We’re on our way to the Galapagos! We arrived in Guayaquil yesterday (a two hour bus ride from La Libertad), we spent the night and took a two hour flight to the island of Baltra today where we were picked up by the crew of the m/v Evolution (what a great way to travel – they took care of our check in, bags and permits). The m/v Evolution is a 220’ motor yacht that can accommodate 32 passengers (but there were only 10 of us!) and 18 crew. Upon arrival we were shown to our rooms, served a wonderful lunch where we met other guests and had a briefing of the ship and the Galapagos Islands. We will spend one week touring the islands looking for exotic wildlife and swimming the beautiful seas that surround these volcanic islands. The first recorded visit was in 1535, but was made known worldwide by Charles Darwin in 1835 on the HMS Beagle. The Galapagos Islands are one of the few places in the world without an indigenous human population. With five of the 18 islands now populated there are approximately 25,000 people living there. In 1959 the Ecuadorian government declared 97.5% of the archipelago’s land area a national park with new guidelines and restrictions to preserve the native species, flora and fauna. Most recently the government has included all waters surrounding the islands out to 40 miles in the park and given the local population more control over the governing and use. In the last 20 years visitors have increased from 60k to 215k – accordingly they are making an effort to reduce people and increase prices to maintain the pristine environment. Private vessels are now discouraged and are limited to three islands – thankful we opted for flights/tour instead of taking DreamCatcher.