Ecuador / Galapagos

Chapitre 11:

This page will be dedicated to the Galapagos Island as we spent a week there and only 3 days in Quito while trying to overcome the transport and jet lag (30 hours + 16 hours !)

Our trip:
We wanted to find a cruise at the last minute, less expensive, to see the most of it in 5 days. We found one that brought us in 5 different islands and allowed us to visit and swim with amazing animals : turtles, sealions, sharks, many many many colourful fish, raies, iguanas, pelicans, albatross, flamingos ect. We really loved the fact you can approach the animals very closely without bothering them as they are used to small groups of tourists. The islands are very well preserved and a certain amount of people can only go by day in order to keep the environment natural and safe for the animals.

Coast

Coast

Coast

Coast

Coast

Beach

Coast

Coast

Vue

Cactus that grow at the top of a tree

Harbor in San Cristobal

Harbor in San Cristobal

Iguanas

Beach

Coast

Cactus beach

Cactus beach

Cactus beach

Story:
The Galapagos are famous for its wild life, especially for its rare animals. It became officialy a national park in 1959.

The Galapagos have been discovered in 1535 by Fray Tomas de Berlanga, spanish who arrived after the conquest. His discovery was accidental as his ship got carried away. It is possible that the islands were discovered by the Inca King 60 years before . Up to 1832 the islands were Spanish who didn’t have a lot of interest in them.

The animals arrived on the island by accident and try to survive as the environment is harshly liveable.

Because of the strong pressure exerted by extreme climatic variation, isolation from the mainland, and low population numbers, the pace of evolution is much faster in the Galápagos than in the continental land masses

There are many species including:

• 32 mammals
• 28 reptiles
• 47 sea birds
• 49 land birds

I will give details on 2/3 animals seen on the islands:

• Sea Lions: 50 000 of them leave there. Fur dark brown but black when wet. Males are double the size of females. They are highly territorial and live all together. They are inquisitive and playful in the water.
• Albatross: Those birds are very rare. They can be seen on the galapgos between january and april when they breed. The rest of the year, they are flying above the ocean trying to find preys. If the baby is not ready for the departure day, the mother abandoned him on his own. Very few chances will be that he survives. Other than those, they all fly together from a cliff when the weather condition is perfect. there are 34 700 adults birds on those islands.
• Giant tortoise: They can weight until 250 kg and live more than 100 years. They floated from ocean currents and arrived on the galapagos. They float very well in sea water. They were originally normal size and became giant on the galapagos islands as there were no predators or competitors for food. Their shapes evolved as an adaptation to the environment of the islands. Large domed are found in the highlands where there is plenty of food. The high opening of their shell allows them to raise their neck higher to reach the sparse vegetation, helped by their longer necks. They are vegetarian. When they feel threaten, they retract their neck and legs in the shell. They reach sexual maturity at the age of 40. Scientifists can’t recognise if the 14 species today come from different species. They were used by the marines as meat  as they can survive several months without water which makes it impossible to know how many turtles were there originally but more than 100 000 were hunted over the centuries. 3 races are extinct today and only one survive from a fourth. 15 000 tortoises left.

Sealion and Iguana

Sealion resting

Giant tortoise

Sealion

Sealions in San Cristobal’s Harbor

Feeding time for Pelicans

Pelicans

Pelicans

Alabtross ready to fly

Sealions

Lezard

Eagle

Baby Sealions resting

Sealions resting

Land Iguanas

Land Iguanas

Iguanas

Crab

Boobies bird

Bird and Iguana

Albatross

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

But the Galapagos are very famous for the theory of evolution written by Charles Darwin inspired by the observation of the Galapagos Finches, mockingbirds and giant tortoises during 5 weeks. He explained how and why evolution occurred. This will be called natural selection. It proves that the species created with the characteristics best suited for their environment will most likely survive than the one with other characteristics. It will take him more than 20 years to prove his theory with factors such as hybridism, instinct, fossil record, geographical distribution, embryology. He wrote his book The Origine of Species in 1859 which will know a huge success. His conclusion resume his theory:

“

Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.

« 

In a nutshell:
The Galapagos Islands are a must see in a lifetime. It is a place like nowhere else where nature is ruling the codes of living.