A4 - Española and San Cristobal Islands - Galapagos

San Cristobal and Española are two of the first islands you visit when sailing to Galapagos. They introduce the sailor to a truly unique natural environment of our planet, that is incredibly rich in biodiversity and has abundant nutrients in its cold waters fed by the Antarctic Humboldt current. The Humboldt current reaches the Equator without warming up, carrying huge concentrations of plankton that in turn attracts lots of fish and marine mammals that feed in its waters. The underwater biodiversity in turn attracted many marine birds as well as land species, that evolved at a fast pace in each of the major islands, creating an outstanding living lab of evolution. When Darwin visited Galapagos in September 1835 to collect specimens and make observations he noted that certain species while being similar were slightly different from island to island and perfectly adapted to each. This was the starting point of his theory of evolution, which he published 14 years later in his landmark book The Origin of Species which sold out in a matter of days and gave him enduring fame. Watch this video to draw your own conclusions.