Beautiful shot of a pelican feeding !!! Most travelers enter the Galapagos Islands via the small airport at Isla Baltra, which was developed as a US airbase in the early 1940s to protect US interests from a perceived trheat from Germany at the Panama Canal, as well as to prepare US forces en route to battle against Japan in the South Seas. In fact, Baltra was the largest military base in all of South America at the time, and created the first large scale wave of immigrants from mainland Ecuador and surrounding countries. They built the infrastructure in record time. Now it is an Ecuadorian air base with only remnants of a bygone era. Travel essentially begins here.
Just north of Santa Cruz Island, Baltra is a tiny island (10 square miles) that is primarily used as a point of arrival and departure for island tours. If you are on a prearranged tour, your host will probably meet you at the airport. Or follow the crowd from here to the shuttle bus, which takes you to the ferry that crosses over the Santa Cruz Island. Wait along the shoreline and watch as pelicans dive for fish nearby. Your wildlife viewing has already begun! Once on Santa Cruz, another bus or private transport will cross the island to Puerto Ayora, where most travel tours begin.
