Galapagos

A dream come true. Galapagos is very surreal, all the islands are so different from one another and animals are used to humans not being a threat.
We did a cruise and snorkeled with giant turtles and penguins before spending a few more days in the highlands. I feel very grateful I was able to visit this remote unique little paradise.
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Show all / Santa Cruz / Genovesa / Bartolomé / Isabela
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Santa Cruz -@ Finally arriving in Galapagos. I was coming from New York and only had a 10 hours flight and one stop. My brother coming from Germany had 3 stops and more than 24 hours...
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Santa Cruz -@ To see the various islands you have to book to go on a small cruise ship as only guided tours are available and most islands are not inhabited. This is the harbour of Santa Cruz, one of the two main islands.
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Cliff Crabs -@ The islands are known for their large number of endemic species that were famously studied by Charles Darwin. We first encountered these red cliff crabs.
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Aida Maria -@ Ready to board our Aida Maria Motor Yacht, our home for the next 6 nights on the ocean with a dozen other adventurers from around the world.
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Aida Maria -@ Our first sunset on the boat. Galapagos is a collection of volcanic islands that are part of Ecuador and distributed on either side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean (we did the toilet flush test... it didn't work)
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Genovesa Island -@ Our first stop was Genovesa. This seal greeted us early in the morning, still napping.
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Genovesa Island -@ The island's nickname "the bird island" is clearly justified. Our guide was a bird fanatic, always calling for "Amigos, huge photo opportunity here!"
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Genovesa Island -@ Seals are everywhere on nearly every island. They are not bothered by the tourists at all as they never encounted any danger coming from humans.
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Genovesa Island -@ This island is formed by the remaining edge of a large caldera that is submerged. In other words, a little paradise on a former volcano.
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Frigatebirds -@ Weird but beautiful birds found all over the place
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Genovesa Island -@ I forgot the name of this bird but he definitely provided a photo opportunity!
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Genovesa Island -@ Sunset over Genovesa!
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Bartolomé -@ Sunrise over Bartolomé! We often travelled through the night to the next island and took sleeping pills to counter the seasickness.
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Bartolomé -@ Bartolomé is famous for its Pinnacle Rock, which is a distinctive characteristic of this island. We also got to snorkle around the area and saw penguins, turtles and seals in the water.
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Bartolomé -@ A Blue Footed Booby landing in the early morning and giving me a really nice shot!
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Bartolomé -@ Same Booby after landing demanding money for the photo opportunity.
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Sullivan Bay -@ Impressive fews of the Bay overlooking the ocean
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Sullivan Bay -@ My brother in a wide angle fisheye shot. Our beloved Aida Maria can be seen off shore.
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Bartolomé -@ Hi there!
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Bartolomé -@ The famous view from the volcanic cone, one of the best views in Galapagos.
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Bartolomé -@ My brother stole the camera and had some fun with the fisheye lense.
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Bartolomé -@ Another wide-angle shot of the two of us on our adventure.
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Bartolomé -@ Back at the bay we actually saw heaps of sharks in the shallow waters enjoying the warm waters.
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Bartolomé -@ The volcanic surface looked really bizzare and beautiful at the same time.
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Dragon Hill -@ Dragon Hill is one of the few visitor sites directly related to a conservation program of the Charles Darwin Foundation. These lagoons are the home of flamingos and other shore birds.
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Black Turtle Cove -@ We were followed by turtles and rays as we made our way through this pristine environment.
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Puerto Ayora -@ Puerto Ayora is the most populous town in the Galápagos Islands, with more than 12,000 inhabitants. The wild animals are active contestants at the local market.
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Puerto Ayora -@ Two local kids playing in the streets in the evening and smiling for the camera.
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Santa Cruz Highlands -@ One of the twin craters, Los Gemelos, in the Highlands. We took a day off after our cruise to do this hike.
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Isabela -@ To see yet another island we booked a day trip to Isabela, the largest island of the Galápagos. We had some troubles to get on land as these two wouldn't get out of the way.
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Isabela -@ I had never been as sea sick as on the boat ride to this island. Finally arriving I felt like this guy.
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Isabela -@ The seals look cute and friendly but they are actually known for biting so we were adviced to keep our distance.
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Isabela -@ These marine iguanas are only found on Galapagos. They are hard to spot but as there are so many of them, you are sure to get your photos.
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Isabela -@ One of my favourite shots. There could be so many stories here... two brothers waiting for mum to come home. Two friends ready for adventure. Two mates checking out the girls.
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Isabela -@ Hello little friend. I'm gonna call you Fritz.
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Isabela -@ Isabela's rich bird, animal and marine life is beyond compare. Another example here, flamingos.
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Isabela -@ Isabela is home to more wild tortoises than all the other islands.
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Isabela -@ These young ones are in the Tortoise Breeding Center, learning how difficult life can be...
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Isabela -@ The Galápagos penguin is a penguin endemic to the Galápagos Islands and the only penguin found north of the equator. We snorkeled with some of them and they are incredibly fast underwater.
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Isabela -@ We were also lucky snorkeling with huge marine turtles, white-tipped reef sharks, and other tropical fish.
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Isabela -@ Most our underwater photos are blurry but this guy came close several times to make sure we got a good shot!
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Isabela -@ Our best snorkeling experience was when we were going through a narrow shallow path where the ground was covered with sleeping black sharks...
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