explains its dramatic volcanic features, including unusual splatter cones. We may spot rare Galapagos Penguins, of which less than 1000 pairs exist.
Day 8 South Plaza/Santa Fé (B,L,D)
Set sail and reach South Plaza Island in the morning. One of the smallest islands in the Galapagos, South Plaza has one of the largest populations of land iguanas. In the afternoon visit Santa Fé Island. Santa Fé Island (also called Barrington) is well-known as a great place for watching (and swimming with) sea lions.
Day 9 Santa Cruz/Quito (B)
Today we arrive back to Santa Cruz. Morning visit to the Charles Darwin Station here we have the chance to view some of the giant turtles and learn more about Darwin´s work .
Transfer to the airport on Baltra Island for our flight to Quito. Transfer to our hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Enjoy one last night on the town.
Day 10 Depart Quito
A bit more about the Galapogos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km (525 nmi) west of continental Ecuador. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site: wildlife is its most notable feature.
The Galápagos islands and its surrounding waters are part of a province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of around 23,000.
The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
The first crude navigation chart of the islands was done by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684. He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the English noblemen who helped the privateer's cause. More recently, the Ecuadorian government gave most of the islands Spanish names. While the Spanish names are official, many users (especially ecological researchers) continue to use the older English names, particularly as those were the names used when Charles Darwin visited.
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Environmental threats
Introduced plants and animals, such as feral goats, cats, and cattle, brought accidentally or willingly to the islands by humans, represent the main threat to Galápagos. Quick to reproduce, these alien species decimate the habitats of native species. The native animals, lacking natural predators on the islands, are defenseless to introduced species and fall prey.
Some of the most harmful introduced plants are the guayaba or guava Psidium guajava, avocado Persea americana, cascarilla Cinchona pubescens, balsa Ochroma pyramidale, blackberry Rubus glaucus, various citrus (orange, grapefruit, lemon), floripondio Datura arborea, higuerilla Ricinus communis and the elephant grass Pennisetum purpureum. These plants have invaded large areas and eliminated endemic species in the humid zones of San Cristobal, Floreana, Isabela and Santa Cruz. Also, these harmful plants are just a few of introduced species on the Galápagos Islands. There are over 700 introduced plant species today. There are only 500 native and endemic species. This difference is creating a major problem for the islands and the natural species that inhabit them.
Many species were introduced to the Galápagos by pirates. Thor Heyerdahl quotes documents that mention that the Viceroy of Peru, knowing that British pirates ate the goats that they themselves had released in the islands, ordered dogs to be freed there to eliminate the goats. Also, when colonization of Floreana by José de Villamil failed, he ordered that the goats, donkeys, cows, and other animals from the farms in Floreana be transferred to other islands for the purpose of later colonization.
Non-native goats, pigs, dogs, rats, cats, mice, sheep, horses, donkeys, cows, poultry, ants, cockroaches, and some parasites inhabit the islands today. Dogs and cats attack the tame birds and destroy nests of birds, land tortoises, and marine turtles. They sometimes kill small Galápagos tortoises and iguanas. Pigs are even more harmful, covering larger areas and destroying the nests of tortoises, turtles and iguanas as well as eating the animals' native food. Pigs also knock down vegetation in their search for roots and insects. This problem abounds in Cerro Azul volcano and Isabela, and in Santiago pigs may be the cause of the disappearance of the land iguanas that were so abundant when Darwin visited. The black rat Rattus rattus attacks small Galápagos tortoises when they leave the nest, so that in Pinzón they stopped the reproduction for a period of more than 50 years; only adults were found on that island. Also, where the black rat is found, the endemic rat has disappeared. Cows and donkeys eat all the available vegetation and compete with native species for the scarce water. In 1959, fishermen introduced one male and two female goats to Pinta island; by 1973 the National Park service estimated the population of goats to be over 30,000 individuals. Goats were also introduced to Marchena in 1967 and to Rabida in 1971. However a recent goat eradication program has cleared most of the goat population from Isabela.
The fast growing poultry industry on the inhabited islands has been cause for concern from local conservationists, who fear that domestic birds could introduce disease into the endemic and wild bird populations.
The tanker Jessica aground in the Galapagos, January 2001.The Galápagos marine sanctuary is under threat from a host of illegal fishing activities, in addition to other problems of development. The most pressing threat to the Marine Reserve comes from local, mainland and foreign fishing targeting marine life illegally within the Reserve, such as sharks (hammerheads and other species) for their fins, and the harvest of sea cucumbers out of season. Development threatens both land and sea species. The growth of both the tourism industry and local populations fuelled by high birth rates and illegal immigration threaten the wildlife of the Archipelago. The grounding of the oil tanker Jessica in 2001 and the subsequent oil spill brought this threat to world attention.
Currently, the rapidly growing problems, including tourism and a human population explosion, are further destroying habitats.
In 2007, UNESCO put the Galápagos Islands on their World Heritage in Danger List. [4]
On January 28, 2008, Galapagos National Park official Victor Carrion announced that 53 sea lions (13 pups, 25 youngsters, 9 males and 6 females) were killed at Pinta, Galapagos Islands nature reserve with their heads caved in. In 2001 poachers killed 35 male sea lions.[5]
The Galápagos Islands were short-listed as a candidate to be one of the New7Wonders of Nature by the New Seven Wonders of the World Foundation. As of February 2009 the archipelago was ranking first in Group B, the category for islands
3 comments:
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I read your whole post and it is quite interesting and i have enjoyed it a lot.
Would like to hear more from you.
All inclusive holidays
Hey!
nice post
very usefull this info because I'm aplnning an Ecuador Galapagos travel, and I've never been there before, so thanks for sharing :)
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