Fernandina (Narborough) is a million years old, and yet it is the youngest of islands. It is considered the Galapagos’s most exotic island. It measures only 642m² (0.4 square miles), it is the farthest west of the archipelago’s islands, and the only one that is not inhabited by humans. This island is home of the biggest colony of marine iguanas and flightless cormorants, and its incomparable beauty makes it one of the world’s most exclusive and unique destinations.
In Fernandina, the rule is not to alter the ecosystem. This extreme place is definitely a monument to survival. If you watch it from above, you can see that the island is in fact the tip of a volcano partially submerged in the water, a volcano that remains active and is frequently erupting. Fernandina is a place where creatures have managed to survive in such harsh conditions and have made this land of fire their home.
One of the most amazing of these endemic creatures is the marine iguana, who has unexplainably learnt to swim in view of the lack of food in the surface. With an incredible agility, it dives to the bottom of the sea to eat the algae attached to the rocks. As a curious fact, Charles Darwin considered these animals repulsive due to their prehistoric appearance.
Another wonderful creature of the island is the flightless cormorant, the only one of its species who has lost its ability to fly. Nonetheless, this bird has managed to survive by diving to incredible depths to get its food. Having tiny wings useless for flying, the flightless cormorant has developed strong legs that allow him to easily do these dives at high speeds. The island’s conditions in the past may have caused the fish to go deeper into the water, forcing the cormorant to develop that hunting technique.
Fernandina is a highly protected place that people can only get to know in momentary visits to an area called Punta Espinoza. It is a place full of magic and ruled by wildlife. Swimming birds and iguanas are a good sign of adaptation to harsh conditions. If you get lucky, you may see other extreme creatures, like the only cactus in the world that emerges from dry lava, and you can even snorkel with the only penguin species that can survive in tropical temperatures.
Photo: lightmatter
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