Marc Patry

Marc lived and worked in the Galapagos Islands from 1998 to 2002, where he helped develop and launch the Isabela Island goat eradiation project with the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation.  His first son, Emile, was born in Ecuador, and he spent the first three years of his life in the islands. After Marc and his family left Ecuador, they started a very small business, Cultural and Natural Heritage Tours (CNH Tours), with a focus exclusively on Galapagos. In 2003, Marc was hired by UNESCO's World Heritage Centre in Paris where he directed his efforts to the conservation of natural world heritage sites in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Galapagos. This gave him privileged access to decision-makers in Ecuador (he once had a private meeting with the president with regards to Galapagos conservation issues). During those years, Marc's wife, Heather Blenkiron, worked on the business to the point where, in 2015, it was possible for Marc to leave UNESCO and join her full time at CNH Tours. Last year, he was voted in as a member of the governing council of the Charles Darwin Foundation and he retains close ties with many people in the islands.  In 2024, Marc and Heather took the reins of Galapagos Travel, from which they continue to offer expert advice to travellers who have dreamed of visiting the Enchanted Isles. Marc lives in Ottawa, Canada.