The Galapagos are a cluster of volcanic island 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the oldest about 3.5 million years and the youngest is still forming. The finches on these island were the inspiration for Charles Darwins theory on evolution and ultimately "the Origin of species". The Galapagos tour was followed by a visit to the Yanacocha reserve at about 12000 feet elevation and the Tandayapa bird lodge about a mile lower in the Ecuadorian mountains.