A friendly visitor on our cruise ship’s deck

Do you want to see the flamingos, cormorants and different type of iguanas? Ever thought if the blue footed booby really have blue feet’s? Planning to swim with penguins? Do you want to snorkel with the sea lions or dive with the hammerhead sharks? All this and much more is possible on the world famous Galapagos Islands, one of the most unique UNESCO world heritage destinations.

The Galapagos Islands are volcanic

The Galapagos Islands are one of the most famous and unique destinations to travel in the world. The Islands are set far from the mainland and the species living there are not to be found from anywhere else. It’s the place where Charles Darwin developed his evolution theory, after seeing the uniqueness of the animals living there. Not only the animals and the nature is nowhere else to be found on the earth, but also the species varies from island to another. Every island has its own ecosystem as they are developed isolated not only from the mainland but for each others too.

Sunbathing, the Galapagos style!

Flamingo

Trip there is expensive. You have to by the flights, pay the park entrance fee (100$) and book a cruise, since if you are planning to see the different islands you need a guided tour. You can try to save on the expenses by booking a last minute tour, if you don’t mind about the program on the cruise. Different ships go to different islands and also the duration’s for the cruises vary.

Sunset

One thing I regret is not buying a water proof camera before going to the Galapagos Islands. At least a water proof camera pouch is recommended, because the waters of these islands are filled with life. Maybe you want to take a picture with a playful sea lion, anyway you have a chance for that if you have the bag. For sure you are going to see many great things under water and on a dry land too.

Oh please take my photo! I am so handsome!

A male frigate bird

The area is volcanic and seismic. All the time new islands are born and the old ones disappearing. I visited the western islands, which are the younger ones.

Cactus crowing through the lava

I did in total an eight days cruise, which included visits and guided walks to different islands every day. The animals aren’t afraid of the humans so you can see them really close. My favorites from the animals were the Blue Footed Booby, they are really weird and funny looking birds. Blue Footed Booby also have an interesting mating dance, which I was lucky to witness.

Blue Footed Booby

A baby seal

Also on the tour program included snorkeling every day. The Galapagos Islands are an amazing place to snorkel. You dive into the water and immediately you are surrounded by life. Sea lions, beautiful fishes, corals and I even snorkeled one day with penguins, which was totally the coolest thing ever! The water is a bit cold because of the sea current, and some people use a Wetsuit while snorkeling. For me it was just fine to snorkel in a bikini, but many cruise ships offer a service of renting wetsuits if needed. Just remember to put a lot of sunscreen if you snorkel in a bikini, my back has never been as tanned as it was after the trip.

Turtle love

Other alternatives for cruises, you can do on the Galapagos Islands, are diving trips or voluntary work.

A lagoon

Iguana

The nature in the Galapagos is vulnerably so respect the rules. Many visitors all over the world come every year to visit the islands and it’s a heavy load for the environment. Biggest threats for the Islands are increasing tourism, introduction of invasive species and illegal fishing. Also the years when the weather phenomena El Niño is affecting, are hard on the Galapagos Islands, because El Niño changes the weather drastically. Actually, this winter there is a possibility that the El Niño is going to affect.

Galapagos penguin on a swim

If you are on a tight travel budget and can’t afford to travel to the Galapagos Islands, there is a cheaper alternative. You can visit Isla de la Plata which is  a national park and an island near to the coast. Isla de la Plata has a variety of animals, including sea lions and different type of Booby. Its situated at the Manabi reagion. I haven’t visited Isla dela Plata yet, but I’m hoping to some day in the future.

Oh there’s so many!

Galapagos crab

More love!

Pink flamingos

Land Iguana

Yeah yeah, I was there too, here’s the proof!

PS. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I have a lot of pictures from my trip and it was hard to decide which ones to choose, that’s why there’s so many, sorry for that 🙂

PPS. Some of the links in the post are affiliate links. If you decide to buy something through the links it’s going to help me maintain this blog, and don’t worry, I’m going to continue this blog even f you don’t.