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Published: January 21st 2009
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It is little surprise that I, or anyone, finds the Galapagos a truly amazing magical place. One finds oneself enthralled by all of the things that make the islands notorious because there is really no comparable experience to standing two feet from a nursing sea lion or a mating pair of giant land tortoises, but it is the unexpected on these islands; the things I hadn´t read about in my guide book, or heard from travelers who had returned form here, that make it awe inspiring.
Most visitors to the islands book a boat trip for a week or so, see a number of the islands; an extensive cross-section of the wildlife and landscape and then, without spending more than 24 hours on land return to the mainland. Lauren and I, with advice from previous visitors, booked a shorter trip (4 days) and decided to spend a few days exploring the islands on our own and by land rather than sea. I believe this experience has allowed us to become acquainted with the Galapagos Islands in a way that exceeds the tour/cruise ship version many visitors encounter.
While on the boat we cruised from island to island stopping at
Nos Barco
This is where we spent four days visiting the islands. It was called El Intrepido or in English, Free Enterprise. Rabita, Santiago, Bartolome and North Seamore. We saw sea lions, fir seals, marine and land iguanas, sharks (which we swam with, quite a thrilling experience), sea lions, dolphins, manta rays, blue footed boobies, magnificent frigate birds as well as many other bird and fish species. However, what remains most stunning to me is the geologic landscape and the islands´similarities as well as their drastically different topographies and characteristics.
These islands, like Hawaii, are volcanic and remain one of the worlds most active volcanic regions. As tectonic plates shift over the hot spot, eruptions have formed the over 20 islands in the archipelago. Currently the western most islands are active and the last eruption was less than a year ago, Spring 2008. Lava covers most of the islands and on some, vegetation is scarce and creatures rest instead in the crevices of sharp shards of volcanic rock and in the hot shade of their formations. Looking at the structure, colors and character of the lava tells not only the history of the islands geography but chemistry as well. Rabita island has red sandy beaches and lava terrain indicating its high iron content. Certain hardened flows are characterized by their color,
Red Rabita
Rabita Island on the first morning. black, green, brown, orange, red and yellow, while others by their weight and from. There is lighter lava with more gas trapped inside and lava that forms the most interesting shapes and patterns. Some spiral and ripple, while other kinds erupt in bubbles and crackle, forming razor sharp edges. Many of the flows looked as though they have been cool only a few days instead of 50-100+ yeas. Their new seeming sparsity conveys just how long emigration takes, the establishment of life and the evolution of life.
There were plenty of times when I thought about the formation of these islands and the infamous life that occupies them in relation to how we came to understand or realize speciation and evolution. When coming here one quickly realizes just how few terrestrial species are here, because after visiting one or two islands you have seen them all -- well not all of them but all of the families, such as tortoises, mocking birds and iguanas. All islands for example have finches, and mocking birds and many have giant tortoises, but depending on the island different species have evolved within each family to fit a particular niche. For example on different
islands giant tortoises have different shell shapes to allow their neck to extend to various lengths depending on the food they eat-- longer range for taller plants. Many birds within the same family co-habitat on islands but fill diverse niches and consumption methodologies, some birds forage for bugs and grubs, some for seeds and some for flowers. Yesterday when Lauren and I were at the beach we had an apple-core that interested the finches and as each approached to eat, their various ripping, pecking and gouging techniques were illustrated.
It is the duality between sparseness and simplicity. With the integration of the of the balance of life and the uniqueness of species here that inspires the imagination and the craving to take it all in. The landscape too establishes a conflict in thought for on the one hand, the apparent bareness of the lava seems uncomlex but looking at it opens the door to contemplating the ongoing formation of this land and the complicated science of volcanoes. It is difficult to remember my preconceptions of this archipelago before arriving, but they were certainly not fulfilled. Instead I was met by a place that stimulates the senses and the mental
faculties in a way other places fail to do, not because this place is more extraordinary, but because the mysteries and beauties here are raw and exposed. They lay open to exploration and are relatively unfettered by human influence. There is enough to wonder about in terms of species and geology but not too much that your mind shuts off or blankly applies the label of diversity or web-of-life. And of course coming to the Galapagos has only re-inspired my wonder of the natural world and my curiosity at our relative place in it.
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