Straddling the equator nearly 4000 miles SE of our home in Helena, MT,
the Galapagos Archipelago lays about 600+ miles off the west coast of Ecuador.
It consists of about 19 islands and many smaller "islets" and rock outcrops of volcanic origin. The two most western islands of the group - Isabela and Fernandina - are among the most active volcanic areas on earth. None of the islands is more than 5 million years old and Fernandina is thought to be only about 100,000 years old. The latter is the largest pristine island in the world, with no human habitation or introduced plant or animal species. 
Europeans first discovered the islands in 1535 when the Spaniard Fray Tomas de Berlanga and his ship were carried there by ocean currents. His accounts of the islands described the giant tortoises and iguanas and he commented on the tameness of the birds. Pirates were the first to use the islands and were later followed by whalers in the 1790's through the 1800's. In addition to decimating the whale populations, fur seals were hunted almost to extinction and many thousands of tortoises were removed for food. In 1832, the Galapagos were officially annexed by Ecuador , but Settlement did not occur until the late 1800's and into the early 1900's.As you well know, the most famous visitor to the Galapagos was Charles Darwin, aboard the HMS Beagle in 1835. Although he only spent a total of about 20 days on the islands, observations he made there and elsewhere on his 5-year voyage provided the basis for his classic The Origin of Species published 24 years later. This publication, of course, lead to profound changes in how man perceived processes in nature and evolution. In 1959, the Ecuadorian government declared the Galapagos National Park to protect all parts of the archipelago that were not already occupied or farmed by people.
Our trip to the the Galapagos began with a flight to Baltra Island and then embarkation on the ship National Geographic Islander. This is a 48 passenger ship operated by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.
It proved to be an excellent craft for island hopping and was manned by a great crew and naturalists who were exceptionally well versed in the natural history of the islands. Their knowledge of and love for the islands, and concern for island preservation, was obvious from the "get go" and an inspiration to me and the other passengers.We spent 8 days and 7 nights on the Islander, visiting 8 different islands. Most of the distance travel between islands was done at night, with short trips between landing sites sometimes done during lunch time. Island landings were accomplished using the Zodiacs. These inflatable craft were very versatile and the crew had them in the water usually within five minutes or so after we anchored.
The scenery in the Galapagos was not what I would classify as beautiful or idyllic, but it certainly was interesting.
But for me, the mystique of the islands lay in the uniqueness and tameness of the fauna and the distinctiveness of the flora.In the Galapagos blogs to follow this one, I'll discuss and provide images of the people, vegetation, birds, mammals, and reptiles inhabiting these very interesting and relatively isolated islands - that continue to give us a plethora of scientific knowledge important for the understanding of evolution.
