Charles Darwin spent five weeks in the Galapagos in 1835. He wrote in his diary, "Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. A broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great fissues, is every where covered by stunted, sunburnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life." Darwin got it right. The Galapagos is not your usual tropical paradise. Palm trees do not fringe beaches, and the beaches don´t have spa-warm waters. There are no sunbathing chairs and no waiters bringing sundowners. Of course there is no trace of Darwin´s visit other than the research station named in his honour and his face smiling out of many of the T shirts hanging off the souvenir stalls. So what makes the Galapagos special? There is its history. Many
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