Traveling to Galapagos/Ecuador

[JonnyIce]

Hi All! Decided to divert from my normal cold-weather destinations during summer vacay and go to Galapagos. I am leaving early June and just wondering if anyone has gone and has any pointers...trying to do it without a tour and plan on my own. Weighing options of flying into Guayaquil or Quito and staying a few days there first. Any help is greatly appreciated as I am usually traveling to the arctic in these months LOL.

Thanks!

 

[jaa1456]

I saw a special not to long ago and I don't think they let you do to much siteseeing alone. The island is very protected, and they are very watchful over everything. At least thats what the special showed anyways.

 

[JavyJaverson]

im from quito, its pretty nice out there but i would def go with a tour. Not only because its dangerous, but because you get a lot more from the trip if you go with someone who knows where to go and where to avoid.

 

[jjlazo]

Wooow am jealous, please take pics and post here,

 

[ryangrieder]

I saw a special not to long ago and I don't think they let you do to much siteseeing alone. The island is very protected, and they are very watchful over everything. At least thats what the special showed anyways.

yeah i thought the same seeing almost all of the animals located there are endangered species or there only location is that island. i did not know that is even considdered a tourist attraction. i thought it was a forbidden island or something. IMAX and blue planet have real nice dvd's on the island. i own both, very interesting location and just seems to be a paridise!

 

[JonnyIce]

yes i am actually booked for a quick trip there first week or so of June woohoo...I am not entering as part of a tour, but plan on getting day trips with tour groups (though they are expensive because most involve boats to different islands)

 

[JonnyIce]

Oh and I ended up flying into Guayaquil...hopefully I'll want to go back and check out Quito next time!

 

[ryangrieder]

well then i must say..... i hate you lol. thats awesome i hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[cowfish]

Take lots of pictures!

 

[daisy]

friends of mine visited last year, and this is their advice:

1. Go to the Galapagos
2. Wear TONS of sunscreen.
3. Put on tons of sunscreen throughout the day.
4. Make sure to bring tons of sunscreen.

 

[JonnyIce]

haha thanks Daisy...though I'm half Israeli...I haven't developed that resistance to the sun...I have some UV SPF whatever shirts to wear as well

 

[JonnyIce]

Booked on a short boat trip..oh man.

 

[JonnyIce]

Been back a few days now...it was a fantastic trip...and quite the experience being on such a small boat haha.... Here are some photos to check out:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/577959287RJnKaa?vhost=travel

I have some underwater ones, but nothing really fantastic...no real coral or anything going on down there. Comments welcome!

Oh and for those wondering...I planned on my own (has its pluses and minuses)...stayed three nights in Guayaquil, four nights on a boat in Galapagos and final (party) night in Quito lol

 

[daisy]

what great pictures - looks like it was a really fantastic trip!

...I never thought that Iguanas might swim....

I love the blue-footed boobies

Looks like you had a great time!

?is it too sunny for corals? I wonder why there isn't much coral cover. I bet that's it. They pretty much grow wherever they can grow. If they're not there, there has to be a reason for it.

 

[JonnyIce]

Well the water is very very cold due to the humbohldt (sp?) current...and there's a lot of movement but I honestly don't know the real reason. Galapagos is the only place in the world with marine iguanas and it's pretty awesome to see!

 

[daisy]

I did a little research (I had never heard of the Humboldt current, and now I know something about it - VERY cool) and this is something that I think probably explains why there are not so many corals there:

quote:
The main ocean currents effecting the Galapagos Islands are the cold Counter Equatorial (Cromwell) Current from the west, the cold Humboldt (Peruvian Oceanic and Peruvian Coastal) Current and the from the southeast, the South Equatorial Current from the east, and the warm North Equatorial (Panama) Counter Current from the northeast which brings with it the devastating and infrequent El Ni?o Current. The mix of these currents and the location of the island in relation to the mix cause a wide variation of water temperatures from month to month and island to island.
end quote.

I think the reason you don't find so much coral cover there, even though it is in a place that receives tons of sunlight is that the water conditions are too variable from month to month. also, the humboldt is pretty low salinity. If the other currents are of different salinity, that would be just another variable for the corals to deal with.

...very interesting stuff!

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