Galapagos

As if Machu Picchu wasn't a highly anticipated part of our trip, a week later we get the Galapagos :) Here comes the history part, get ready! Made up of 18 islands and over one hundred rocks and islets, the oldest estimated at 10 million years old. Formed by underwater volcanoes they sprung up 600 miles from the coast of South America unknown to the rest of the world until their discovery in 1535. Due to their isolation they enjoyed a completely independent evolution of endemic animal species. Birds and reptiles either flew or hitched a ride on a floating debris and free from natural predators in a environment completely foreign from the mainland they adapted and developed compeltely differently. Today the Galapagos is home to hundreds of species that are found only there, and in some cases only on one islands. Tortoises and iguanas are several times the size of their South American cousins, some species of birds have become flightless and most special of all, very few of the animals have any fear of humans. Visiting the Galapagos is like wandering around a huge zoo, except everything is in its natural environment.

Altogther, we spent 5 days amongst the islands on a 16 person yacht, each day docked in a different bay with a new island and new animals to discover. The sights and environment are the closest thing to paradise. Sealions would greet you on each boat landing, some lazily sunning themselves in the morning sun, others playing in the water chasing each other. Stepping over stubborn iguanas and red-rock craps they ground seemed alive. Birds, mammals and reptiles appeared to exist in harmony (the common food being fish) and it wasn't unusual to see an see an iguana crawling over a sealion or sharing a meal with a pair of crabs. All the time they were content to let sunburnt tourists poke camera lenses in their faces snapping photos. Acting neither as a threat nor a source of food (visitors have strict instructions to avoid feeding or even touching the animals) humans were merely part of the scenery to the wildlife, a curious, temporary guest. Baby sealions in particular would often hop over to a tour group sniffing their feet before shuffling off again to lie in the sun. Adults, less inquisitive, would instead watch us, almost posing for photographs before losing interest and back-flipping into the water.

Afternoons would be spent snorkelling around the shallow bays and volcanic craters swimming with sea turtles, manta rays, white tipped sharks and hundreds of types of tropical fish. Someone remarked that every day was like diving into an aquarium, its the best expression I can think of to describe it.

Not much more to say, this Galapagos entry will be more show than tell as I think the experience can be best expressed in photographs (I've tried to add most of the best below). I could have easily taken as many photos in our 5 day stay as I did for the rest of our 2 month holiday up to that point, every shot seemed to be National Geographic material. Enjoy and save your pennies to make to make the trip out someday - an incredible experience.

Auto-pilot Galapagos style

Sniff sniff!