The Galapagos Islands, two things that come to mind. Faraway exoticism and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The Galapagos Islands lie almost exactly on the equator. You won’t find any explosion of extravagant tropical colors and shapes here. But you will find a completely unique evolutionary laboratory, which Darwin himself recognized and described. Here and there, a still active volcano erupts. The archipelago is actually the summit of underwater volcanoes. The cooled lava fields are one of the many unique places that can be found here.
Many literary sources state that the name of the archipelago is derived from the Spanish word “galapagos”, which means “tortoise”. However, this meaning is figurative. Originally, this word referred to the saddle of Spanish soldiers, and the tortoise shell of a species of local giant land tortoises reminded them of this saddle in shape.
One cannot help but remember Darwin’s famous, even legendary, finches. They are also taught in school curricula. On each island there are species with different beak shapes, depending on the way they make a living. But I dare to play with the idea that the initial impulse for the idea of the evolution of species must have been the equally giant, elephant tortoises. When meeting them on individual islands, the variability of the shapes of their shells will strike the eye of any even slightly perceptive observer. And Mr. Darwin only noticed these finches afterwards, after returning to England.
Basic information about the Galapagos Islands is generally available. Administratively, they belong to Ecuador, which simply annexed them in 1832 because no one else wanted them. The archipelago includes 13 islands larger than 10 square kilometer and a hundred other, larger or smaller, rocks. Almost every one of them has something unique or remarkable. My visit was only a brief glimpse into this biological treasure trove. It was impossible to comprehend all the diversity of this place in five full days spent here.
Before our trip to the Galapagos Islands, our whole family carefully studied all available materials and films about this archipelago. We agreed that the most amazing bird inhabitants here are the Blue-footed boobies. Just the color! Even cuter is their almost timid, awkward courtship of the male in front of the female with a twig in his beak and showing off the deep blue of their legs.
Unfortunately, we did not visit the boobies’ nesting grounds. We only had the opportunity to observe the boobies hunting near the coast. From a height of more than thirty meters, they break through the water surface like a bullet at a speed of about one hundred km/h. They can dive to a depth of 25 meters. That is also an unforgettable experience.
So, let’s talk about those finches in more detail. Few people know that Darwin was not initially very interested in the birds he brought to England from the Galapagos. There, he passed them on to the famous ornithologist John Gould. He recognized in them a group of songbirds belonging to twelve different species, all of which are closely related to the songbirds of the South American continent, over a thousand kilometers away. This news caused a sensation and made the front pages of professional publications. It prompted Darwin to start studying birds again. And he came to an absolutely revolutionary conclusion. Individual species evolved by adapting to the conditions prevailing on different islands. This laid the foundation for his theory of natural selection.
We had the theoretical opportunity to see nine of the fifteen described species of “Darwin’s finches” (this name was given to them in 1936 by the British ornithologist Percy Lowe). However, we managed to observe only… However, they have nothing to do with finches as we know them from Europe.
If medals were awarded to the best bird fliers, the gold would probably go to albatrosses, birds that can fly around the world twice in a year. There would probably be a fight for the silver, but the Frigatebirds would certainly be serious contenders. Their typical silhouettes, like the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings, float above the coast without a single flap of their wings, carried by the wind, looking for their prey. The most common victims were pelicans, less often terns. Frigatebirds certainly don’t lack a sense of humor. I watched as one young individual robbed a pelican of a fish. It circled over its head and threw the fish back in flight. And it repeated this twice more. It was just playing.
I had longed to see these white feathered jets with my own eyes since my early youth while watching nature documentaries. During our quick excursion, there was no room left for them in our limited time schedule. However, while sailing to Santiago Island, we passed a rock with an altitude of 24 m above sea level, marked on the map with the name Daphne Major. While sailing around its rocky cliffs, the sky suddenly filled with these ghostly white flyers with a deep red beak and elongated tail feathers, longer than the body and beak combined. We could admire them for only a few minutes. Phaethons. Another dream come true.
I know that the label “living fossil” is used everywhere these days. But when you look closely (and in the Galapagos it can’t be less than 2 meters, there are regulations for that!) at the local marine herbivorous iguanas, it’s like you’ve gone back a few million years. Dark, almost black scaly bodies with crusts of drying white sand, leathery fringes on their backs, a strong, muscular tail. And that indifferent expression! Their eyes seem to be looking right through you. The community (I don’t know, are they herds or flocks?) of lizards, the same color as the gray-black volcanic tuff on which they usually rest, often numbers thousands of individuals. They spend most of the day accumulating energy from sunlight so that they have enough strength to dive into the cold ocean for their food, seaweed. Admirable creatures. Although Charles Darwin was not particularly charmed by them. In his diary, he described them as “the most disgusting clumsy lizards.”
I knew a lot about the so-called elephant tortoises before arriving in the Galapagos. Not only about them themselves. For example, about the shape of the shell, which evolved depending on the way they feed. Species that feed on the fruits of bushes and prickly pears have a shell above their head cut out, similar to that Spanish saddle, so that they can raise their heads as high as possible. On the other hand, species that feed by collecting food from the ground have a shell without cuts. Mainly because of the tortoises, several thousand feral domestic goats were deliberately exterminated on all the islands, which devastated this unique place. They destroyed the living space of the tortoises the most. And to make the story have a funny point. A few years ago, the government did not agree with the fishermen on the places and intensity of fishing. So the fishermen released the goats to the islands again, out of spite. However, the problem with non-native species, especially cats, is still big on the islands today. But the effort is visible here. You will hardly encounter stray dogs here, compared to the continental part of Ecuador.
If I had to choose a real mascot for this corner of the world, it would be the Galapagos penguin without much hesitation. Everyone knows what a penguin looks like. And probably everyone can recall its characteristic, wobbly and rather clumsy movement on solid land, and conversely its excellent swimming and diving skills in the water. The Galapagos penguins are a rather smaller species. They are not as clumsy as their larger southern relatives. Moreover, their short, strong legs do not have to deal with the pitfalls of snow and ice. But they can be found everywhere. In the harbor, on anchored ships, on lava cliffs, on beaches. When you snorkel, they peck at your diving goggles and are very interested in whether they are edible.
Everyday stories take place on the beaches of tiny islands right among passing tourists, like this unfortunate iguana and a American Great Egret.
The Galapagos Islands are a place where almost everything alive is unique. The vast majority of bird species are local endemics. And it’s not just the famous Darwin’s finches. There are, for example, the Galapagos Dove, Galapagos Oystercatcher, Lava Gull or Galapagos Penguin.
The great advantage of photography on this equatorial archipelago is the absence of shyness in almost all animals and birds living here. Many times we have struggled to photograph a bird, only to find it a few hours later in the harbor or in the city just a few meters away from us. Especially the Galapagos Warbler or the Brown Pelican.
Sitting in the modest departure lounge of Baltra Airport, I was thinking back to the past five days spent in this magical corner of our Earth. It was woefully short for us to see everything we wanted to see. Of course, that would mean renting a boat and taking at least two months of vacation. However, a dream is a dream, it will simply end and we will wake up from it.
