On January 6 of 2004 a motley group of 8 photographers, a mixture of professional and serious amateurs, flew together to the Galápagos Islands for a week-long photographic expedition. We were joined by three young adventurers who had no idea of who they were hooking up with, but who took the strange habits of serious photographers graciously into account. Our plane landed on the island of Baltra and a bus shuttled us and our gear the few miles down to the harbor, where we boarded the MV Samba, a 78’ converted trawler, and we were off on an 8-day, 7-night adventure. Our trip started at Baltra and circled clockwise to Plaza Sur, Santa Cruz, Española, Floreana, Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, Bartolomé, and back to Baltra
The Galápagos Islands straddle the equator 600 miles west of South America. Like the Hawaiian Islands, they are volcanic outposts in mid-ocean. The archipelago comprises 13 large islands, 6 small islands & countless rocks and islets. The islands spread across about 17,000 square miles of ocean, about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined. The total land area is 3,000 square miles, of which Isabela makes up more than half.
Besides volcanism, the sea and the wind are the main forces driving all change, all life, on the islands. For about half of the year the islands are arid and little if any rain falls. In the wet season there are daily rains, but they fall only at certain elevations and at certain locations on the windward sides of the islands.
Unlike Hawaii, the prevailing winds never carried prehistoric humans to settle here and the islands were not “discovered” until 1535. There were no permanent settlements anywhere in the islands until the early 1800s.
What little life reached the Galápagos on their own arrived by air or by sea, surviving unknown periods of time at sea or aloft. Upon reaching this deserted outpost they faced a severe struggle to survive, and in biologic as well as geographic isolation all eventually either adapted or perished. Those that survived over many of thousands of years changed inexorably until they became new species differentiated, sometimes markedly, from the original species, stemming mostly from South American origins.
The young scientist Charles Darwin visited the islands during an eight-week period in the fall of 1835. An extraordinarily keen observer, he made careful notes that, upon his return to England, formed first a travel account of his five year voyage and then, in 1859 the seminal Origin of Species, which changed forever the way in which we perceive ourselves and the interrelationships between all life. To this day the Galápagos remain a crucible of evolutionary experience, an unparalleled natural laboratory and it is for this reason, among others, that the scientists and rangers of the Galápagos National Park, are trying so hard to keep the various populations unadulterated through introductions of non-native species of plant and animal.
In the course of that week, tens of thousands of photographic images were made, old friendships were renewed and new friendships formed. I offer this mini-site as my contribution to the overall effort and hopefully the images and accompanying essay will serve to increase awareness of this unique location and its importance to all of us.
All images of wildlife and plants include the common English name and the binomial scientific name, where known. Three terms define the status of plants and animals:
Endemic – the species is found on the islands and no where else in the world. The giant tortoises, the Galápagos finches, and the two species of iguana are examples.
Native or Resident – the species’ arrival predates man’s arrival, meaning they got to the Galápagos on their own, but are not unique to the islands. Examples include many North American shore birds that migrate, spending part of the year on the islands and part of the year in Central or North America.
Introduced – species like the goat, cat, dog, and rat that arrived with man and now pose significant peril to native and endemic species.
Images:
A Few Thoughts: