ABOUT THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Kids Sea Camp invites you aboard the MY Wolf Buddy, to experience your own private luxury yacht and crew for the entire week. Wolf Buddy is appointed with spacious suits that are a minimum of 160sq feet all with private bath.  Local Chefs prepare a first class dining experience for all and a specialized menu for family weeks.  Buddy Dive has paid attention to every detail for the comfort and safety of divers. Diving features 2 Zodiacs that will take you to dive and tour the volcanic isolated islets of the Galápagos to explore above and below. Our expedition is led by the Buddy Dive team of PADI Dive Instructors and Naturalists, (including an Underwater Specialist, a photographer, and Expedition Leader), providing a multitude of information, education and unmatched attention to your families safety in all that you’ll do..

Emerging from the sea some nine million years ago, the Galapagos Islands were created by a combination of tectonic forces and volcanic eruptions, a process which continues even today. Due to their isolation, they remained undisturbed for millions of years and this resulted in the evolution of a number of unique individual ecosystems, with many species found nowhere else in the world.

Charles Darwin, visiting the islands as a young man in 1835, was inspired to develop his “Theory of Evolution,” based on his observations of the subtle differences between the same species found on different islands.

Located on the hot equator, 600 miles off the cost of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, water temperatures are cooler than you would expect, due to local upwellings, which along with the Humboldt current originated in Antarctica, bring cool, nutrient rich waters. The mixture of warm currents from Central America with this cooler water has produced an amazing variety of climates, flora and fauna. In the highlands of the larger islands are extinguished craters covered with lush, endemic cloud forests, while closer to the shore, it
becomes desert-like, characterized by the towering Opuntia cactus and spiny Acacias. The fauna too provides some unusual sights: sea lions sharing habitat with tropical flamingos, and cold water penguins feeding amongst brightly colored tropical fish. These conditions, and the fearlessness of the land and marine species to man, have made the Galapagos Islands a unique place for nature to express itself. No wonder they are called “The Enchanted Islands.”

The Galapagos Archipelago is part of Ecuador and consists of seven major islands (San Cristobal, Espanola, Floreana, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Isabela and Fernandina), six smaller ones (Darwin, Wolf, Pinta, Marchena, Genovesa and Baltra) and dozens and dozens of rocks and islets. Sometimes the smaller the island, the bigger the effect it has on the visitor. The archipelago stretches roughly 270 miles (430 km) from Darwin in the northwest to Espanola in the southeast.

Galapagos is home to many unique, endemic animals, most of which are fearless due to the lack of natural predators. One of the best known, the giant tortoise, has evolved into fourteen distinct forms on the different islands of the archipelago. Other reptiles include the marine iguana which grazes on seaweed, land iguanas, lava lizards, geckos and snakes. The only terrestrial mammals are rice rats and two species of bat. The 13 species of small, brownish finches are adapted to a range of different foods and are known collectively as Darwin's finches. They have been important to scientists trying to understand how evolution occurs, and include the tool-using woodpecker finch. Other endemic (only found in Galapagos) land birds include a hawk, dove, flycatcher, rail and four species of mockingbird.

Among the endemic sea birds are a flightless cormorant, two species of gull, and the only penguin species which lives in tropical waters. The waved albatross breeds solely on Espa Island, while colonies of blue-footed, red-footed, and masked boobies are found alongside frigatebirds. Sea lions and fur seals are found around the coasts, while dolphins, whales and sea turtles are common. Over 300 species of fish have already been described from the rich ocean waters around the archipelago. There are also at least 1,600 species of insects, 80 spiders, 300 beetles, 150 mites, 80 land snails, 650 sea shells, 200 starfishes and urchins, 120 crabs, and many other smaller animals.

Getting There
American Airlines, Lan Airlines, Iberia, and KLM have convenient flights into Guayaquil. AeroGal provides service from Guayaquil to San Cristobal. An overnight stay is required in Guayaquil or Quito prior to the trip.