Here's a great short documentary video of the Galapagos Islands from National Geographic. It covers both the geography and geology of the archipelago, and the history of Darwin's visit to this part of Ecuador that led to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. There's also good clips of the unique land and underwater animals of the Galapagos island chain, such as the marine iguanas, blue-foot boobies and tortoises.

Great video of a scuba diving trip to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador around Darwin's Arch. Very dramatic music and really well shot, especially given the always difficult diving and visibility challenges in the Galapagos. It starts slow, but halfway through you get to see tons of schooling hammerhead sharks, hanging around a big whale shark and even a manta ray, which I never say during out trip there 6 years ago.

I really enjoyed this video from University of Minnesota students as they describe the importance of traveling to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, from an academic as well as a life experience. Of course, the Galapagos are iconic for the diversity of animal wildlife, and their catalyst for Darwin's theory of evolution; and these students describe the impact of seeing the island tortoises and finches as it relates to their studies. The excitement and emotion is what makes this video work for me...

There is some really interesting Galapagos footage here, albeit rather dark. The opening minute was definitely the best - with Darwin's Arch in the background, you can watch slow-motion video of dolphins flying up out of the water! The rest of the video is typical Galapagos Islands scuba diving with whale sharks, eagle rays, seals and great schooling hammerhead sharks.

Poor Lonesome George - the last tortoise species of his kind in the Galapagos has been trying to reproduce for many years now. What was first thought to be successful fertilization of eggs with a female from a similar species is not looking good, as the eggs are of a poor shape and colour. We had the opportunity to meet Lonesome George in person on our 2002 trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, and his is indeed a heart-wrenching story. It's really quite emotional to be watching such a large, beautiful animal knowing it's the last of it's kind. Let's all hope that his next batch of eggs is more promising. To watch the video from National Geographic, click here.