![]() They also have the distinction of being the only penguins that live north of the equator! Most of them live in the southern hemisphere, but since the equator passes through the Galapagos, the tippy top of Isabela Island/penguin country is actually in the northern hemisphere. Galapagos penguins are endemic, meaning they only exist in the Galapagos, and are the second smallest penguin species in the world! They’re only about 20” (50cm) tall and weigh about 5-10 pounds (2.5-4.5kg). I’m not sure exactly why, but I don’t think the red eyes are helping. ![]() Honestly, I find these penguins to be a little creepy looking. They still have to be careful not to overheat, but in the case of the penguins that live around Las Tintoreras, they’re helped by the many lava caves and crevices along the coast which they use to hide from the hot sun. The Cromwell Current, an upswell current from the west, brings cold water from the ocean depths, helping to create a viable environment for the Galapagos penguins. If you recall from my intro to the Galapagos post (and even if you don’t), there are a bunch of different currents that converge on the islands. We loaded up and were at the little islands in under 20 minutes.Īlong the way, we saw a couple of penguins! Most of the penguins in the Galapagos are located at the western end of the archipelago. We also had a much shorter boat ride, which my stomach wasn’t upset about (hehehe get it?). We actually had time to eat breakfast without having to just shovel food into our mouths while running out the door! What a luxury! We had a “late” start to the day… our tour pickup was scheduled for 9AM which was a welcome change from the usual 7:30AM and earlier departures that we were used to. Las Tintoreras is the group of little islands that you see here, just off the southern coast of Isabela. ![]() And Puerto Villamil, the main town, is on the southern coast. The islands are named for the white-tip reef sharks that can be found in abundance in the surrounding waters, or tintoreras in Spanish. We’ll talk more about Isabela in the next few posts, but our first day’s adventures started just off the southern coast of the island in a small group of islets called “Las Tintoreras”. ![]() Welcome to Isabela Island! After our few days on Santa Cruz, we relocated one final time to Isabela, the largest island in the Galapagos. ![]()
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