Islands of FireThe Galapagos Islands teem with wildlife, above and below the water. Even the rocks are alive and constantly threatening to erupt as volcanoes vent their fury in this spectacular and historic place.

The Galapagos

By Tony Karacsonyi

Born of fi re as the tips of submarine

volcanoes, the Galapagos Islands is a place where

evolution can be observed ‘in-situ’. Hundreds

of kilometres from mainland Ecuador, animals

and plants set adrift have somehow found and

colonised these desert islands. Floating rafts of

vegetation, wind, air currents and oceanic drift

have all helped this colonisation, otherwise know

as “sweepstakes dispersal”.

Birds displaced from migratory routes

landed here, and sea birds carried seeds and

invertebrates. Animals set adrift in the ocean

currents came from North, Central and South

“Another feature of these isles is their emphatic ‘uninhabitableness’. It is deemed fi t for… the

jackel itself; …but the encantadas refuse to harbour even the outcasts of the beasts. Man and wolf alike disown them. Little but reptile life is here found; tortoises, lizards… and that strangest anomaly of outlandish nature, the iguano. No voice, no lo, no howl is heard; the chief sound of life here is a hiss” – Herman Melville, from las Encantadas, 1841.

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America and the Caribbean. Californian sea lions

and land birds came from North America, while

pink fl amingos and Darwin fi nches came from the

Caribbean. Land iguanas, giant tortoises, pelicans,

cormorants and boobies arrived from South

America. Fur sea lions and penguins travelled from

the Antarctic.

Then there was Charles Darwin, the most

famous of all visitors to the Galapagos. He

arrived aboard the HMS Beagle on September

15, 1835. The HMS Beagle spent fi ve weeks in

the archipelago, during which the 26-year-old

naturalist visited Chatham, Charles, Albemarle

and James Islands. He spent 19 days on shore

collecting and observing fl ora and fauna in this

‘living laboratory of evolution’. In 1859, Darwin

released the fi rst edition of his work The origin

of species by means of Natural Selection, which

sparked a scientifi c revolution and challenged

religious beliefs.

Our motor yacht, Letty, lay off Fernandina

Island in the Western Galapagos, a place where

the islands are bathed in the colder, nutrient-rich

waters of the Cromwell Current. The captain,

Wilson, took us near shore and armed with mask

and snorkel, we slipped into the green waters.

Marine iguanas scampered on shore and within

seconds we were examined by a huge green

turtle. “This place is alive,” I thought, as a vast

school of black-striped salema fi shes buzzed

me. Marine iguanas swam on the surface, trailing

prehistoric tails. On the rocks, there were

Galapagos penguins and fl ightless cormorants,

together with the bright Sally Lightfoot crabs.

Fernandina is the youngest of the Galapagos

archipelago – less than 700,000 years old. The

‘Hot Spot’ theory held by geologists today says

that there are stationary areas of intense heat in

the earth’s mantle that cause the crust to melt

and give rise to volcanoes. Every now and again,

there’s a build-up of pressure and a mild volcanic

eruption, producing lots of lava.

CRATE COLLAPSEIn June, 1968, the caldera of Fernandina changed

dramatically when it’s fl oor, a block two

kilometres round, fell by 350 metres over nine

days. The caldera was clouded in choking dust

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and the crater lake disappeared. Some 2000

white-cheeked pintail ducks and land iguanas

disappeared, too.

Fernandina is still the most volcanically active

island in the archipelago, with a dome-shaped

cone that rises to almost 1500 metres. Its caldera

is now 900 metres deep and six kilometres round.

The Galapagos archipelago consists of thirteen

major and six minor islands, with 49 smaller

rock formations, all spread over 27,000 square

kilometres. These equatorial volcanic islands

erupted above the Pacifi c Ocean 950km west of

Ecuador. They fi rst broke through the sea fl oor 7-

9 million years ago, and still show volcanic activity

– seven volcanoes have erupted in the past 15

years alone.

The Galapagos Islands sit on top of the Nazca

Plate, close to the junction with the Cocos Ridge.

The plates shift along the Galapagos Rift and the

East Pacifi c Rise, which is making the islands move

south-eastward at more than seven cm per year.

The eastern islands are older than those in the

west. Fernandina and Isabela, are the youngest

– less than one million years old.

We stepped ashore at Punta Espinosa,

which means Spiny Point in Spanish. A lava/sand

promontory, this place is surrounded by six

volcanoes on Isabela Island, which lies across the

Bolivar Channel. Stepping ashore onto the black

lava from our panga – the local name for a small

dinghy – Sally Lightfoot crabs scuttled on the

green algae in the tidal zone. A pile of marine

iguanas lay sunning themselves on the solidifi ed

lava. As their body temperatures increased, they

made their way to the ocean to feed on green

algae, above and below water level. Further along,

a huge whale skeleton lay on some sand and an

inlet yielded endemic fl ightless cormorants.

Here we enjoyed the cormorants fl apping

their short wings. Sally Lightfoot crabs and marine

iguanas lay all around. Sea lions were playing in the

shallows. Distant views of volcanoes made for a

splendid vista. Our natural history guides, Harry

Jimenez (alias Loco Harry) and Jose Luis Castillo

(alias Pepe) were a wealth of information, making

the fi eld trips most enjoyable.

The islands’ climate is greatly determined by

the ocean currents. In the cooler dry season – July

to December – the Humboldt Current keeps the

islands much cooler than you would expect in an

equatorial region. During the warmer, wet season

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– January to June – there’s actually minimal rain on

the coasts.

DOLPHIN ENCOUNTERSThe colder waters of Fernandina and Isabela

Island are great for dolphin and whale watching

– striped, common and spinner dolphins and pilot

whales abound. Nowhere have I had such amazing

encounters with dolphins as in the Galapagos.

There must have been 70 dolphins, some of

which congregated around the bow of our boat.

Jumping into the ocean, I cleared the bubbles in

my mask to see dolphins and a 5-foot Galapagos

shark – so sharks do swim with dolphins. Dolphins

were zooming in to see us from all around, often

in pairs, peeling off when only two metres away.

The sheer experience of being in the ocean with

so many dolphins around checking us out was one

of my life’s greatest experiences.

With some reluctance, we left the dolphins

and headed over to the island to scuba dive. We

swam along an underwater cliff with an entourage

of sea lions and hundreds of Pacifi c creole fi sh,

until we reached a point where two currents

collided. Here I saw a scalloped hammerhead

shark, eagle ray, green turtle and no less than fi ve

white-tip reef sharks. The funniest thing was that

the sea lions were playing tag with the reef sharks.

The sea lions were diving down and chasing, then

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nipping the shark’s tail. Whenever there was a nip,

the shark would give a good fl ick of its tail.

The fi sh life in the Galapagos is fascinating and

many of the fi sh look like overgrown versions of

exotic and colourful African cichlids (ornamental

aquarium fi sh to the uninitiated), with long

fi lamentous fi ns. Even the giant damselfi sh look

like our one spot chromis, but on a gargantuan

scale. Some of the more remarkable species

were the Pacifi c creole fi sh – looks like a fusilier;

the Mexican hogfi sh – hump-headed with long,

streaming fi ns; the guinea fowl puffer – yellow

puffer fi sh and Galapagos garden eels – named

‘Anguila Jardin de Galapagos’ in Spanish.

The marine iguanas on Espanola Island – called

Christmas iguanas – are also vibrant, with spashes

of pink and green.

Each island has something different to offer.

At Genovesa Island, we anchored in Darwin Bay,

an ancient caldera. Here we climbed to a bluff

named The Tower, to see sea birds nesting in the

salt bush. There were red-footed boobies, red-

billed tropic birds, swallow tail gulls, storm petrels

and magnifi cent frigatebirds, sporting bright red

infl atable throat pouches.

SHEEPISH SHARKSLater, we cooled off with a snorkel and went

shark spotting. What actually happened is that

the Galapagos sharks spotted us and circled a

metre away. While none of us were really scared,

I did hear a few nervous shrieks and some of

the husbands were thrust in front of the placid

shark by anxious wives. All good fun! Some of

the lovelier fi sh to be seen were giant damsel

fi sh, razor surgeonfi sh, morish idol, bump-head

parrotfi sh and Cortez rainbow wrasse. Bu the

sharks were the absolute highlight!

A beach landing at Genovesa Island delighted

us with sea lion cubs suckling on the beach, while

red-footed boobies watched on with fl uffy white

chicks in nests.

At Santiago Island, we landed on a black sand

beach with sea lions, which later proved to be

one of our most enjoyable swimming spots. On

land, after a hike past old salt mine relics, we

came across an area of grottoes – deep pools in

which fur seal lions lolled. This species was close

to extinction not so long ago. Along the beach we

watched marine iguanas, American oystercatchers

and lava lizards go about their business.

On Bartolome Island, we took the summit

trail past splatter cones to an awesome lookout,

with views of Sullivan Bay, distant volcanoes and

lava fi elds.

At Isabela Island, we climbed to a brackish

water crater lake, then onto a cone with superb

views of lava fi elds. Exploring Tagus Cove by

panga, we saw blue-footed boobies, sea lions,

Galapagos hawkes, pelicans and Galapagos

penguins. Tagus Cove abounds with marine life.

The cove is adorned, somewhat controversially, in

graffi ti, dating back to the 1800s.

At Cerro Dragon, you can see endemic

land iguanas, orange yellow in colour. They

were once part of Darwin Station’s breeding

program Greater fl amingos can be seen on the

salt water lagoon.

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Off San Cristobal Island, we cruised the

majestic Kicker Rock, also known as Leon

Dormido. There were green turtles everywhere,

with sea lions lolling near shore and red-billed

tropic birds overhead.

At Santa Cruz, near the bustling tourist town

of Puerto Ayora, we toured the Charles Darwin

Research Station and the Galapagos National Park

headquarters. Here we met ‘Lonesome George’,

a giant tortoise adopted by park staff. George was

found in 1971, when wardens from the Galapagos

National Park were hunting non-native goats on

Pinta Island. The last reported sighting of giant

tortoises on Pinta was in 1906.

Scientists took ‘Lonesome’ to the captive

breeding program at the Charles Darwin

Research Station, and the search for a mate began

– so far without success. George was at one time

moved to Isabela’s Wolf Volcano, together with

two females. He was in high spirits and some

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‘coupling’ took place, but neither female produced

young. Edward Louis, a geneticist at the Henry

Doorley Zoo in Nebraska, continues to scan and

analyse tortoise DNA from all over the globe in

search of a match for George.

In the Santa Cruz highlands, we visited large

pit craters called ‘Los Gemelos’ and explored

lava tubes. We also watched giant tortoises

feeding on a private ranch. The tortoises love

eating the fallen fi gs. The ranch is also home to

vermillion fl ycatchers, large-billed fl ycatchers,

and Darwin fi nches.

On Espanola Island, we watched Christmas

iguanas, sea lions and blue-footed boobies

near a spectacular blowhole, while elsewhere

there are nesting areas of blue-footed boobies

and albatross.

The unique wildlife that has evolved on

these desert isles, together with their volcanic

grandeur and history, make the Galapagos one

of the globe’s last genuinely wild places. Go now

if you can, as it is, without doubt, one of life’s

greatest experiences. ¿

THE GALAPAGOS FILEABOUT THE FLEETThe Letty is one of three identical signature

motor yachts, including the Eric and Flamingo,

which travel together throughout the

Galapagos Islands. They are 83ft long by 24ft

wide and cruise at 10 knots. Double-balanced

keels give maximum stability and they are

ecologically designed for noise reduction

and fuel effi ciency. They cater for 20 guests,

with 10 crew, including two nature guides.

Each motor yacht carries highly sophisticated

navigation equipment.

HOW TO GET THEREFly with LAN or another carrier to Santiago,

Chile, then to Quito in Ecuador. You can fl y

via Los Angeles or Miami, but make sure to

check-in three hours early for your connecting

fl ights to Quito.

HOW TO BOOKContact the Galapagos Network

via: www.ecoventura.com; e-mail:

info@galapagosnetwork.com;

tel: (1 305) 262 6264 or (800) 633 7972;

fax: (1 305) 262 9609. Or contact Ecoventura,

tel: (5 934) 283 182 or (5 932) 321 034;

fax: (5932) 321 034.

HEALTH AND SAFETYMalaria is not a problem in the Galapagos

Islands if you are cruising, but if you are

venturing into the Amazon rainforests in

Ecuador, take anti-malarials. While staying in

Quito, always take a taxi back to your motel

if you’re out late at night. Currency is in US

dollars and withdrawals are can be made at

ATMs in Quito. There are excellent hotels to

stay in at Quito, such as the Mercure.

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