grand voyage “
an iguana on the runway.” Welcome to the Galápagos. Roll on 30 minutes and I’ve already
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seen the infamous blue-footed booby VKRZ Rਬ LWV HOHFWULF EOXH KXHG OHJV DQ enormous pelican soar over the crashing ZDYHV D PRXQG RI MHW EODFN PDULQH LJXDQDV SLOHG KLJK RQ WKH URFNV DQG D ELJ EOXEEHU\ VHD OLRQ VOXPSHG RQ WKH side of the port. I haven’t even boarded the ship yet. It’s a sign of the things to come
as I explore this remote archipelago RYHU WKH IROORZLQJ ZHHN RQ Yacht La Pinta D SDVVHQJHU YHVVHO RSHUDWHG E\ 0HWURSROLWDQ 7RXULQJ WKH ਭUVW FRPSDQ\ WR SO\ WKHVH ZDWHUV ODXQFKLQJ cruises in 1969. QR GRXEW WKLV LV RQH RI WKH VۑHUHौ
world’s most biodiverse regions – about RI LWV UHSWLOHV
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and 30% of its plants are found nowhere else in the world – and by the end of the trip I’m starting to understand how this unique set of conditions helped form the basis for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. He came on a mapping H[SHGLWLRQ LQ
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e apologise for the delay,” announces the VنHUHى IOLJKW FDSWDLQ
DQG ਭQFKHV RQ HDFK LVODQG WR GHYHORS KLV ideas around natural selection. While I can’t quite compare my ਭYH VۑQLZUD' VL[ QLJKW VRMRXUQ WR ZHHN H[SORUDWLRQ , FDQ FRQFOXGH WKDW WKHVH LVODQGV
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RI PDLQODQG (FXDGRU DUH TXLWH XQOLNH anywhere else on Earth – and they’re all distinct. Here’s my guide to the \RXQJHVW PRVW YROFDQLFDOO\ DFWLYH RI WKH lot: the western isles.
NORTH SEYMOUR $़HU D WKUHH KRXU ਮLJKW IURP ोLWR I’d landed on a tiny airport strip on %DOWUD ,VODQG WKH HQWU\ SRLQW IRU WKH archipelago. Two hours later we were VDLOLQJ IRU RXU ਭUVW SRUW RI FDOO 1RUWK Seymour. 0HDVXULQJ OHVV WKDQ RQH VTXDUH PLOH
WKLV SLQW VL]HG LVOH LV DULG VSDUVH DQG GHVHUW OLNH DOO VZDWKHV RI KRQH\HG VDQG OLQLQJ WKH VKRUH DQG D EHG RI SDUFKHG UHGGLVK JUHHQ VKUXEEHU\ covering the land. D KRWVSRW IRU VHD OLRQV ODQG VۑW,
LJXDQDV DQG ELUGV DQG ZH VDZ ZKROH crowds of them clustered around the VKRUHV RQ WKH EHDFK D EDE\ VHD OLRQ VXFNOHG LWV PRWKHU ZKLOH D SOXPS PDOH ZDGGOHG DORQJ JURDQLQJ ORXGO\ DJDLQVW WKH WLQQ\ FUDVK RI ZDYHV RQ URFNV
,QODQG \HOORZ RUDQJH LJXDQDV OD\
XQGHU WKH VKDGH RI FDFWL VR IXOO\ FDPRXਮDJHG DJDLQVW WKH GHVHUW VFDSH you could barely see them (yellow UHDG\ WR PDWH DSSDUHQWO\ HUۑ\HKW PHDQV and these were positively glowing). &ORVH E\ D PDOH IULJDWH EOHZ XS LWV EULJKW UHG EHOO\ OLNH D KXJH EDOORRQ DQ DिHPSW WR DिUDFW D IHPDOH RXU JXLGH Sabina told us – while a blue-footed booby stood proudly displaying its pastel KRYHULQJ ەWHLG IHHW D VLJQ RI D JRRG over a freshly laid egg. If there was a symbol of the sheer variety of life in the *DO£SDJRV WKLV ZDV VXUHO\ LW
ISABELA But there was more to be seen the IROORZLQJ GD\ ZKHQ ZH VDLOHG WR WKH ODUJHVW RI WKH LVODQGV ,VDEHOD $W DERXW VT PLOHV WKLV VSUDZOLQJ PDVV RI
PDUEOH VZLUOHG URFN DQG VDQG WDNHV XS almost half of the Galápagos’ land area E\ *DO£SDJRV VWDQGDUGV ۑJQXR\ DQG LV DW DERXW
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more than three million for the oldest LVODQGV ZKLFK DUH IRXQG LQ WKH HDVW and tend to be characterised by less YROFDQLFDOO\ DFWLYH JUHHQHU WHUUDLQ It’s here that most of the archipelago’s
VۑWL *DO£SDJRV SHQJXLQV DUH IRXQG DQG one of only two islands where you can
travelweekly.co.uk/cruise
February 2020 19
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