Marine Life of the Galapagos

Book Description
On December 2, 2001, the Galápagos Marine Reserve will officially become a World Heritage Site. Few people are more intimately connected with the Galápagos and its marine life than Pierre Constant, author of the best-selling guide to Galápagos, also from Odyssey guides. Constant now offers us Marine Life of the Galápagos, a definitive guide that introduces many new species of marine life never before seen, and rich with stunning color photography and underwater shots. This book is geared specifically to divers, an extremely fast-growing market in the archipelago. Dive centers are mushrooming on Santa Cruz Island; in 1991, 5,000 divers visited the islands, compared with 22,000 in 1999—currently 25% of visitors to the Galápagos are directly involved in diving activities. In 2000, the Galápagos was voted best dive destination overall in the Indo-Pacific by the US-based Magazine Divers Trust/Rodale's Scuba Diving. This destination also won best fish life, healthiest marine environment, best big animal dives, and best advanced diving categories. This guide promises to be the bible of diving in the Galápagos.

• Brand-new guidebook focusing exclusively on marine life and diving in the Galápagos • 240 superb color photographs with stunning underwater shots, including of a significant number of new species never before published • Written by a world-acclaimed expert on the Galápagos with an undeniable love of diving and marine life and many years experience • Easy-to-use maps, plans and diving information • Authoritative and informative text on the marine life and best dive sites • 240 color photos * 20 maps

About the Author
Pierre Constant studied at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris VI, where he received his degree in Biology-Geology in 1975, followed by a Master's in Geology in 1979. In 1980, he went to Ecuador to work as a naturalist-guide on cruise boats around the Galápagos Islands. After two years living on the islands, he returned to France and published his first book, L'Archipel des Galápagos, and became the recognized French expert on the archipelago. Constant took up submarine photography in 1984 and produced a guide to the fishes, whales, dolphins and other marine animals of the islands. His involvement with the ocean became professional when he obtained his dive instructor certification in 1997. He has been a regular visitor to the Galápagos for the past 21 years, leading trips to the islands annually. His comprehensive knowledge and expertise on the Galápagos Islands has been made use of in various travel and active sports television productions, including French television (TF1: Ushuaia) and the Discovery Channel (XL Productions, 1991). Constant has published over 60 articles worldwide in a range of travel and diving magazines.

Travelers Galapagos Handbook
An up to date guide explaining the many options for vacationing in the Galapagos islands. While many visitors spend their entire trip in a tour, there are many independent adventures available in all price ranges. This convenient handbook includes: photos, maps, plant and animal descriptions, history, hotel and dining guides, as well as travel tips, visitor info, and transportation options. Booking tours, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, hiking, biking, and camping are also covered in detail. With this book you can design a personalized vacation to the Galapagos.

About the Author
Chris T Buchanan is a biologist who first went to Ecuador in 1993 with the Peace Corps. She discovered the Galapagos in 1994 and has been returning to the islands every year.

Cesar Franco is an Ecuadorian native and an internationally published photographer. He has been visiting the Galapagos several times a year for the past twenty years. Chris T and Cesar have also written and published The Ecuador Cookbook-tradional vegetarian and seafood recipes.