Bartholome and Santiago Islands
An opportunity just too good to miss was to take the time to cruise slowly by Buccaneer Cove on our way to the southern end of James Bay for our afternoon’s excursion. It is a place of historical importance, over the centuries it has been visited by pirates, whalers and scientists galore. A rare, freshwater spring is located near the landing beach, at the base of a small hill. It was here, in September 1835, that Captain Fitzroy from the H.M.S. Beagle dropped off Charles Darwin and four others for over a week, with tent and provisions, while the ship explored elsewhere. It was on this island, of the four islands Darwin visited, that he finally had the luxury of time to really explore, wander, collect and ponder what he was seeing.
The thrilling accounts of the adventures of Dampier, Woodes Rogers and other characters was narrated to us by Paul as we slowly swung by under the immense cliffs of the cove. The ravine cut by the small trickle of a stream was noticeable, at the foot of the hill. It is green today, as it is not often green. Our wet season has turned the island into something that could even be termed lush, but we know better. It is only a seasonal impression which doesn’t last long. When Darwin was here, and guests who have traveled here during the dry season, have seen these slopes in their dusty brown covers. Of course back in Darwin’s days, it’s possible he saw much more vegetation than is in evidence today. These days the feral goat population has reached a minimum, one hundred thousand individuals. When I first arrived in the islands 16 years ago, we also spoke of the 10,000 feral pigs (looking like razorbacks that some of you might be familiar with, tusks and all). Today however, we are just a month away from being able to officially declare all feral pigs on the island of Santiago eliminated! This means one-year of monitoring has taken place without neither hide nor hair of pigs found. A true world record indeed for an island of this size. What this means for some of the fauna is that marine turtles who use Santiago’s beaches can expect their nests to remain uneaten, the same with Santiago’s giant tortoises in the highlands. The next step in the restoration of the island is gearing up, and the eradication of the feral goats the target. This will mean that the open field-like slopes visible today as a result of generations of goats grazing everything within reach, will maybe, hopefully, within the next few years, start rebounding with low bushes, shrubs and native ground-dwelling plants, and turn truly “lush”.
An opportunity just too good to miss was to take the time to cruise slowly by Buccaneer Cove on our way to the southern end of James Bay for our afternoon’s excursion. It is a place of historical importance, over the centuries it has been visited by pirates, whalers and scientists galore. A rare, freshwater spring is located near the landing beach, at the base of a small hill. It was here, in September 1835, that Captain Fitzroy from the H.M.S. Beagle dropped off Charles Darwin and four others for over a week, with tent and provisions, while the ship explored elsewhere. It was on this island, of the four islands Darwin visited, that he finally had the luxury of time to really explore, wander, collect and ponder what he was seeing.
The thrilling accounts of the adventures of Dampier, Woodes Rogers and other characters was narrated to us by Paul as we slowly swung by under the immense cliffs of the cove. The ravine cut by the small trickle of a stream was noticeable, at the foot of the hill. It is green today, as it is not often green. Our wet season has turned the island into something that could even be termed lush, but we know better. It is only a seasonal impression which doesn’t last long. When Darwin was here, and guests who have traveled here during the dry season, have seen these slopes in their dusty brown covers. Of course back in Darwin’s days, it’s possible he saw much more vegetation than is in evidence today. These days the feral goat population has reached a minimum, one hundred thousand individuals. When I first arrived in the islands 16 years ago, we also spoke of the 10,000 feral pigs (looking like razorbacks that some of you might be familiar with, tusks and all). Today however, we are just a month away from being able to officially declare all feral pigs on the island of Santiago eliminated! This means one-year of monitoring has taken place without neither hide nor hair of pigs found. A true world record indeed for an island of this size. What this means for some of the fauna is that marine turtles who use Santiago’s beaches can expect their nests to remain uneaten, the same with Santiago’s giant tortoises in the highlands. The next step in the restoration of the island is gearing up, and the eradication of the feral goats the target. This will mean that the open field-like slopes visible today as a result of generations of goats grazing everything within reach, will maybe, hopefully, within the next few years, start rebounding with low bushes, shrubs and native ground-dwelling plants, and turn truly “lush”.
