Welcome: About Me and the Galapagos Eco-Lodge


Harry Jimenez, owner of Galapagos Eco Lodge, at Post Office Bay
My name is Harry Jiménez.  The Eco-Lodge is my personal endeavor to create a hotel that focuses on preservation and conservation while it brings each of its visitors all the comforts of home.  It is the base for our travels around the Islands.  At the lodge, you will relax, swim, have wonderful meals, be introduced to our local culture and have private moments to contemplate and absorb the stunning sites and remarkable vistas that you are exposed to during each day of your stay.

I am the owner of the Galapagos Eco-Lodge and also the Expedition Leader and Naturalist Guide for all of the hotel-based tours.  I am certified by the Galapagos National Park Service and regularly serve as the Naturalist and guide on many of the most luxurious cruises serving the Galapagos Islands.  I personally coordinate and guide all of the activities and day trips of the hotel's guests and will serve as your guide for all of your activities in Ecuador-Galapagos Island, so get ready for an adventure of a lifetime!

Galapagos Blue Fantasy, Galapagos Eco Lodge's Boat
The Galápagos Eco Lodge is located on San Cristóbal Island, in the hills above the lively port of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno and the Pacific Ocean. The Lodge can be your home away from home while you visit the marvelous vistas and breathtaking scenery off the coast of San Cristobal. The lodge has comfortable and spacious rooms, and is built to make you feel like home while you are surrounded by the Lodge's beautiful plant life endemic to the Galápagos Islands.


Throughout my blog, I will be taking you with me on some of my adventures.  I will share experiences with you.  I will teach you about the Galapagos Islands natural history and help you prepare yourself to visit the Galápagos Islands.  This is home to amazing wild life on the land, in the sky and in the sea. Be prepared to experience sea lions, giant tortoises, blue footed boobies, Nazca boobies, frigate birds, brown pelicans, ocean and land turtles, mockingbirds, Darwin finches, yellow warblers, and a large and visually stunning variety of tropical fish in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.  

Here are a few photos of the Lodge:
Galapagos Eco Lodge King Size Room
King-Sized Room
The Galapagos Eco-Lodge at Night
The Galapagos Eco-Lodge at Night
Outside of the Galapagos Eco Lodge with Indigenous Flora and Flowers
Outside with Indigenous Flowers

The Galapagos Eco-Lodge and My Personal Vision to Create a Sustainable Green Hotel

Photograph of Harry Jimenez, owner of San Cristobal's Galapagos Eco LodgeIf you love exploration, respect the environment, want to share in the conservation of the paradise we call the Galapagos Islands and yearn to experience first hand the miracles that Charles Darwin brought to the world, then the Galapagos Eco-Lodge is the place to begin your visit to the Galapagos Islands.






Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island with The Eco-Lodge is on the hillside overlooking the harbor and Pacific Ocean
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal Island 
The Eco-Lodge is on the hillside overlooking the harbor and Pacific Ocean
My idea to build an environmentally sustainable "green" hotel began many years ago and has finally come to fruition.  It is my great pleasure to share the experience of how the hotel came to be built and the principles of preservation that motivated me with you. The hotel is the embodiment of my belief that every traveler to the Galapagos Islands should have the opportunity to live for a little while within our culture while exploring all the natural beauty of our National Park and Marine Reserve.  In this way, your travel and adventure will be enhanced as those of us who live in this paradise can share our knowledge and viewpoints with you.

Map of San Cristobal, Galapagos showing visitor sites and zones


San Cristobal Island is the locale of one of the most important conservation efforts anywhere in the world and fully 60% of its power comes from wind turbines. The San Cristobal wind project is a prototype of similar experiments all over the globe.  The Galapagos Eco Lodge adheres to these same principles of ecotourism and conservation. Our power too comes from wind turbines.

International Ecotourism Society logoNecessarily I did a great deal of research before embarking on this endeavor.  I was inspired by and found the framework for my conservation and preservation efforts in the guidelines set forth by the The International Ecotourism Society (TIES). As a result, the hotel was designed and built using indigenous and, whenever possible, recycled building materials. Our guest rooms reflect our cultural heritage. We have created a truly beautiful outdoor area that makes the most of indigenous and endemic flora. The food we serve is always fresh and from local sources. In fact, we grow some of our own vegetables. Our water, energy and waste systems are all conservation oriented.

Lava Lizard on San Cristobal Island GalapagosThe hotel is inspired by my personal experiences and lifelong exposure and commitment to the environment.  It embodies what I believe in and what I want to share with those who come to the Galapagos Islands for an adventure and to expand their horizons.

I am a citizen of the Galapagos Islands, specifically San Cristobal, as were my parents and grandparents. I grew up wandering the hills around my house, exploring the volcanoes and swimming and snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean.  Mockingbirds woke me in the morning, iguanas climbed in our family’s garden and frigatebirds and pelicans sailed through the air and landed on our boat.  The sea lions, especially the little pups, were almost like pets hanging out on the pier, just as they do today.  Every chance I could, I would be in the water playing with them. That hasn’t changed!

Galapagos Hawk flying over volcanic rock
In my youngest memories, I recall having the time of my life in the midst of this gorgeous nature preserve I call my home.  Since then, my love of the land and sea in and around the Galapagos Islands has done nothing but grow stronger.  As your guide, I am dedicated to applying and communicating what I have learned and what I love to you.



Sea Lion swimming in Galapagos Islands
I learned to scuba dive at age 11 and have scuba Dive Master credentials. This ensures that since snorkeling, and for some SCUBA diving, is one of our activities during the trip, I will be able to show you the richness of the second largest Marine Reserve in the world.  The joy that I have felt since my childhood is what I want to share with you.

Harry Jimenez with Fly Catcher Bird in  Galapagos IslandsI have my naturalist certification from the National Park Services and have worked as a Naturalist Guide for more than 15 years.  I continue to work as a naturalist for the most highly regarded as well as ecologically aware and committed companies in the Galápagos Islands; they are leaders on the application of conservation ideas, such as recycling, teaching, and planning the use of clean energy to reduce the impact in nature.  My education includes concentrations in oceanography, marine biology, natural history and species development and survival.  I am bilingual in Spanish and English.

Galapagos Island birdlife
I have had a rich and wonderful life here and that is what I want to share with the visitors to the Eco-Lodge. By using the Eco-Lodge as the base of our exploration, you will have the benefit of being a part of the Galapagos Islands' culture that cruise-based travelers miss.  Whether we are on the land or sea, I want you to feel the beauty, majesty and uniqueness of the extraordinary world that will surround you here in the Galapagos.

My responsibility to my guests at the Eco-Lodge is to fill you with wonder and to make you smile.  I believe that travel should expand our horizons, improve the world we live in together, and improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  When we travel, we open our hearts and minds, and share our experiences and our cultures.  I make it my personal mission to enhance your understanding of this world and how we can maintain it and make it even better in the future.

Galapagos Eco Lodge Night View
Trust me that a trip that you schedule through the Galapagos Eco-Lodge will reward you with unique experiences and provide you with the opportunity to discover a whole new world of natural wonders.  If I can impart just a bit of what I have learned and what I love, then you will leave this part of our planet nourished, fulfilled and anxious to return.  So be ready in body and mind for this once-in-a-lifetime travel experience.

5 comments:

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  2. I have seen several Ecuador hotels, but nothing would be as beautiful as the eco-lodge. I will definitely like to be there.

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  3. Hello, this weekend is good for me, since this time i am reading this enormous informative article here at my home. Eco garden office

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  5. Hi Harry … I am going there to San cristobal in October and have only 2 nights 1 1/2 days on the island. I would like to do a tour with you with my friend. Can you email me nbohnett@gmail.com with popular tours you lead.

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