The Enchanted Islands
A truly unique place on Earth"Another feature of these isles is their emphatic uninhabitableness.
It is deerned fit (for)... the jackel itself;...but the Encantads refuse to harbor even the outcasts of the beasts. Man and wolf alike disown them. Little but reptile life is here found; tortoises, lizards,... and that strangest anomaly of outlandish nature, the iguano. No voice, no howl is heard; the chief sound of life here is a hiss."
Hermon Melvile from Los Encantados, 1854
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The Galapagos archipelago consists of thirteen major Islands, six minor islands and 40 some smaller rock formations and reefs spread out over 17,000 square miles of ocean.
This cluster of Islands located on the equator are situated 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. |
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The twenty-two species of Galapagos reptiles belong to five families: tortoises, marine turtles, lizards/iguanas, geckos and snakes. Twenty are endemic to the archipelago and many are endemic to individual islands.
The Islands are well-known for their giant tortoises ever since their discovery and play an important role in the development of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The name "Galapagos" originates from the Spanish word “galapago” meaning “saddle.”
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 The marine community of Galopagos is one of the most unique and exotic. One must be an experienced diver with adequate skills as strong currents, thermoclines and swells are common.
There are no dive shops in Galapagos so one must bring all their own equipment.
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