Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear (before Covid) when my wife and I were privileged to remove one item from our bucket list by visiting the Galápagos Islands. Spoiler alert: It was a blast! On the assumption that some here on the list might have a bit of interest but will not be able to take this trip in as favorable a time and circumstance as we managed, this is going to be a long and image-heavy photo essay –– 20 posts with eight photos each. The images will start after a description of the state of the Galapagos as we found it (this post, below), followed by a short gear debriefing (following post.)
In essence, the Galápagos Islands are a zoological garden, or zoo, for short. The ocean is their fence. They lie far enough away from the mainland to resist being casually populated by alien species. Only those species that arrived in the islands in numbers sufficient to establish sustaining populations flourished. Some have been present (and removed from their origin species) long enough to undergo further speciation. The islands are proof against the odd vagrant that has no mate with which to procreate. Over millennia of isolation the resident species have lost any reason to fear humans. This makes the environment both fragile to human intervention and unique in offering humans close access to seemingly “tame” wild animals. Endemic animals have few natural predators on land and most act as if they have none. The Galapagos Hawk, Galapagos Owl and Great Blue Heron seem to be the prime candidates among non-introduced species, but, between their modest mass and gullet size, present little danger to most adult land fauna. Still, all animals have to eat and not all of them are herbivores. The sea, close to hand, no doubt provides drama in abundance.
The greatest danger to all the endemic species, both flora and fauna, is presented by human activity, especially from human-introduced companion species. Goats and pigs deplete the grazing potential for the native species. Rats, cats and dogs add a threat of predation where none had existed before. The list is much longer. In fact, introduced species outnumber native in about the ratio of 8 to 5. And there have been extinctions.
Lonesome George in taxidermy. He was the last surviving male Pinta Island tortoise.
In response, the Ecuadorian government has restricted access to the islands. Other than through birth, adoption or marriage, emigration to the Galápagos is not allowed. The land area allotted to human use is restricted to 3% of the total. The laws concerning endemic species are strict and the punishments are stiff. These regulations, backed by meaningful fines, apply both to residents and visitors. This very conservative policy is continued in the administration of the financially important tourism sector. Boats are restricted for passenger capacity and must follow an approved 15-day itinerary made up of three or four ~2-hour visits to different sites per day with no repeats within the route. This is meant to spread the impact of visiting. In fact, there are only around 115 sites approved for visiting and more than half of them are in the water. Except for a few swimming beaches, all water sites are rated “deep water”, that is, touching the bottom is not allowed.
At times of full capacity there are probably about 1500 paying customers on boat tours and some lower number engaged in day tours from land-based lodgings available in one of the three settlements allowed. All visitors must be accompanied by and stay with a guide, keep strictly to paths and follow the rules. The Guide/Visitor ratio may not exceed 1:16. Removal of material from the islands is forbidden. Visits are allowed only between sunrise and sunset. There is no camping, no exploring. In other words, the islands are run as a nature preserve with the intent of conserving or restoring the environment to the natural scheme of things. The rules do not allow roll-your-own exploration and adventuring of the sort we have been able take for granted in much of our national park system (U.S.).
Some of the day trip fleet at moorings in Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz
This island chain is famously associated with the formation of Darwin’s theory of the evolution of species. Today, it serves as a laboratory in the evolution of human society’s conservation practices. If the conservation and restoration effort being made by the Ecuadorian Government is successful, it will in large part be due both to the cap on human presence and the rules for coexistence with the natural world. These help reduce competition for the finite resources available to the endemic flora and fauna and promote a return to the homeostasis that existed before human discovery and exploitation. What lessons may be transferable to the greater world and its burgeoning human population remain to be seen. The inhabitants of the Galápagos are probably living our future, if we should decide we want to keep what we have.
Photo enthusiasts will recognize the famous remark by Ansel Adams to the effect that the negative is the score and the print is the performance. This fairly sums up the Galápagos experience. The Itinerary is the score and the visit is the performance. Just like every other visitor, you must stay on the path and maintain no less than 2 meters distance from the wildlife. If an animal is pointed away from the path, you get a butt shot. It’s that simple. Nor is the visit a deep dive into the surroundings. For not much more than an hour or so, you walk the same path as everybody else—with everybody else. While you will not see something from a new, undiscovered viewpoint, the variables of time of day and year, light, weather conditions, the presence or absence of animals of whatever species and their current behavior –– not even to mention the quality of the guide or the sensibilities of the visitor –– make each visit unique. It’s a little like visiting Hogwarts to view the painting collection.
Another tour group shares the beach with the residents at Isla Santa Fe
Halfway through the trip, even as this began to dawn on us, we remarked that, in spite of this, the trip seemed only to get better and better –– and it started out great. Thinking about that some more, we came to the conclusion that, actually, we were reacting to the sustained sense of novelty, and that, rather than getting better and better, it simply never stopped being new and different or intensely fascinating –– a benign sensory overload. On more than one occasion, one or the other of our very experienced guides mentioned that they had never seen a particular detail before.
Apparently, Blue-footed Boobies are seldom seen perching on mangrove. So, even though most everyone comes back with a photo of a Blue-footed Booby, this is not the typical image to return from the Galápagos. I’m not too proud to take whatever small victories life sees fit to throw my way.
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In essence, the Galápagos Islands are a zoological garden, or zoo, for short. The ocean is their fence. They lie far enough away from the mainland to resist being casually populated by alien species. Only those species that arrived in the islands in numbers sufficient to establish sustaining populations flourished. Some have been present (and removed from their origin species) long enough to undergo further speciation. The islands are proof against the odd vagrant that has no mate with which to procreate. Over millennia of isolation the resident species have lost any reason to fear humans. This makes the environment both fragile to human intervention and unique in offering humans close access to seemingly “tame” wild animals. Endemic animals have few natural predators on land and most act as if they have none. The Galapagos Hawk, Galapagos Owl and Great Blue Heron seem to be the prime candidates among non-introduced species, but, between their modest mass and gullet size, present little danger to most adult land fauna. Still, all animals have to eat and not all of them are herbivores. The sea, close to hand, no doubt provides drama in abundance.
The greatest danger to all the endemic species, both flora and fauna, is presented by human activity, especially from human-introduced companion species. Goats and pigs deplete the grazing potential for the native species. Rats, cats and dogs add a threat of predation where none had existed before. The list is much longer. In fact, introduced species outnumber native in about the ratio of 8 to 5. And there have been extinctions.
Lonesome George in taxidermy. He was the last surviving male Pinta Island tortoise.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
In response, the Ecuadorian government has restricted access to the islands. Other than through birth, adoption or marriage, emigration to the Galápagos is not allowed. The land area allotted to human use is restricted to 3% of the total. The laws concerning endemic species are strict and the punishments are stiff. These regulations, backed by meaningful fines, apply both to residents and visitors. This very conservative policy is continued in the administration of the financially important tourism sector. Boats are restricted for passenger capacity and must follow an approved 15-day itinerary made up of three or four ~2-hour visits to different sites per day with no repeats within the route. This is meant to spread the impact of visiting. In fact, there are only around 115 sites approved for visiting and more than half of them are in the water. Except for a few swimming beaches, all water sites are rated “deep water”, that is, touching the bottom is not allowed.
At times of full capacity there are probably about 1500 paying customers on boat tours and some lower number engaged in day tours from land-based lodgings available in one of the three settlements allowed. All visitors must be accompanied by and stay with a guide, keep strictly to paths and follow the rules. The Guide/Visitor ratio may not exceed 1:16. Removal of material from the islands is forbidden. Visits are allowed only between sunrise and sunset. There is no camping, no exploring. In other words, the islands are run as a nature preserve with the intent of conserving or restoring the environment to the natural scheme of things. The rules do not allow roll-your-own exploration and adventuring of the sort we have been able take for granted in much of our national park system (U.S.).
Some of the day trip fleet at moorings in Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
This island chain is famously associated with the formation of Darwin’s theory of the evolution of species. Today, it serves as a laboratory in the evolution of human society’s conservation practices. If the conservation and restoration effort being made by the Ecuadorian Government is successful, it will in large part be due both to the cap on human presence and the rules for coexistence with the natural world. These help reduce competition for the finite resources available to the endemic flora and fauna and promote a return to the homeostasis that existed before human discovery and exploitation. What lessons may be transferable to the greater world and its burgeoning human population remain to be seen. The inhabitants of the Galápagos are probably living our future, if we should decide we want to keep what we have.
Photo enthusiasts will recognize the famous remark by Ansel Adams to the effect that the negative is the score and the print is the performance. This fairly sums up the Galápagos experience. The Itinerary is the score and the visit is the performance. Just like every other visitor, you must stay on the path and maintain no less than 2 meters distance from the wildlife. If an animal is pointed away from the path, you get a butt shot. It’s that simple. Nor is the visit a deep dive into the surroundings. For not much more than an hour or so, you walk the same path as everybody else—with everybody else. While you will not see something from a new, undiscovered viewpoint, the variables of time of day and year, light, weather conditions, the presence or absence of animals of whatever species and their current behavior –– not even to mention the quality of the guide or the sensibilities of the visitor –– make each visit unique. It’s a little like visiting Hogwarts to view the painting collection.
Another tour group shares the beach with the residents at Isla Santa Fe
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Halfway through the trip, even as this began to dawn on us, we remarked that, in spite of this, the trip seemed only to get better and better –– and it started out great. Thinking about that some more, we came to the conclusion that, actually, we were reacting to the sustained sense of novelty, and that, rather than getting better and better, it simply never stopped being new and different or intensely fascinating –– a benign sensory overload. On more than one occasion, one or the other of our very experienced guides mentioned that they had never seen a particular detail before.
Apparently, Blue-footed Boobies are seldom seen perching on mangrove. So, even though most everyone comes back with a photo of a Blue-footed Booby, this is not the typical image to return from the Galápagos. I’m not too proud to take whatever small victories life sees fit to throw my way.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
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