{"id":6679,"date":"2018-12-03T15:29:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T15:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.luxurygoldvacations.com\/?p=6679"},"modified":"2024-04-25T14:57:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T13:57:37","slug":"the-galapagos-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxurygold.com\/lg\/the-galapagos-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"The Galapagos Islands: Like no place on earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Golden beaches, exotic wildlife and\u00a0dramatic landscapes\u00a0make up the other-worldly Galapagos Islands, a Luxury Gold favorite and must see on any keen traveler’s bucket list<\/i>.\u00a0<\/em>To find out more about this breathtaking destination, we caught up with\u00a0travel journalist Dorothy Weiner, to discuss her time spent there and why she considers it to be “like no place on earth.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Dorothy\u00a0has traveled extensively across the globe, writing about everything from cruising the Russian Arctic to surviving boot camp at the Culinary Institute of America.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not every day that humans get to witness the 24 steps of the albatross mating dance. Or walk an isolated island unnoticed by scores of sea lions basking on the sand. Once-in-alifetime experiences like these are reserved for the lucky few who visit the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago 600 miles off mainland Ecuador. A visit here is like going back in time to when the earth was completely wild and undeveloped. 97 percent of the Galapagos is designated a national park, and most of the 18 islands have no human population. Imagine setting foot on land that has no roads, no buildings, no noise. Time has stood still here, and that has protected the richness of flora and fauna on the Galapagos, allowing us to see what Charles Darwin did when he came here in 1835. The frigate birds with the the biggest crests still attract the most mates. As do the blue-footed boobies with the bluest feet. Survival of the fittest, natural selection\u2014these concepts were born right here, on the flora- and fauna-rich Galapagos.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A stop on Santa Cruz, the most populated island, gives visitors a chance to glimpse Ecuadorean culture at the lively open-air fish market and buy souvenirs commemorating Galapagos creatures at its quaint little shops. Also there: the Charles Darwin Research Station, with its giant tortoises breeding center.<\/p>\n

To preserve the Galapagos for posterity, tourism is strictly regulated by the Ecuadorean government and visitors must be accompanied by licensed guides. The lucky few will get to see animals, insects and birds doing the most remarkable things\u2014and taking no notice of humans while doing them. After all, the wildlife here is unfamiliar with man and has no reason to fear his presence. You might find yourself snorkelling alongside curious sea lions, who think you\u2019re a new playmate. Or overwhelmed by the sight of hundreds of frigate birds, their red chests bulging to attract females. You\u2019ll see many a lava lizard doing \u2018push-ups\u2019 to mark his territory, and notice dozens of red Sally Lightfoot crabs crawling along the boulders as you approach from the sea. You may walk the isolated beach at Darwin Bay, stepping over scores of sea lions sunning lazily or dip your feet into tide pools filled with manta rays.<\/p>\n

The Galapagos islands are like no place on earth. In Darwin\u2019s time, sailors called them \u2018Islas Encantatas\u2019 (the Enchanted Ones). Once you see them, you\u2019ll understand why.<\/p>\n

Related journey:<\/strong> Quito & the Galapagos Islands Cruise option<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Golden beaches, exotic wildlife and\u00a0dramatic landscapes\u00a0make up the other-worldly Galapagos Islands, a Luxury Gold favorite and must see on any…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[362,54],"tags":[79,278,96,84],"class_list":["post-6679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america","category-luxury-journeys","tag-destinations","tag-galapagos-islands","tag-travel","tag-travel-trends"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Galapagos Islands: Like no place on earth - Luxury Gold<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Travel journalist Dorothy Weiner tells us why she considers the Galapagos Islands to be "like no place on earth".\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luxurygold.com\/lg\/the-galapagos-islands\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Galapagos Islands: Like no place on earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Travel journalist Dorothy Weiner tells us why she considers the Galapagos Islands to be "like no place on earth".\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luxurygold.com\/lg\/the-galapagos-islands\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Luxury Gold\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-03T15:29:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-25T13:57:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.luxurygold.com\/lg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/dustin-haney-435483-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Luxury Gold\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Luxury Gold\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Luxury Gold\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddbdac7b98aba03cc3bfaeda67631beb\"},\"headline\":\"The Galapagos Islands: Like no place on earth\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-03T15:29:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-25T13:57:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":507,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/dustin-haney-435483-unsplash.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Destinations\",\"Galapagos Islands\",\"Travel\",\"Travel Trends\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Latin America\",\"Luxury Journeys\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.luxurygold.com\\\/lg\\\/the-galapagos-islands\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Galapagos Islands: Like no place on earth - 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