One always hears about the Galapagos as such a richly biodiverse location. And it is true. But in my mind, biodiverse automatically meant green and lush. Visiting in August, this just wasn’t the case. Cold currents and southern breezes bring drier air at this time of year, and the land - at lower elevations at least - can seem downright arid. How in the world does this arid, dry area support such rich wildlife? The secret is in the water. Quite literally.
There is such a distinct difference above and below the surface of the water. Stick your face in the water with a snorkel mask on and you see such an abundance of colors, and an amazing volume of living things. Sharks, sea turtles, eagle rays, parrotfish, cornetfish, wrasse, seastars, urchins, flounder, moray eels, and so many more…. Sea Turtle, Snorkeling (Kevin Moore)
Pop up from your snorkeling wonderland and you see stark lava flows, dry shrubland and what seems to border on desert at times. You quickly realize that while you may find dozens of sea lions hauled out on one patch of dry land, literal piles of marine iguanas on another patch of dry land, and hundreds of blue-footed boobies or frigatebirds nesting on still another patch of dry land… the only thing these animals need from that dry land is, well, the dry land. They get every last bit of nutrition from the sea, brought together by the three main currents that collide at the Galapagos. Galapagos Penguins (Kevin Moore)
When you get in that water, and the flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, sea lions, and marine iguanas decide to join you, a question comes to mind…. Why did I not ever know about the Galapagos Islands as a snorkeling destination? Sea Lion, Snorkeling (Kevin Moore)
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.