Galapagos Islands Vacation Answer Key

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A trip to this enchanted Galapagos islands lives up to hopes for a sheltered area removed from the common headaches of the world. The atmosphere is tend to be full of sunshine, as well as sea winds generate that perfect air climate which quickly calms down the body. The water is an ever-appealing turquoise green, matched by long soft sand beach locations of crystal white, red, dark and green. You can find crystal creeks and sheltered mangrove lagoons, along with towering cliffs and caves.

We have the best small ships and boats offering you unparalleled connection to the very best locations within the archipelago together with the highest possible standard of comfort and safety. This company is committed to the perfect experience, which involves hikes, swimming, scuba diving and sea kayaking. You will learn the extraordinary behavior and specific aspects that species has evolved to adapt to the unusual scenarios on each area. Considering that animals have developed in the absence of human population and other big predators, so you could connect very closely with unusual and strange animals which have virtually no fear of humans. Explore among cinder cones, white and black sand beaches, rocky cliffs and vibrant undersea environments.

When is the perfect time to travel to the Galapagos?

The Galapagos Islands, positioned on the Pacific Ocean, around a thousand kilometers (600 miles) west of Ecuador, have a very peculiar climate, tropical and semi-arid, that has a very hot and relatively rainy period coming from January to May, as well as a dry and cool time period, as well as foggy and misty, through July to November.

The landscapes of the Galapagos are barren, with the exception of the bigger islands, which usually obtain far more considerable rain fall. As was mentioned by Charles Darwin, who as you may know studied the peculiarities of the species living in the isles, their climate is cooler than one would anticipate from a place located nearby the Equator, as a result of Humboldt Current, which touch the location right after circulating in the ocean west of Latin America. Anyway, here the weather is varied from one year to another, as there are diverse ocean currents that encounter or alternate in the area (there’s also a warm current from Central America, that flows at a small range and is extra active on the years of El Niño), therefore, the climate is tough to predict.

As mentioned, in this islands there are two seasons: a hot season from January to May, with highest temperature ranges close to 29/30 °C (84/86 °F), as well as a relatively cool season coming from July to November, known as Garua, having daytime temperature ranges about 24/25 °C (75/77 °F). In the latter, night-time temperature conditions stay acceptable, around 18/19 °C (64/66 °F), but you’ll notice often mists, which result in the condensation of very small drops (known as garua from which the season receives its name), and the atmosphere is typically covered by very low clouds (as a result of thermal inversion generated by the low-temperature marine current). This time is the least rainy of the year in shorelines and plains (because the Garua does not generate substantial rain accumulations), while away from the coast hills and mountains, there can be many real rains. The highest peak is the Vulcan Wolf, 1,707 meters (5,600 feet) high, situated on Isabela Island.

The warm season, from January to May, is on the other hand the time of rains, but normally the rains are not considerable, and in any kind of occasion they occur in the shape of afternoon showers, which do not eclipse in excess the sun. The rainiest month is March.

On the shorelines, the rainfall comes down to under 600 millimeters (20 inches) a year, so it’s not considerable. Here is the common precipitation in Puerto Baquerizo; we could see the reality that in the hot season, few millimeters (a few tenths of an inch) per month accumulate, because of mostly to drizzle and dew formation.

Interestingly, travelers flock to the beaches during the rainy period of time, due to the fact in addition to being the sunniest, it’s the one in which the ocean is the hottest.

It needs to be stated that rainfall is intermittent, and can be abundant in the seasons of El Niño. During the most severe El Niño years, such as 1982-83 and 1997-98, the climate of these islands becomes tropical, having higher temperature conditions and also plentiful rainfall. In the years of La Niña, on the other hand, the rains become more rare, and there’s a reduction in each air and sea temperature.

When to visit

Generally speaking, the Galapagos may be visited throughout the year. However, the optimum time to go to the islands, if you also desire to go swimming and sunbathe, runs from February to May, because it is the warmest and sunniest, however, there may be several downpours or severe storms in the morning.

The low-temperature period, from July to November, is often highly recommended to explore the outdoors, since it hardly ever rains in the flatlands and the climate is enjoyable, even though you have to take into account mists, haze and cloudy skies. From September to November the ocean could be a little challenging, and this may bother those who suffer from movement illness, during boat travels from one island to the other.

What clothes you should bring

From December to May (hot cycle): light clothes, a light sweatshirt for the night, light raincoat or umbrella for rain showers; sun cap. For hiking in the hills and the Vulcan Wolf, a bit more comfortable sport shirt and raincoat, walking shoes.

From June to November (low-temperature cycle): light clothes, t-shirt or sweater and light coat for the evening hours.

For the ocean, gear for knee boarding, water shoes or plastic soled footwear.

The Galapagos were discovered by chance at 1535 by Father Tomas Berlanga, priest of Panama.

Because of the long distances involved, the only practical way to explore the Galapagos is by live-aboard boats, which travel between islands, mostly at night, and also make different stops each day. Over 80 vessels are licensed to operate in the archipelago and there are an infinite number of combinations of stops and paths. Most cruises go ashore two times a day: 10 full days on the ship typically means 20 coast landings, 10-20 snorkels, and many panga rides (pangas are small, open outboard-powered ships) to about 10 distinct islands.

Exploring on your own is considerably more difficult. Getting around independently is tricky and all visitors should be accompanied by a licensed naturalist guide at all landing sites. But four islands (Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Floreana and Isabela) do have hotels of varying dimensions and standards and a couple of boat operators offer day-trips.

Some cruises leave from Baltra (the pier is a five-minute drive in the air terminal). Others move out of Puerto Ayora, the tourist hub on Santa Cruz and a comparatively busy city, with a bank, ATM machine, taxis, pubs and even a theater.

GalapagosInformation.com offers an assortment of tailor-made live-aboard tours on many unique vessels carrying from 4 to 16 passengers.

Wildlife movements differ greatly, and every month has its own highlights. By way of instance, green turtles start their own egg-laying in January; penguins interact with swimmers on Bartolome mainly from May until the end of September; humpback whales begin to arrive in June; July through the end of September is the ideal period for many seabird action; peak pupping for sea lions is around August, while their pups play aqua-aerobics with snorkelers in November; and December is the month for hatching giant tortoise eggs. So, always there’s something about to happen.

The seas tend to be calmer and clearer now of year (using 60ft-80ft visibility average) and the water temperature averages 79° F (26°C), therefore this period is ideal for snorkeling.

The cool, drier, windier season (with intermittent drizzle or mist) is from June to November. Sea temperatures at this time of year drop to as low as 66F (19C) and visibility frequently goes down to 30ft-50ft, while sea swells may make some landings catchy.

The Way to Access to the Galapagos Islands

Planning your trip to the Galapagos Islands? Not sure how to get to the archipelago? It’s simple. Your first destination is mainland Ecuador. Whether you’re traveling from the United States, Europe or any place else, you should book an global flight to Guayaquil or Ecuador’s capital, Quito. Their isolation is one of the qualities which make them so unique. You might be asking yourself how one arrives to the islands. Charles Darwin went to the Galapagos Islands on the Beagle, but modern-day explorers arrive by jet. The only daily flights to the Galapagos Islands leave from the cities of Quito and Guayaquil on mainland Ecuador. International travelers must ensure to arrive to the city in order to start their Galapagos experience. From both Quito and Guayaquil, there are daily flights linking Ecuador with cities around the Americas and in Europe. Direct flights in the US cities of Miami, Houston, Atlanta, and New York arrive Daily. From Europe you will find direct flights coming in both Paris and Madrid. After on southern Ecuador, passengers carry on to one of two airports in the Galapagos Islands. The next airport is around San Cristobal Island. Flights from Quito and Guayaquil fly every day bringing people into the enchanting islands. From the airports at the Galapagos, passengers move for their cruises or hotels in the port towns of their islands. When booking a cruise in the Galapagos, it’s highly recommended to reserve your flights together with the cruise. This ensures an on-time entrance and averts the chance of missing the cruise departure. Our expert trip advisors can help you arrange all the details of your trip to the Galapagos Islands. Get in touch with them today to reserve your cruise and flights from Quito or Guayaquil. The trip from Quito the Galapagos is approximately 2.5 hours, and it requires a little less time from Guayaquil. As soon as you get to the mainland, you are only a couple of hours away from viewing the blue-footed boobies and tortoises and swimming with sea lions. Come into the Galapagos, and discover a world unlike any other!

Giant Tortoises

The giant tortoises of Galapagos are among the most well-known of the temples of the Islands. While giant tortoises once thrived on the majority of the continents of the world, the Galapagos tortoises now represent one of the remaining two types of giant tortoises in the whole world -another band living on Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The Galapagos Islands were named for their giant tortoises; the Spanish word galapago meant saddle, a term early explorers used for its tortoises on account of the shape of their shells.

The closest living relative of the Galapagos enormous tortoise is your small Chaco tortoise from South America, though it’s not a direct ancestor. Scientists believe the first tortoises came to Galapagos two–3 million years ago by traveling 600 miles from the South American coast on vegetation rafts or in their own. They were already massive creatures before coming in Galapagos. Colonizing the eastern-most islands of Española and San Cristobal first, they then dispersed through the archipelago, eventually demonstrating at least 15 separate populations on among the biggest Galapagos Islands.

Although there is a great deal of variation in size and shape among Galapagos tortoises, two main morphological types exist -the domed shells (similar to their ancestral type) as well as also the saddle-backed carapace. Domed tortoises are normally much bigger in size and do not have the upward thrust into the front of their carapace; they reside on the larger, higher islands having humid highlands where forage is usually abundant and easily obtainable. Saddle-backed shells evolved over the arctic islands in response to the absence of accessible food during drought. The front part of the carapace angles upward, allowing the tortoise to expand its mind higher to reach the greater vegetation, for example cactus pads.

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