The Adventures of a Clumsy Traveller

The Galapagos Islands are one of the most diverse places in the world, home to some of the rarest and unique species. It had always been my dream to visit there, but in particular there is one meeting that I will never forget. We were taken by the guides down a stony path surrounded by cacti and leafless trees. When the path opened up we were on an isolated beach of which there was not a person in sight. Despite the grey, windy weather, the beach was a complete antithesis of the harsh desert surroundings of the islands. The white sand and the sky blue sea reinforced that I was no longer in England, sometimes in Ecuador you could be mistaken! The only company that presented itself to us were three seals that wandered up the beach to say hello. Tired and windswept as we were, the guides suggested clambering up the black, coarse volcanic rock up of a cliff that made us agitated thinking we were on a wild goose chase. However when we reached the top we were greeted by a stunning view of the rough sea crashing against the black rocks below. More importantly I was faced with sight I had most anticipated, four blue footed boobies. Whilst they have a comical name, these monochrome birds have electric blue feet. The four that we saw on the edge of the cliff all had feet different shades of blue, it was quite a sight. At first I was overwhelmed with excitement that I had finally been able to see them. Once I got over the initial hype I was amazed by how tame they were, like the rest of the Galapagos species, they are completely unaffected by the presence of humans. A Darwin finch came and sat on my boot staring into my eyes on the beach the previous day. Galapagos laws prevent you from going closer than two meters to animals where possible, but two meters felt close enough to observe these magnificent birds. Unfortunately we did not get to see the males do their mating dance, which would have been quite a display. From that short stay on the islands, it made me appreciate that the world is a much greater spectacle that I could have imagined. There are so many beautiful species that are dying out due to an overbearing presence of humans on the world. Lonesome George was the last Pinta tortoise. Humans ate his ancestors on long voyages in the 18th Century, I was lucky enough to meet him before he died. Conservation of these magnificent species is fundamental for their survival, my experience taught me that you can enjoy things without spoiling them