Ecuador
Galápagos
2018.6.28 ~ 7.6
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Quito – City
Quito is located at the foot of Pichincha Volcano. Overlook the city panorama at altitude of 13000 feet on the mountain, the variety of the city’s landscape, just like its rich culture and history, is much beyond my expectations.
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Quito – Heritage
Located deep in the Andes, Quito has the best preserved 16th and 17th century Spanish-style churches. The following hundreds of years saw the bloodshed and conquest that accompanied the clash of civilizations, as well as the culture exchange and symbiosis. It is in itself a very intriguing thing.
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Galápagos – Tortoise Ranch
Santa Cruz Island. We spent our first day in Galápagos at Santa Cruz Island. We walked among the giant tortoises, learned the fascinating story of the Scalesia tree and start understanding the unique natural history about the archipelago.
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Galápagos – Penguins at the Equator
Punta Moreno, Isabela Island. Punta Moreno’s landing site is a vast expanse of rugged volcanic lava fields. The occasional lagoons not only nourish the surrounding plants and shrubs, but also provide a place for birds to relish. Hardly anything can grow in the barren lava fields, but only…
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Galápagos – Meet the Boobies
Punta Mangle, Fernandina Island. Punta Mangle is a small bay on Fernandina Island. Here we saw the courtship of the most iconic bird of the Galapagos Islands, the blue-footed booby; and learned about mangrove’s unique features that have evolved to adapt to the high salinity of the water.
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Galápagos – The Pirate Bay
Bahía Urbina and Caleta Tagus, Isabela Island. Isabela is the largest island in the Galapagos Islands. Bahía Urbina, where we are in the morning, has the only species of tortoise that survives naturally in the archipelago. Afternoon time in Caleta Tagus, Darwin Lake is a lagoon separated from…
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Galápagos – Chasing Dolphins
Punta Espinoza, Fernandina Island. It was definitely the most spectacular scene we have ever seen. We were surrounded by nearly 100 dolphins and sea lions speeding forward with us. Usually two or three dolphins were swimming side by side, riding the waves, playing and cheering. They burst out…
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Galápagos – Float in the Wind
Isla Albany is several rocks jutting out of the water from Santiago Island. Isla Albany is a great place for snorkeling because of its complex rock formations and attached coral that provide an ideal place for marine life.
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Galápagos – Star Wars Beach
Puerto Egas, Santiago Island. The erosion created many rock stacks along the shore, some of which are more than half a meter high. They have this layered swirling structure. The dark lava stack with the unique shape covering large area as far as the eye can see. The…
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Galápagos – Red Beach
The most unique feature of Rábida island is its fine red sand beach. The white waves lap up against the red sand, a beauty that would be ranked on the top among all the beaches of the world.
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Galápagos – Chinese Hat
Viewed from the north, Sombrero Chino does look like a hat. But such a hat can be found not only in China, it is also very common in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
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Galápagos – Pinnacle Rock
We walked up the wooden walkway and soon reached the top of Isla Batolomé. From here, the most iconic views of the Galápagos are all in front of us. Isla Batolomé is shaped like a pear, with a long stalk that runs deep into Sullivan Bay. The pointy…
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Galápagos – Playa Las Bachas
The trip to the Galápagos Islands not only allowed us to enjoy the unique natural ecology of the islands in comfortable conditions, but also allowed us to understand Darwin’s theory of evolution in a more sensible way. The world is a fascinating place to explore!