Socrates Tomala

Socrates was raised on Santa Cruz Island located in the heart of Galapagos Archipelago. He had a childhood filled with swimming, scuba diving, rock climbing and volunteering in conservation projects, so it was natural for him to grow very passionate about the outdoors and the natural world.

Throughout his life Socrates has been involved in science, from tagging Pacific Green Sea Turtles to placing transmitters on sharks to track their migration across the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Socrates has spent most of his life close to the Ocean which made him very aware of the environmental challenges caused by our growing presence on the planet, he has since a young age collaborated with the Charles Darwin Research Station on conservation projects that aim to maintain the delicate balance between Nature and Humans on the Galapagos Islands.

He studied Biology at the School of Environmental Sciences at Universidad de Guayaquil and later decided to pursue his passion for nature by becoming a licensed Naturalist guide in the Galapagos, working and living there since. Socrates has been documenting the natural world through his extensive travels with his camera to create awareness about our planet to citizens of the world.

Socrates lives with his wife and three border collies in Mindo, a small village hidden in the lush and green cloud forest formed by the Pacific Ocean Cloud meeting the Andes Mountains. When he is not leading Expeditions in the Amazon or the Galapagos you can find him hiking into the clouds, photographing exotic birds, surfing, swimming in a river or learning how to play an unconventional music instrument.