About 80,000 tourists a year come to the Galapagos Islands. Many of them visit the giant tortoises at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island. The blue-footed booby is also a favorite of photographers. If you go Oil spill in paradise On Jan. 16, the Ecuadorean oil tanker Jessica ran aground off the island of San Cristobal, leaking 200,000 gallons into the waters of the Galapagos. According to the Web site of the Charles Darwin Foundation, whose research station is in the Galapagos, the impact of the spill is likely to be widespread but not severe.
Cruises continue with normal itineraries.
When to go January to May is the wet and hotter season, with temperatures around 90. While there are occasional showers, the days are generally sunny. The dry season is June through December, with breezes and day temps in the 70s and low 80s. Rates are lowest from March 16 to June 14, Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 and Nov. 21 to Dec. 20. Whenever you go, you will see plenty of wildlife.