The Galapagos archipelago is a little difficult to reach, in that all flights must originate in Ecuador, necessitating adding maps for both Quito and Guayaquil to this map of the islands as those are the two cities flights leave from to reach the access airport on one of the islands. Naturally, visitors go for one reason – to see exotic wildlife in a truly unique way. One can only explore the Galapagos as part of a tour, so making advance bookings with a small or big ship is absolutely essential. We have endeavoured to locate the most likely viewing areas for iguanas, turtles, seals, and booby birds, but wild creatures tend to move around, and one must use an experienced guide to locate them. That said, much of the island grouping is as pristine as it was when the HMS Beagle hove to two hundred years ago and disgorged a young Charles Darwin to gaze in wonder at wild species with no ingrained fear of humans, eventually developing the concept of evolution that now is generally accepted as fact.
The map of Quito occupies the reverse side of the sheet. The old airport is no longer used and the new airport is quite distant from the city. Guayaquil is a large inset on the islands side. All of the photos on the map were taken by ourselves during a visit to the Galapagos. It should be noted that thousands of people live in the islands, mostly around Puerto Ayora.