Gorgeous Galapagos!
A few years ago the opportunity arose to join Silversea’s luxury expedition ship, Silver Galapagos, for a 7-night cruise around the islands, and I jumped on it!
The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, so getting to them is no mean feat. My journey included a flight to Quito, then onwards to the coastal town of Guayaquil where I spent the night, before a further flight to join the ship on the island of Santa Cruz. So yes, it’s a long way to go and the journey takes time. But is it worth it?... Absolutely!
Sailing the Galapagos with Silversea was a once in a lifetime experience. The ship was small and intimate with only 100 passengers, and the all-suite accommodation felt comfortable and luxurious. Our 7-night itinerary gave us the opportunity to explore several different islands in the archipelago and included all meals and drinks as well as complimentary zodiac tours, snorkelling, kayaking and nature hikes led by incredibly knowledgeable guides.
The Galapagos Islands are one of the remotest places in the world and this isolation has created flora and fauna that you won’t find anywhere else on the planet. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to an incredible 9,000 different species. I embarked on my trip with high expectations for the wildlife but it was the wild beauty of the islands themselves that really took my breath away. The islands have a rugged and rocky terrain, with lava fields, craters, and volcanic cones dominating the landscape. The coastline ranges from rocky cliffs to pristine white sandy beaches whilst further inland you’ll find lush vegetation, including colourful ferns and orchids. Every island is different and as we sailed through the archipelago there was always something new and fascinating to discover.
Although the scenery here is spectacular, what I and most of my fellow travellers had come for was the wildlife – and this definitely didn’t disappoint. The islands’ friendly inhabitants are constant companions during a visit to the Galapagos. At the start of our voyage, as the ship set sail from Santa Cruz, we were accompanied by flocks of frigatebirds, circling the ship with their bright red throat pouches on display. And early the next morning, as jetlag woke me up around 4am, I stepped out onto my balcony to be greeted by the unforgettable sight and sound of huge flocks of seabirds welcoming the ship as we arrived into Genovesa Island.
Genovesa is one of the remotest islands in the group and home to the Galapagos’s most iconic bird species, the blue-footed booby. I travelled in June which is the start of the mating season and was lucky enough to witness the blue-footed booby’s famous courtship dance. The bluer his feet, the more chance a male booby has of attracting a mate so his elaborate dance involves a lot of high stepping and strutting – it’s just brilliant to watch!
Bird watchers will be in their element here. There are birds everywhere - in the sky, in the trees, in the water and nesting on the rocks and on the paths. With no natural predators on the islands, the birds have no fear so you can walk amongst them and get up close and personal without causing them any stress. The many different species that I encountered included Galapagos penguins, pelicans, blue and red-footed boobies, hawks, cormorants, beautiful red-billed tropic birds, oystercatchers and a variety of Darwin’s famous finches, the study of which inspired his Theory of Evolution.
My favourite though was the mighty albatross. These huge birds are so impressive as they soar above you and glide effortlessly over the waves, but on land they are clumsy and comical. I spent ages one day watching them come in to land at their nests – more often than not they completely misjudged their approach and ended up in a crumpled heap! Of course, it’s not just bird life that abounds here. Every beach is strewn with sea lions, colourful red rock crabs scuttle around the shoreline and lizards of every size emerge from the undergrowth to sun themselves on the rocks. The most famous of the lizards is Galapagos’s marine iguanas – endemic to these islands they are the only lizard species able to swim and forage at sea. There are huge colonies of them right across the archipelago so wherever you go, you are likely to see them. Watching them swim among the rocks and dive for the algae that they feed on was really fascinating, and mind blowing to think that you’re witnessing something that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the planet.
That same sensation is true when you see one of the Galapagos’s other iconic species, the giant tortoise. These huge animals were once so abundant that they actually gave the islands their name (the Spanish word for tortoise is galápago) but they are now critically endangered. We had the opportunity to see two of the 15 subspecies of tortoise on the islands of San Cristóbal and Santa Cruz. Seeing the differences in these subspecies is like witnessing evolution first hand – it’s an extraordinary experience and absolutely unique to the Galapagos. In Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal, two of only four islands in the archipelago that host a permanent human population, it was interesting to observe the dynamic between the human and animal inhabitants. Generally the wildlife seemed to come out on top. Giant tortoises strolled, unhurried, along the roads and sea lions commandeered beaches, park benches and boats. In the local fish markets they waited patiently, like dogs, for scraps… and then resorted to theft when no scraps were offered!
In this corner of the world, humans and animals seem to have worked out a way to coexist in relative harmony which was encouraging to see. It was also reassuring to learn about the huge conservation efforts that are being made to safeguard the future of the Galapagos Islands and the unique flora and fauna that call them home. I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to visit these stunning islands and hope that the careful management of this fragile ecosystem will ensure its survival for generations to come.
