Travel Galapagos Islands, information on Galapagos travel, Galapagos cruises, Galapagos tours, galapagos diving and island hopping.

Father Tomas de Berlanga accidentally discovered the Galapagos in 1535, the islands were officially charted in 1570 and during the next 200 years were used by British and American pirates and whalers as a place for supplies and fresh water. During this years Galapagos Giant tortoises were hunted for food and almost pushed to extinction. Sea lion and seal populations were also diminished abruptly. In 1684, one of these buccaneers, Ambrose Cowley, made the first crude map of the islands and named each of them, mainly after English kings and noblemen (these names have largely been supplanted by Spanish ones; a small islet east of Isabela, however, still bears Cowley's name). Though fresh water is scarce in the Galapagos, it can be found in a few localities. One particularly favored spot was Buccaneer Cove on the northwest end of Santiago. Fresh meat, in the form of the giant tortioses, was another valuable commodity to be had in the Galapagos. The giant tortoises were highly prized by mariners because they could be kept alive in the holds of ships for many months without food or water.

By 1790 pirates were being replaced by whalers. Captain James Colnett was comissioned by His Majesty's government to investigate the possibilities of sperm-whale fisheries in region and visited the islands in 1793 and 1794. Colnett made the first reasonably accurate map of the archipelago and set up a “Post Office Barrel” on Floreana. Whalers, who would be at sea for years, would leave letters in the barrel and ships heading back to England to port would pick up the letters and deliver them to port. The Post Office Barrel may still be seen today on the shore in Post Office Bay.

Soon whalers from New Bedford as well as England were coming to the Galapagos in large numbers, dozens of ships each year. Like the pirates before them, whalers would hunt tortoises, turtles, birds, and occasionally land iguanas for food. The whalers, though, were much more numerous than the pirates had been and some races of tortoises quickly became extinct. As many as 200,000 tortoises may have been taken over the course of the 19th century. Also taken in great numbers were fur seals, whose thick, luxurious fur was highly prized. By the early 20th century they were nearly extinct (they have since greatly recovered). In 1813, when the U.S., Britain, and France were at war with one another, American Captain David Porter, commanding the U.S.S. Essex, nearly destroyed the British whaling fleet in the Galapagos. At the same time, Porter charted the islands and made careful observations of them in his log, including an eruption of Floreana in July 1813, the only known historic eruption of this volcano. Porter was also the first to remark upon the differences in the tortoises, particularly in the shape of their shells, from the various islands. When anchored in James Bay, Porter released several goats to graze near the shore. However, after several days the goats disappeared into the interior and were not seen again. Porter had not intended to release the goats. But in subsequent years and centuries, many were deliberately released to provide a continuing source of meat to ships in the area. These goats would multiply, eventually reaching 100,000 on Santiago, and devestate the native flora of Santiago and several other islands and threating the native herbivores, such as the giant tortoise. Today, introduced species remain the single greatest threat to the Galapagos biota.

Among the whalers who stopped here was Herman Melville, the great American novelist and author of Moby Dick. Melville was unimpressed by what he saw, "five and twenty heaps of cinder dumped here and there in an outside city lot", but nevertheless wrote a short story, Los Encantadas, that took place in the islands, published in 1854. The title is the name whalers and pirates often used for the islands, the Enchanted Isles.

Up to 1832, the islands were nominally owned by Spain, which, however, had taken little intersest in them and had done almost nothing to enforce its claim. In 1832, they were claimed by the 2 year old Republic of Ecuador (which lies 1000 km to the east), and named the "Archipelago del Ecuador". In 1892 they were renamed "Archipelago de Colon" in honor of Columbus and the 400th anniversary of his discovery of America. This remains the official name of the islands, but the original name, Galapagos, is more widely used. In 1833, the Ecuadorian government granted a concession to Jose Villamil, a Frenchman who had left Louisiana when it was sold to the United States, to establish the first settlement in the Galapagos, on Floreana. Villamil raised fruits, vegetables, cattle, pigs, and goats and did a brisk business trading with whalers.

By the time of Darwin's visit in 1935, tortoises were already disappearing from Floreana. He found two to three hundred people living on the island and that "the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. Their numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island, but the people yet count on two days' hunting giving them food for the rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of a frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred tortoises to the beach." By 1846, well after Villamil's colony had been abandoned, Berthold Seeman, a naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Pandora, reported there were no tortoises to be found on Floreana, but there were 2000 head of cattle. Wild dogs roamed the island, and they were later reported to attack visitors. The Santa Fe and Rabida tortoise races also became extinct in the nineteenth century. Whaling interest in the Galapagos waned in the 1860's as sperm whales became scare and recently discovered petroleum came rapidly to replace sperm oil. Though ships continued to occasionally stop there to take fur seals and provision, the great era of pirates and whalers was over.

The Galapagos are located on the Pacific dry area, which makes that the temperatures keep low due to the Humboldt cold current coming from the Antartica. In this particular area the Southeast trade winds and the Niño influence produce two seasons during the year:  wet and dry.  As you can see on the chart below, rainy season usually starts from January to May, during this season temperatures rise and humidity rises as well, the ocean temperature rises and the waters get calmer.

During the dry season temperature drops to an average of 21C and the oceans get cooler but rougher. 

GALAPAGOS AVERAGE TEMP AND PRECIPITATION IN THE PAST TWO YEARS

* Data from Charles Darwin Foundation. 

Galapagos is a year around destination, you will be able to see exotic wildlife all year around!  When to visit or when to go to Galapagos basically depends on your budget, your preferences for travelling and weather preference. 

The high season (June to September and November to March) is not necesarily related to wildlife activity or weather, but merely with the international high seasons around the world.   On high season it is more difficult to find last minute deals and most cruises are booked with more than 90 days (and even more in Christmas and New Year's) in advance.  You might bump with bigger crowds during the visits, but the Galapagos National Park regulates the amount of tourists that can visit a determined island every day; so you will never feel like in an amusement park there. 

The low season on the other hand is somewhat under rated, and by some is considered as the best time to travel.  Although prices are relatively the same, you are more likely to get sunnier days, calmer seas and warmer oceans. 

For divers the peak season starts from July to September as there is more chances of seeing whalesharks and bigger schools of hammerheads in Darwin and Wolf. 

Wildlife activity however, happens all year around in the Galapagos.  Here you can find a chart with the monthly expected activity for your planning.

Galapagos Wildlife Calendar

JANUARY
	Land birds start to nest after the first rain.  Green sea turtles start to lay eggs on Galapagos beaches. Giant tortoise eggs are hatching.  On Española the adult male marine iguanas become brightly colored. The green sea turtle arrives in the Galapagos Islands to lay their eggs on beaches. Land iguanas begin reproductive cycles on Isabela. Ideal time for snorkeling.
FEBRUARY
	Greater flamingos start nesting on Floreana. Marine iguanas nest on Santa Cruz. Galapagos doves are nesting. Penguins migrate away from Bartholeme to cooler waters off Isabela and Fernandina.   Giant tortoise eggs are still hatching. Bahamas pintails start their breeding season. Masked boobies on Española are at the end of their nesting season.  Penguins may be sighted at Bartolomé. The nesting season of the Galapagos dove reaches its peak.
MARCH
	Usually the height of the rainy season. Sporadic rains, high humidity and strong sun.  Marine iguanas nest on Fernandina and North Seymour. Waved albatrosses start to arrive back on Española at the beginning of the summer equinox. Hatching season of giant Galapagos tortoise eggs continues. Galapagos Penguins on Isabela island.   Frigatebirds inflate their red throat pouches for the mating season on San Cristobal and Genovesa islands.
APRIL
	Green sea turtle eggs begin to hatch. Mass arrival and courtship of waved albatrosses on Española. Land iguana eggs hatch on Isabela. End of the giant tortoise hatching season. Mating dance of blue-footed boobies on North Seymour. Mating season for frigatebirds on Genovesa and San Cristobal, when the males attract a mate by showing off their red throat pouches. The eggs of the green sea turtles begin to hatch.
MAY
	Band rumped storm petrels start first of two nesting periods. Waved albatross are laying eggs on Española Island. North Seymour’s blue-footed boobies begin their courtship. Sea turtles are still hatching on Gardner Bay, Punta Cormorant and Puerto Egas. Most of the marine iguanas eggs hatch from nests on Santa Cruz. Palo Santo trees begin to shed their foliage. Albatross on Española start laying their eggs. Storm petrels begin their first nesting period.
JUNE
	Giant tortoises on Santa Cruz come down to the lowlands to look for nesting sites. Birds migrating north use the Galapagos Islands to rest.   Humpback Whales pass the Galapagos Islands from June to September. Whale sharks may be seen in the far northwestern islands towards the end of the month. The endemic short-eared owl starts mating on Genovesa Island. Beginning of the garúa season (cooler and drier climate).
JULY
	Whales and dolphins off the west coast of Isabela, whale sharks near Darwin and Wolf islands. American oystercatchers nest on Santiago.   Flightless cormorants court and nest on Fernandina. Sea bird colonies are breeding. Sea bird communities are very active, especially the Blue Footed boobies on Española. Greater flamingoes court potential mates with a dance-like ritual. The first frigatebird chicks satart to hatch. Oystercatchers start nesting at Puerto Egas. Lava lizards initiate mating rituals until November.
AUGUST
	Sea lions are giving birth to pups and can be agressive if they feel threatened.  Frigatebird chicks are hatching. Greater flamingo courtship dances continue. Migrant shore birds are arriving. Courtship of Galapagos hawks on Santiago and Española. Nazca boobies nest on Genovesa. Possibility of whale shark sightings near Wolf and Darwin islands.   Humpback whales pass the Galapagos on migration route.  Migrant shore birds start to arrive, and stay on the islands until March. Giant tortoises return to the highlands of Santa Cruz.
SEPTEMBER
	Penguins demonstrate remarkable activity on Bartolomé. Male sea lions are fighting to win or defend their harems of females. Lots of sea birds at nest sites. Chance of seeing whale sharks in the northwest of the archipelago or humpback whales migrating past the islands. Cold (garúa) season peak.
OCTOBER
	Galapagos fur seal mating season.   Blue footed booby chicks on Española and Isabela. Lava herons start nesting. Whale sharks still around Darwin and Wolf islands. Lava herons nest until March. Giant tortoises still lay their eggs.
NOVEMBER
	Sea lion pups are old enough to play with tourists and their mothers are more relaxed about them.  Sea lions are sexually active on the Eastern part of the Archipelago. Brown noddy breeding season.   Band rumped storm petrels start nesting again. Chance of seeing whale sharks in the far northwest of the Galapagos Islands.   Green sea turtle mating season starts.
DECEMBER
	Giant tortoise eggs start to hatch, through until April. Waved albatross chicks fledge and the waved albatrosses leave the Galapagos, not to return until March. Green sea turtles are mating.  The rainy season begins, all of the plants of the dry zone produce leaves. Galapagos “turns green”. The first young albatross fledge.