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Galapagos - in the Middle
of the World
Lying 970 km (600 miles) west of the Ecuadorian coast,
at the Equator line, the Galapagos Islands consist of 6 main
islands 12 smaller islands and over 40 small islets.
All the islands are the peaks of gigantic volcanoes originated
by so called "hot spots" 10 million years ago.
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Click on
the map to enlarge
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Since formation till its discovery in 1535 by Thomas de Berlanga
(the Spanish bishop of Panama) the Galapagos Islands were totally
isolated from the mainland. During the millennia an immense
number of birds, reptiles, insects and plants drifted or flew
to its shores and a unique flora and fauna with lots of endemic
species developed.
And since the islands have never been connected with the continent
the animals and plants developed there and came to differ more
and more from their continental ancestors. Its creatures never
learned to fear humans and you will be surprised by how tame
the animals are. In September 1835 the English scientist Charles
Darwin arrived at the islands, culmination of his journey around
the world with the HMS Beagle (1831-1836). |
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The
scientific findings he made during his stay at the Galapagos
built the basis of his essay "Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection" that changed the course
of biological science basically.
The Galapagos Islands are famous for its rare species.
All the reptiles, half of the plants and 40% of the birds
are endemic to the Galapagos, which means that they can
not be found anywhere else in the world. |
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you visit the Islands you will quickly understand why the Spanish
pirate Diego de Rivadeneira named the islands "Las Islas
Encantadas (The enchanted islands). You will see prehistoric
seeming land iguanas, 11 species of giant tortoises which gave
the island their name (galapago= tortoise in Spanish), mocking
birds pecking at your shoe laces, curious sea lions playing
with you while your snorkeling, 13 species of endemic finches
(the famous Darwin finches), moon like landscapes and mist-covered
volcanic peaks, red sand beaches, strange forests of prickly
pear cactus, the world's pinkest flamingoes (!), the biggest
breeding-colony of albatrosses in the world, blue-footed boobies
performing their "sky pointing" dance, hunting penguins
swimming around your legs. |
Our boats will take you to many of the different islands and
you will enjoy incredible snorkeling among playful Sea lions,
Dolphins, Sharks (totally safe!) and huge Manta Rays and watch
the funny red- and blue- footed bobbies, the huge land iguanas,
and all the other animals endemic to the island.
Click
here for Our Boat Athala
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