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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Celebrity Xpedition - Galapagos - Great Offers

Galapagos Great Offers

Celebrity Xpedition

Take advantage of these special offers on October & November Sailings

If you haven't read my articles on our Celebrity Xpedition to Galapagos last year, I suggest you do so. I am often asked what my favorite cruise vacation is and my answer is usually "the one I'm on now". If you pressure me more, I will tell you that it was our Xpedition to the Galapagos.

One hundred fifty years ago, a man wrote about his quest that took him to a place where he would discover how life evolved thousands of years ago. You have the opportunity to follow in his footsteps and discover a land that is inhabited by species that can be found nowhere else on earth.

What do you think it was like to come face to face with a Red Marine Iguana or a Giant Galapagos Tortoise? What was it like seeing one of those cute Sea Lions or Galapagos Penguins?

You don't have to guess - you can find out for youself if you take advantage of one of the following special offers that Celebrity Cruises has announced.

Celebrity Cruises Itineraries & Pricing

Captain's Club Elite members receive 10% discount on a Celebrity Xpedition to Galapagos.

Celebrity Xpedition is an all-inclusive cruise vacation. Purchase the entire land/sea package and you can forget about doing any planning of daily activities. Your only decision will become do I want medium or high intensity activity in our next Galapagos island.

Celebrity Xpedition staff greets you at the airport in Quito, Ecuador and puts you on a motor coach to your nearby hotel. You explore Quito for two days before being escorted to the airport where you board a charter flight to Baltra, the starting point of your sea portion of the vacation.

Onboard the vessel, all meals and entertainment are provided as is the case on most cruises. In addition to that, you can belly up to the bar with your newly made friends for cocktails any time you want. It is hard to spend money onboard the ship. Most things are included except for items in the gift shop or a massage from the spa attendant.

Celebrity Xpedition was just refurbished, adding some additional cabins and sprucing up the ship. I think you will truly enjoy the improvements. I can't say enough about the ship's staff and naturalists - they are the best in the industry.

Call me today before the limited space is sold out.

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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Additional Photos can be found on our Exotics Shutterfly page

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