This was the answer I penned which I thought might be worth putting here for future reference…
To elaborate slightly on previous answers…there are 13 different sub-species of Darwin’s Finch. Each pertains to a particular island in the Galapagos archipelago. That is to say that the same bird evolved subtly different characteristics depending on the local conditions of their island habitat. Where the main food source was a form of nut, they evolved stronger beaks for insects, longer beaks. That sort of thing.
If you go to the Galapagos what you actually see are lots of little brown birds, like a house sparrow. Not at first sight the most interesting bird in the sky. Far from it. It was the same for Darwin who frankly went hunting on the islands. It was only much later in life that he returned to the specimens he had gathered as a young man in the Galapagos and noticed the differences between the finches and between the shells of the giant tortoises and started to really work though his theory of evolution.
In short, those little brown birds don’t look like much but are fundamental to the development of evolutionary theory.
If you are interested in joining us on a Galapagos cruise, get in touch!
Post Office Bay on Floreana
I see today that they are filming an adaptation of Margaret Wittmer’s autobiography, ‘Floreana: a woman’s pilgrimage to the Galapagos‘. It could be an absolute cracker – the story certainly is.
The human history of the Galapagos is, in one sense, the most interesting aspect of the islands. More than the animals themselves, it’s the way the humans have adapted to the demands of the animals which is curious. Never more so than the story of Floreana.
The first inhabitants of Floreana arrived in the early 1930s. German doctor Friedrich Ritter and his ‘pilgrim’ Dore Strauch first arrived in search of paradise. What they found was markedly different, not least because it seems that Ritter was a misogynistic bully. Nevertheless, Strauch wrote some rather romanticised magazine articles which made it back to Germany to be read by, amongst others, the Wittmers. In 1932 the pregnant Margaret, husband Heinz and 14 year old son Harry landed in search of a real life ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ episode.
Life on Floreana at this stage would presumably have been pretty strange and quiet but not scandalous. That bit arrived in the form of the ‘baroness’. Blonde bombshell, sexually rather more open than was perhaps the norm in the 1930s. Or any decade for that matter. She arrived with a smattering of four adoring young men. And some guns.
It was the baroness’ intention to build a large luxury hotel on Floreana to attract millionaire guests from the US. She basically starts to assert her authority and in fact declares ownership of the island.
It’s at this point that things start to go seriously wrong as people started to die, one by one….
There is much to this story, accusations and counter claims but it is interesting to know that Margaret’s children, though getting on a little now, are both still alive and working in tourism in the islands. Inge runs a small guest house on Floreana, Rolf runs several boats which offer tourist cruises around the islands (the Tip Top boats). I have spoken to guides in the Galapagos who still remember when Margarete used to meet boats as they landed at Floreana to sell cookies to the tourists.
If you would like to know more about holidays to the Galapagos, call us on 01273 676 712.
We love to hear from our customers once they get back from their holidays. This week has been a goodie with some local clients dropping by yesterday to leave two beautiful framed photos of a jaguar they saw in the Peruvian Amazon. Just incredible images of an animal so rarely seen that apparently the guides were every bit as excited as our clients!
Then this rather splendid bit of feedback came in via Responsible Travel. What I particularly like about this is just that the client ‘got’ the places she saw and sums up rather nicely what it is that makes both parts of this Inca Trail & Galapagos holiday so special.
“A review of one of your holidays has been submitted by Jennifer regarding Peru and Galapagos adventure holiday.
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The utter fearlessness of all the animals – birds, mammals and amphibians in the Galapagos – nothing had prepared us for this. There is nothing like standing eyeball to eyeball with a fluffy white Booby chick and it doesn’t try to run -or fly away. All other wildlife viewing will be ruined forever after that!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
We also went to Machu Picchu and walked the Salkantay trail prior – we recommend that you ensure a full day at Machu Picchu and/or the local town of Aqua Calientes at the end of the trek in order to have an opportunity to visit the local museum and see the spectacled bears and vist the Sacred Valley and maybe even take in a bit of a shopping -we never had time to do any of thse things with only half a day to visit Machu Piccu and then the train journey back to Cusco.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Absolutley -some barely spoke english, and those we communicated with were clearly from the local area. One of our most memorable and sublime meals was on a hillside looking across the steep valley to Machu Picchu. We ate at the table of a local farmer who had no electricity and no running water. We were served an entree of avocado with some vegetables, a main of trout caught in the river in the valley below with potatoes. And for desert a perfectly ripe banana grown near by. We hear a lot about ‘food miles’ and using local produce in trendy restaurant guides -but these local people live the dream and have been doing so since time immemorial -it is time we all looked at our priorities.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fantastic -it was everything we expected. Sometimes reality does not meet expectations but not so this time and we are both fairly well travelled. Everything went like clock work -we were met by guides at the airport and it was refreshing to stay in stylish, locally run and owned small hotels and not the big hotel chains. However -the clincher for us and what separates the men from the boys in any business is what happens when something goes wrong. Due to a volcanic eruption in Chile a lot of flights to Buenos Aires were cancelled and it appeared I would not make my connection back to Australia. It was difficult to try and rebook flights over the phone with recorded messages in Spanish! However Pura Aventura stepped in and organised new flights and the connection was made after all.
Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
***** I am reborn! Simply the best holiday I have ever been on.”
We try our very best to make sure that every holiday we deliver is up to these standards. If you would like to know more about our active holidays to Spain and Latin America, please call us on 01273 676 712 or visit the Pura Aventura website proper.