The Many Faces of the Galapagos

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Get Up Close & Personal

With the Galapagos Inhabitants

The Galapagos Islands contain a unique combination of land and oceanic ecosystems, with many distinct habitats found in each. The Galapagos are located at the point where major ocean currents meet and the islands straddle the junctions between several shifting tectonic plates.


This area is truly unlike any other place on earth.

The Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR), one of the world's largest protected areas, has more than 2,900 reported marine species and over 18% of those live nowhere else on earth. Some of the best known coastal animals of Galapagos include sea lions, fur seals, flightless cormorants, albatrosses, three species of booby, two frigatebird species, sea turtles, the marine iguana, and penguins.

The Galapagos National Park Service works hand in hand with the Charles Darwin Research Station implementing their common goals of conservation and preservation of the natural resources with the Galapagos National Park and Galapagos Marine Reserve. The park service approves all itineraries of boats visiting the islands making sure that the tourism is distributed evenly throughout the islands. They also work as the licensing board for guides in the islands.

Meet the Inhabitants

From the time you arrive in the Galapagos until the time you depart, you will be accompanied by the naturalists who are there to instruct as well as to protect the inhabitants and the land.

Zodiac Exploration

Some of the excursions that you can select will be labeled as "low intensity".  Those trips will typically include a zodiac ride along the island exploring from the water.   The driver will get close to land, but yet the inhabitants that you'll be viewing won't be in any harm or show any concern for your presence.  They'll go about their day, most likely just resting on the rocks or looking out to sea.
 

Explore on Foot

The other method of exploration on the islands is on foot of course.   Both the low and higher intensity tours will usually include some walking.  The higher intensity excursions will have longer walks and may also include some more of a challenge.   Your naturalist can answer any questions about the destination to help you decide which one is right for you.

Stay between the white posts

You can see in this image that there is a marker to the left of the hikers.   It is marked with white and black stripes.   The group needs to stay between the markers at all times.  This protects the fragile environment.  Of course the inhabitants can go wherever they choose, so you may find some of them on your path.    Take all the photos you want, but be respectful at all times.

See More of the Faces

Many Faces of Galapagos (117 photos)

Here are some of the faces of Galapagos that you'll see when you explore the archipelago. Some of them only a mother could love while others are so cute you'll fall in love with them at first glance. Add your thoughts and we'll update the captions.

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Gator Park

Post Cruise Shore Excursion - Gator Park

Everglades National Park

Gator Park in the heart of Florida's Everglades National Park was our post-cruise destination for a few hours before heading to Miami International Airport.   The shore excursion was arranged during our West Indies cruise on Azamara Journey.   Since our flight wasn't until 5 PM,  instead of going directly to the airport, we opted for the shore excursion.

Gator blends in with surroundings

Alligators, Birds, Crocodiles

Florida Everglades is home to hundreds of bird species as well as thousands of alligators, and crocodiles.  During a visit to Gator Park, you'll get up close views of alligators and bird species for certain and you may have an opportunity to see some of the other inhabitants in their natural setting.

Airboat Ride

The highlight of the excursion to Gator Park is a 45 minute airboat ride through the Everglades.  Each airport holds up to 20 people, 4 per row.  Every seat is a great seat. While your guide will be pointing out alligators and other things of interest along the way, each person has the opportunity to be on the lookout.  You never know what you'll see during your boat ride.  

You'll be able to stand up when the pilot / guide slows down to point out alligators or other marine life.

One of our group holds an alligator

Weather plays a role in how active the alligators and other wildlife are in the park.  The weather had been on the cool side for several days, and the alligators were a little sluggish.   That was fine for us since that provided plenty of opportunities for us to see them coming out for some sun on this gorgeous day.


We've been to Gator Park before but still enjoyed our visit there.   Following the airboat ride, we had some lunch, which we ordered when we arrived at the park.   Then we watched a wildlife show which included alligator wrestling and if you were feeling brave, you could actually hold an alligator and have your picture taken with it.   Actually, you didn't have to be too brave as the alligator's mouth was secured so that you didn't have to worry about being its lunch.


There are more pictures on our Facebook Fan Page.  If your flight leaves after 3 PM, consider a shore excursion to Gator Park if your cruise offers the tour.   Another option on our cruise was a Miami City Highlights tour.  Both tours concluded at Miami's airport about the same time.   We still had plenty of time before our 5 PM flight, but did enjoy our little diversion visiting the gators of Florida.

Celebrity Xpedition - Day 3 North Seymour Island

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North Seymour Island is located at the central area of the Archipelago, just north of Baltra. Following the mandatory Life Boat Drill, the ship's Zodiacs began loading passengers for our first activity.

There were two options, a High Intensity Activity - Dry Landing at North Seymour Island and a Low/Medium Intensity Activity - Zodiac Ride and Dry Landing. In order to accommodate all passengers, the Zodiacs first drop the groups doing the dry landing on the island and then return for those that opted for the medium intensity activity.

You may be wondering what a Dry Landing is. It is exactly as it sounds. You can wear hiking boots or any other sort of comfortable shoes without fear of them getting wet. It is advisable to wear sturdy, yet comfortable shoes and use a hiking stick on most Dry Landings.

Those that took the Dry Landing walked on an uneven path which took them inland to observe frigate birds and possibly Land Iguanas. Eventually, they arrived at a beach area where Galapagos Sea Lions, Blue Footed Boobies, and Marine Iguanas were observed.

We opted for the Zodiac ride along the coastline which searched for Galapagos Fur Seals, Lava Herons, and Swallow Tailed Gulls. The Geology of this region is quite impressive due to the limestone trapped between two layers of basalt lava.

Following the Zodiac ride, we too made a dry landing on North Seymour Island where we hiked along a portion of the trail observing Blue Footed Boobies, Galapagos Sea Lions, Marine Iguanas, and Frigate Birds. The male Frigate Birds have red throat pouches that extend to attract the females. Blue Footed Boobies have blue webbed feet. We'll see them again later in the week.

The only difference between the two activities was the length of the hike. In both cases, you had a good opportunity to see the inhabitants of North Seymour. Our Cruise Director had joked that we would take our first 300 pictures of Sea Lions during this activity. That wasn't far from the truth since we definitely did see quite a few of them during our visit.  View our Galapagos - North Seymour Island  album.

We boarded our Zodiacs for the return ride to the ship which was anchored nearby. Back onboard, Captain Fausto Pacheco, Master of the M'V Xpedition and his officers welcomed us with a toast which was followed by the briefing of the next day's activities. Our first day in Galapagos had been amazing. There hardly are words to describe our first experience following in Darwin's footsteps.

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