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| 102 | Santa Cruz, San Cristobal and, to a lesser extent
Isabela, all have abundant taxis that will take
you anywhere in town for a dollar. Travel outside
town, such as to the highlands will be a few
dollars more. There are daily buses to the airport
on Baltra. San Cristobal's airport is on the edge
of town and is a 5 minute taxi-ride. You can rent
bicycles on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal
(Isabela?) and you can ride considerable distances
before finding yourself at the limits of the
National Park, beyond which you will have to be
accompanied by a Park guide. | 102 | Santa Cruz, San Cristobal and, to a lesser extent
Isabela, all have abundant taxis that will take
you anywhere in town for a dollar. Travel outside
town, such as to the highlands will be a few
dollars more. There are daily buses to the airport
on Baltra. San Cristobal's airport is on the edge
of town and is a 5 minute taxi-ride. You can rent
bicycles on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal
(Isabela?) and you can ride considerable distances
before finding yourself at the limits of the
National Park, beyond which you will have to be
accompanied by a Park guide. |
| 103 | | 103 | |
| 104 | ===By Boat=== | 104 | ===By Boat=== |
| 105 | There are many boat tours between the islands, but
both prices and comfort vary a lot so shop around.
You can go on a small sailing yacht and on big
luxurious cruise ships, it all depends on what you
like. This is a trip that is worth planning in
advance due to cost. But a traveller can arrange a
trip on short notice but it best to do that on the
mainland. Remember if travelling alone to ask if
your cabin will have a forced roommate and to
require that the forced roommate be of the same
gender as you. Note that during the rougher
December to April period, [[seasickness]] is more
prevalent when you are on the smaller ships. | 105 | There are many boat tours between the islands, but
both prices and comfort vary a lot so shop around.
You can go on a small sailing yacht and on big
luxurious cruise ships, it all depends on what you
like. This is a trip that is worth planning in
advance due to cost. But a traveller can arrange a
trip on short notice but it best to do that on the
mainland. Remember if travelling alone to ask if
your cabin will have a forced roommate and to
require that the forced roommate be of the same
gender as you. Seas are normally calmest from
December through May although in the last couple
of years (2010, 2011) it has been windier than
normal. It is never really rough but outside these
months you may be more comfortable on one of the
larger boats. |
| 106 | | 106 | |
| 107 | | 107 | |
| 108 | ==Eat== | 108 | ==Eat== |
| | 109 | The Galapagos Islands were once a favoured source
of giant tortoises to feed the crews of passing
ships, particularly whalers, and the tortoise
population was decimated even to the extent that
some species are now extinct. |
| | 110 | |
| | 111 | In the past, some species, particularly
sea-cucumber and lobster, were seriously
over-fished by the local population and are now
restricted to a few months in the year. There are
no quotas on other species and the local fishermen
are not sufficiently numerous or well equipped to
have much impact on fish stocks. The biggest
problem now is that commercial boats from the
Ecuador mainland and other countries fish the
perimeter of the Marine Reserve and frequently
make illegal incursions into the Reserve. The use
of long-lines and shark-finning are both illegal
but enforcement is problematic. |
| 109 | In the past the Galapagos Islands were famous for
sea food and in the 19th century it was famous for
eating the giant tortoises. Today your not suppose
to eat either. The giant tortoises almost went
extinct because of ships stopping by the Galapagos
Islands to pick them out and load them up in the
bottoms of their ships. This gave the crew of the
ships fresh meat for months. | | |
| 110 | | 112 | |
| 111 | More recently tourists demanding fresh sea food
has lead to extensive over fishing near the
Galapagos Islands. This has had a massive impact
on animal populations because most of the birds,
seals, dolphins, sharks and whales depend on the
fish for their survival. The government in
[[Quito]] outlawed fishing in the Galapagos
Islands but [[Quito]] is very far away making the
laws useless. Travellers are asked not to eat
fresh seafood while in the Galapagos Islands in
order to protect the animals. | 113 | There is no restriction on tourists eating seafood
(in season of course) and the quantities involved
have no material impact on stocks. |
| 112 | | 114 | |
| 113 | | 115 | |
| 114 | ==Drink== | 116 | ==Drink== |