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"Las Isles Encantadas" - The Enchanted Isles

Charles Darwin's journey on the Beagle in 1831 carried him right around the world, but it was here, on the Galápagos Islands, that Darwin conceived his revolutionary theory expressed in his classic work, On The Origin of the Species. The Islands represent the scientific focus of this, one of the greatest intellectual and emotional upheavals to face mankind.

The Galápagos, a place of breath-taking contrasts: grey volcanic rock, parched deserts and lush cool forests set floating in the ever changing colours of the sea and sky, have remained as isolated and unspoiled as when Darwin first visited them a century and a half ago. Scattered close to the Equator, some 1000 kms west of Ecuador, the islands burst from the bed of the Pacific Ocean many years ago in a volcanic ferment of fire and lava. At first they were steamy and sterile, devoid of life. Within days, however, algae grew on the barren rocks below sea level, and fish colonised the newfound reefs. Oceanic birds found shelter and safe breeding places. Slowly, in the wake of these first inhabitants, came reptiles and mammals, refugees from the mainland of South America, drifting out on rafts and vegetation mats in the South Equatorial current.

The best way to experience the Galapagos is by cruising between the enchanted islands. Adventure Associates offers cruises for active travellers interested in the nature and the animals of the islands, for those seeking wild places and soft adventure, with time to relax on the beach or swim and snorkel, or dive.