Fernandina Island
Where is Narborough? Is it in the Galapagos? What a strange name. Indeed it is an island in the Galapagos Archipelago, and the youngest one. The official name however is Fernandina, named after Ferdinand II, the King of Spain at the time Columbus arrived to the Americas. Ferdinand never came to the Americas, or to the Galapagos either, of course. I do not know if Admiral Sir John Narborough came to these islands or not. But, since the British whalers made the first navigation charts of the Islands, they named the westernmost islands after famous British persons.
Names however do not matter; names are not that important. The importance of Fernandina rests in its beauty, its many naïve creatures, and its youth. This morning we walked on lava flows that are no older than 177 years. We got close, very close, to species that are found no where else in the world: marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, and lava lizards. We admired pioneer plants like the lava cactus that grow nowhere else.
I am sure that both Ferdinand and Adm. Narborough would have loved this island as much as the guests who explored it today with us did.
Where is Narborough? Is it in the Galapagos? What a strange name. Indeed it is an island in the Galapagos Archipelago, and the youngest one. The official name however is Fernandina, named after Ferdinand II, the King of Spain at the time Columbus arrived to the Americas. Ferdinand never came to the Americas, or to the Galapagos either, of course. I do not know if Admiral Sir John Narborough came to these islands or not. But, since the British whalers made the first navigation charts of the Islands, they named the westernmost islands after famous British persons.
Names however do not matter; names are not that important. The importance of Fernandina rests in its beauty, its many naïve creatures, and its youth. This morning we walked on lava flows that are no older than 177 years. We got close, very close, to species that are found no where else in the world: marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, and lava lizards. We admired pioneer plants like the lava cactus that grow nowhere else.
I am sure that both Ferdinand and Adm. Narborough would have loved this island as much as the guests who explored it today with us did.
