Galapagos, Ecuador: Animals Everywhere

Off the mainland of Ecuador is an archipelago called the Galapagos Islands that was made by volcanoes. Only 2% of the islands are inhabited by humans, while 100% of the islands are ruled by animals. If I could summarize the Galapagos in two words, it would be: animals everywhere.

Iguanas

After climbing down the stairs of the airplane, I walked from the tarmac toward the airport, something catching my eye on the pavement. I disregarded it for a moment and then my eye was drawn to it once more: it was an iguana! Not even two minutes from disembarking, I saw my first animal on the Galapagos!

As we continued to explore Galapagos, we saw iguanas left and right. We went to the Tintoreras and saw where the iguanas were digging their nests. We walked to the pier before lunch and saw iguanas chilling by the boats. We went to the beach and we saw iguanas waddling across the white sand. We snorkeled and saw the iguanas swaying in the water. Iguanas were everywhere.

Sea Lions

Since our plane landed on Baltra Island, we had to take a ferry to the main island called Santa Cruz. After a shuttle from the airport, we hopped off and walked toward the ferry and were stopped by this mound on the ground: a sea lion! We had just arrived in the Galapagos less than an hour ago, and we had already seen two animals! And the sea lions just kept showing up. We walked to our hostel and saw a sea lion sitting on a bench. As we waited at the dock two days later, we saw a whole group of them. They were, indeed, everywhere.

Birds

What struck us the most about the Galapagos Islands was not only the amount of animals per square inch, but also how peaceful the animals were. They were unafraid of each other. Animals chilled together in harmony. As we walked three minutes from our hostel to the coast, I counted 11 iguanas relaxing with a few Brown Pelicans and Blue Herons, while sea lions waddled and roared nearby. Later that week, we walked to Tortuga Bay, and I inched closer and closer to a Blue Heron, who seemed unfazed by a human (see picture below). When we visited Isabela Island, we went to the Las Tintoreras Islets and were able to get a photo standing right next to the blue-footed boobies. Nature was all around us, and the animals seemed calm and happy.

Starfish

While we were snorkeling in the Tintoreras, we saw four different types of starfish. There was a bright blue one with long, thin star points, and there a prickly looking red-spotted one. There was also a brown, plain starfish, and there was a stout mustard yellow and black one with short arms. I couldn’t believe how many we saw, and that they were all so beautiful and unique.

Turtles

On our first day of the trip, we were on the Santa Cruz Island and went to the Giant Turtle Preserve. We could not believe how large and old the turtles were! The turtles can get over 100 years old – the males can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh almost 500 pounds! It was so fun to watch them move so slowly, eating the grass. I was struck by how their neck and heads look like a snake. We watched one of them move slowly into a pond, cooling off in the water.

The most magical part of our entire trip was swimming with the turtles near Isabela Island. Most of the turtles were sitting at the bottom of the ocean relaxing, but we were able to see a few gracefully swim by us. It was truly a surreal experience seeing the sunshine ripple into the ocean and the turtles glide along with us. We were even able to get some photos with them!

Seahorses, Sharks, and Fish

When we swam in the Tintoreres, our guide pointed out seahorses at the bottom of the ocean clinging to the reefs, algae, and plants; the seahorses blended in so much that it was difficult to see, plus they were delicate and small. Our guide proceeded to swim to the bottom of the ocean and go into the darkness under a rock formation to push out sharks! it took my mind a few seconds to realize what I was seeing. There were a group of graceful White Tipped Reef Sharks, ranging from 1-3 meters in length. I never thought I’d be swimming with sharks!

We snorkeled four times in four days, and every time, we saw many types of fish that were quite diverse with many colors and sizes. There were fish with stripes and some with metallic shimmers. Some were swimming in schools, some were swimming alone, and some were hanging out with other animals.

Although there were other highlights from Ecuador like visiting the capital city of Quito, yachting to Bartholome Island to climb up a volcano, and walking through lava tunnels, the animals that filled and surrounded the Galapagos Islands stole the show.