Benjamin Ayala

"Benjo" as he’s affectionally called by friends and family grew up on San Cristóbal island in the Galapagos archipelago. He grew up in a German Ecuadorian household surrounded by books that inspired a lifelong quest for knowledge of our natural world and curiosity of faraway places. An upbringing that led him to spend his young adult years in settings that ranged from the academic to chasing a whale poaching fleet off the coast of the Antarctic coast as an environmental activist.

As a second-generation Galapagos National Park Guide he hopes to inspire people, both local and visitors, to come to love and care for our shared natural environment. After ten years as a naturalist guide, following the pandemic he relocated to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia to start a family and spent the next four years working and traveling down under.

In 2025 he moved back to his home island where he pursues his love for cooking, woodwork, photography, free diving, sailing, and surfing during his free time.