Floreana Island
Floreana, Santa Maria, Charles… Three names for one island, marking different stages in the rich human history of the fifth largest of the Galápagos volcanoes. This island, marked by gentle rolling hills and a certain amount of fresh water, was a magnet to the strange, displaced human beings that tried to make a home out of this inhospitable part of the world. An arid, unforgiving land inhabited by mainly reptiles and sea birds, and of course the ubiquitous Galápagos sea lions – what was there to attract the early settlers? To be truthful, mainly false expectations…
The first ever inhabitant of the island was an Irishman named Patrick Watkins in 1807 – an unpleasant fellow reputed to have been thrown off his ship by fellow crew, and who survived by exchanging fruit he found on the island for rum with the passing whaling ships. He eventually captured a ship and got rid of its crew, sailing to Guayaquil on the coast of Ecuador, never to be heard of again… Close on his heels, a penal colony was established on the island once the Galápagos were claimed by the Ecuadorian government in 1832. By the time Charles Darwin visited the island in 1835, there was a population of about 200, but soon it became abandoned once more. Next on the list, in the early 20th century, some European settlers, Germans and Norwegians, tried their luck, only to meet with tragedy once more. In fact, this disastrous prior human history has even been attributed to “the curse of the giant tortoise!”
The present day situation here is a lot friendlier than its past, however, and we all enjoyed a wonderful day on the island, starting with a visit to a post office barrel that dates back to 1793, if not earlier. This tradition, started by 18th century whalers, continues to this day with the modern visitor, and several of us contributed to keeping the tradition alive by picking up correspondence to be hand delivered some time in the future. The day continued with wonderful snorkelling activities, nature walks along a flamingo-inhabited lagoon and to a beach of soft white sand, and the newest exciting addition to an already extensive range of options offered to visitors to Galápagos on the Islander – kayaks! We have tried these vessels out in a variety of different locations, to great acclaim, and today we paddled round a mangrove-lined lagoon amongst the sea turtles, shore birds, sea lions and marine iguanas. Yet another thrilling way to explore one of the most unique ecosystems on earth, the trial and tribulations of early visitors a long way behind us, and hard to now imagine.
Floreana, Santa Maria, Charles… Three names for one island, marking different stages in the rich human history of the fifth largest of the Galápagos volcanoes. This island, marked by gentle rolling hills and a certain amount of fresh water, was a magnet to the strange, displaced human beings that tried to make a home out of this inhospitable part of the world. An arid, unforgiving land inhabited by mainly reptiles and sea birds, and of course the ubiquitous Galápagos sea lions – what was there to attract the early settlers? To be truthful, mainly false expectations…
The first ever inhabitant of the island was an Irishman named Patrick Watkins in 1807 – an unpleasant fellow reputed to have been thrown off his ship by fellow crew, and who survived by exchanging fruit he found on the island for rum with the passing whaling ships. He eventually captured a ship and got rid of its crew, sailing to Guayaquil on the coast of Ecuador, never to be heard of again… Close on his heels, a penal colony was established on the island once the Galápagos were claimed by the Ecuadorian government in 1832. By the time Charles Darwin visited the island in 1835, there was a population of about 200, but soon it became abandoned once more. Next on the list, in the early 20th century, some European settlers, Germans and Norwegians, tried their luck, only to meet with tragedy once more. In fact, this disastrous prior human history has even been attributed to “the curse of the giant tortoise!”
The present day situation here is a lot friendlier than its past, however, and we all enjoyed a wonderful day on the island, starting with a visit to a post office barrel that dates back to 1793, if not earlier. This tradition, started by 18th century whalers, continues to this day with the modern visitor, and several of us contributed to keeping the tradition alive by picking up correspondence to be hand delivered some time in the future. The day continued with wonderful snorkelling activities, nature walks along a flamingo-inhabited lagoon and to a beach of soft white sand, and the newest exciting addition to an already extensive range of options offered to visitors to Galápagos on the Islander – kayaks! We have tried these vessels out in a variety of different locations, to great acclaim, and today we paddled round a mangrove-lined lagoon amongst the sea turtles, shore birds, sea lions and marine iguanas. Yet another thrilling way to explore one of the most unique ecosystems on earth, the trial and tribulations of early visitors a long way behind us, and hard to now imagine.
