Galapagos
Individual Cruises
Charter Cruises
Boats & Ships
Islands
& Sites
Geography
Fauna
& Flora
History
Map
Pictures
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Galapagos - The Enchanted Islands |
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The islands were called "Las Encantadas"
by the first visiting sailors as they seem to arise magically,
often enveloped in fog, out of the watery nowhere after a long
sail over open waters. Thus they were perfect hideouts for pirates
and later sealers and whalers followed to exploit the rich hunting
grounds. Naturalists became soon enchanted by them
for their remote location with their particular
fauna and flora. Most famous among them was of course
Charles Darwin who spent one month there and afterwards
reflecting on the native animals and plants came up with his
revolutionary evolutionary theory of natural selection. Nowadays the
isles continue their enchantment for
many more visitors and they come from
all over the world to experience their amazing natural scenery
and unique wildlife. |
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Galapagos is not for tourists who look for a tropical island beach
vacation but primarily for people interested in the island's natural
history and the amazing wildlife above and below the Pacific ocean.
With an open mind, you may come back with a
new and better understanding
of the enormous powers of our planet and what
life is all about on earth. |
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Nature and Diving Cruises for Individuals and
Groups |
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Islazul Tours
offers
you nature and diving cruises of various length of time
in
the Galapagos islands either
for
individual travelers or larger
charter groups. You find a selection of some
50 cruise ships
of all price
classes in our catalogue, from where you can choose the one which
suits you the best. Clicking on a boat name (see link box above and below) gets you
right to the individual boat page, where you find apart from the
most important cruise prices and itinerary, more
information, a
picture and general specifications
of that particular ship. People, interested in chartering a boat,
can find fully organized cruise
packages starting and ending in Quito
and accompanied by experienced naturalist
guides. |
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The trips to the islands are costly and should therefore be well
researched on your part. To
help you with that we included other chapters in this section where you
can find relevant facts about what you can expect to see on a cruise and
other important travel information, which hopefully are
helpful in your cruise planning. |
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General Information about Galapagos |
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The Galapagos archipelago is located some 1000 kilometers straight west
of mainland Ecuador and consists of 19 main islands and numerous smaller
islets
(click for
map and
pictures),
all of them of
volcanic origin, haven risen out of the Pacific ocean a few
million years ago. Humans on the islands were for a long time absent as the archipelago
were not discovered until 1535 by Tomas de Berlanga whose ship accidentally drifted off course.
In 1832, the
Republic of Ecuador annexed the islands
and named them in honor of Christopher Columbus "Archipelago de Colon"
(Colon is the Spanish name for Columbus) but to everybody, they
are known as Galapagos, named after the famous Giant Tortoises,
which themselves were named after a Spanish saddle called
"galapago" as their carapace has a similar shape. For more read
on in our
history
chapter.
In 1959 most of the islands were declared a national park
and measures were undertaken to protect and conserve the unique
geography and wildlife.
Organized tourism started in
earnest in
the 1960's and the diversity of the marine world and the
fascinating
flora
& fauna of the islands are an unforgettable experience
for many tourists. Standing on recent lava flows or looking into
huge volcanic calderas, lets you appreciate how new worlds get
created by the huge powers of natural forces. Observing then the
unique animals and plants which arrived and survived on those
islands by adapting to a new and alien hostile environment, gives
you an insight into the equally immensely powerful processes of
evolution.
In our
Islands chapter you find a short
description of all the islands with their publicly open visitor sites and the
animals, plants and geological features you encounter there.
This is the most important information for you as it tells you
what you can expect to see on a particular cruise and you can compare
the various cruises offered. Each visitor site on that page has then a
link which gets you to a page with pictures and more detailed information
about that particular site. |
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Walking through a colony of seabirds
without them flying off, strolling along the ocean shore and
avoiding stepping on sunbathing marine iguanas, admiring
graceful flamingoes wading in shallow lagoons, swimming and
diving with turtles, sea lions or sharks are some of the
rewards of a visit.
It is a rare place
in the world where animals have not developed any natural
fear of man and so can be easily observed or photographed
from a
close distance. |
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