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Published: February 27th 2008
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Sheena Feeding the Tortoises
This tortoise was in the Charles Darwin Research Centre although we saw others in the wild The islands of the Galapagos, derive their name from the Saddle-Backed tortoise (Galapagos means saddle in Spanish) and are situated 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos are vastly more interesting with the benefit of some prior reading about their origins, familiarising oneself with some of the wildlife and also about Darwin himself. Although presented often in documentaries as a keen (self-taught) naturalist, which he was, Darwin´s methods of experiments were often far from acceptable in today´s standards. For example, he used to ride giant tortoises like horses and discovered the idea that marine iguanas had evolved a defense mechanism of seeking shelter on land despite any immediate dangers they may face where they stood (the notion being that the dangers they faced in the water e.g. sharks far exceeded those on land). He found this out by picking up Marine Iguanas and throwing them by their tails into the sea. Time upon time, the marine iguana would return to the same spot on land only to be picked up and thrown in again!
We arrived with the other 75 year olds on what felt like our first Saga holiday. As it turned out the old ladies were
A Bull Sealion
Not a beast to be messed with. Swimming passed these you have to group up so they don't attack from Australia and were quite good fun. We had only been in the taxi for a short while before the driver pulled over on the side of the road and we caught sight of our first wild giant tortoise.
Once we reached the boat and introduced ourselves to everyone we set off on our first Galapagos adventure - a trip to the highlands to see many giant tortoises in the wild. We weren't disappointed - some of the tortoises we saw were about 150 years old and weighed more than 3 or 4 times that of a man.
The guide explained to us the following morning that the little brown thing with big eyes likes to eat fish - particularly sardines. I contested that Sheena was more of a meat eater when he then pointed to the sealions swimming in the water!
Each day onwards we did two landings and had time to snorkel as well. We have seen baby sealions, baby frigate birds, land and marine iguanas, galapagos penguins, sharks, dolphins, manta rays, eagle rays, mockingbirds, mating turtles, Darwin finches and thousands of other types of birds.
The highlights have been playing with the baby
A Juvenile Sealion Pup
Soaking up the sun on a beautiful white sandy beach sealions underwater (they nibble your fins!), swimming with manta rays with a 3m wingspan, seeing turtles mate and watching the bizarre iguanas. The lowlights, another stomach bug but fortunately this one lasted 48hrs only. Now 14lbs lighter than I was when I left NY, 1 more bug and there is a very real risk I could disappear!
The lava landscapes (often very sharp rock) must have presented a huge challenge to any new arrivals - animal or plant. It is easy to see why the first explorers to discover the islands thought that they were literally ¨hell on earth¨. The scorching heat, the volcanic activity with its lava and steam, the fierce looking creatures such as the iguanas must have painted an alarming picture.
The lava on eahc of the islands is very different depending whether the eruption occurred under the sea or above land - the oxidation of the lava is very different in each instance. It also determines the speed at which the lava cools leading to a huge variety of different lava formations from Pahoehoe lava (smooth) to A A lava (pronounced ah-ah) which is very sharp and apparently named after the scientists who were
Sheena the Sealion
Little, brown, big eyes, likes to eat fish.... studying it who weren´t wearing shoes!
What´s incredible when walking around some of the islands is that there are very clear signs of how evolution is in progress. For example, only the prickly pear cactus was endemic to the islands but there are now many varieties which look completely different to their origins. The same goes for finches in that one can see how the beaks have transformed depending on the niche they have inhabited. Perhaps the most fascinating are the land and marine iguanas. Initially only the land iguanas existed - the marine iguanas now look so different and have grounded out a niche for themselves in the shallow waters of the islands.
Just as signs of evolution are evident, so are the signs of human damage. Fur seals are a rare find (due to hunting), the Pinta tortoise is albeit extinct (Lonesome George is the last remaining Pinta tortoise housed in the Charles Darwin Research Centre) and hundreds of plants and and animals have been introduced to the islands such as goats, pigs, rats, papaya trees and blackberries. These introductions have decimated certain areas of land as well as endangering many endemic animal populations . With
No More than a Week Old
Does it get any more cute? over 100,000 tourists now visiting the islands each year, and with only 3% of the land inhabited (97% is naitonal park) it is concerning how the balance is going to be struck between conservationist (often outsiders) aims and the needs of the local (growing) population. Some positive steps are being taken so hopefully (with good management and an empowered people) the islands will still be as special in 100 years time as they are today. For example, as well as human damage, environmental events have also had disastrous effects. EL Niño (an extreme weather event occurring every 10 years or so), wiped out about 80% of the endemic Galapagos penguin and flamingo populations due to the warming of the water. With the research now being carried out, scientists have a better understanding of how these events affect endemic (often already endangered) populations so they can plan (preventative measures) more effectively and also react with more haste when these events do occur.
We are now back in Quito and have managed to change our flights so we'll arrive in NY tomorrow afternoon. The South America trip is rapidly coming to an end but the continent has been very kind to
Like Mother, like Daughter
A sealion pup suckling - they can do this for up to 2 years us. The variety of cultures, the vibrant colours, the incredible landscapes and the political histories make this continent an unmissable one for anyone wanting to travel.
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