Life in the Galapagos 1

So here we are in the Galapagos, a small volcanic archipelago about 1000km off the coast of Ecuador, made famous amongst others by Charles Darwin in his studies of evolution. The islands have a unique collection of flora and fauna, much of which is not found anywhere else in world, due to the location of the islands, and the way in which they formed.

Before I go any further, apologies for the lack of photos with this entry - there are no shortage of fantastic shots (naturally!) but we will wait to upload them till we can find a pc not powered by a hamster on a wheel!

So, instead of taking the conventional approach of a 7 day tour to the islands, James and I have instead opted to volunteer for 4 weeks with an environmental project located on San Cristobal Island (bottom right on the map). In all the wildlife programmes about the Galapagos, they tend to major on the amazing abundnace of animals and plants here. What they generally don't talk about is how much the islands have suffered in recent years, not only from the massive influx of visitors and irresponsible tour comapnies, but also from the introduction of non-native species, which are gradually destroying the natural biodiversity of the islands and their very fragile eco-system. The aim of the project we doing is to eradicate these invasive species from an area of >200 hectares, to reforest the area with native plants, and also to educate the locals on how to treat their environment responsibly.

They also farm a small amount of fruit and vegetables to feed the volunteers and staff at the project. This is to avoid the need to buy imported produce, one of the main sources of harmful bugs and parasites from the mainland.