Another book borrowed
from Hong Kong
Public Library for planning
my trip to the Galápagos and borrowed again
after the trip.
Galápagos - A Natural History Guide is one of the
most informative reference books found and it has everything you should know about
the Galápagos from the four chapters (Scientific and Historical Data; Fauna of the
Galápagos; Description of the Islands; and The Galápagos National Park). The
photos inside, to be frank, are not stunning from photographers' eyes.
The sketches of diagrams
and maps are presented in an outdated fashion. Probably, all these make
the book being looked more classic as it should be and the most impressive
words start from the Forward:
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¡§To
many overseas visitor, the Galápagos are the image of paradise; a mythical place
¡V so symbolic per se ¡V like a child¡¦s dream that beckons beyond imagination; an
oasis of life in the middle of the vast expanse of the cold east Pacific ocean;
a magical speck of land inhabited by fabulous animals, survivors of another space
in time, which live in harmony with nature; a place so far away from civilization,
that it must have been chosen by the Gods to be a haven of peace and beauty. In
short, the perfect postcard of Eden. |
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To me, however, these islands evoke mixed feelings of the
sweet and sour kind. Time plus 25 years experience of the Galápagos, have given
me a deep perspective about the events and a seasoned approach to the challenges
facing this unique land. Believe me, from my window, the outlook is not pretty any
longer and I have a bitter taste in my mouth. The evidence is convincing. The presence
of men is not compatible with paradise. Man has become a greedy, merciless predator,
a destroyer and a powder master key to what Darwin once called ¡§evolution¡¨. Man
prefers to call it progress, but what sort of improvement is that, it is detrimental
to Mother Nature? Money has become the new ¡§blood¡¨ of the Galápagos environment.
¡K.¡¨ ¡V from the author,
Pierre Constant |
It makes one sad
just reading the first two paragraphs
of Pierre's Forward but it may be arguably true. I may consider, with his
25 years of experience in the Galápagos, the message in the opening is worthwhile taking
particular note notwithstanding this sour and sad taste cast a damp over those who are planning the trip to the
Galápagos. Be a responsible human being on the earth
being shared with other life forms.
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¡§¡KI
do not
wish to darken the picture more than I should. The
magic and the spell of Enchanted Isles really do exist. They are found:
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In the inquisitive look of the blue-footed boobies;
In the sweetness and the frolic of the sea lions on land or in the water; in the
peaceful and detached somnolence of marine iguanas flat on the rocks under the equatorial
sun;
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In the enigmatic smiles of the land iguanas under the
opuntia cacti; in the eternal immobility of the giant tortoises in their centenarian shell, overlooking the world from the rim of the volcanoes;
in the mystical contemplation of the pelican standing on its rock,
facing the glowing ocean at sunset;
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In the grace and innocence of the flightless cormorant during courtship display;
in the comical duel of the albatrosses fencing with their beaks in the mating season;
in the joyful gamboling of bottlenose dolphins, for which each boat is a pretest to play;
in the wave that crashes against the Great Arch and turns into one thousand drops of iridescent light ¡K
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For all that, I pay my respects to these islands. Despite the thunder and lightning, the Galápagos must be safeguarded as the innocence of the world. For the sun rises east on Noah¡¦s ark or on the arch of Darwin, and glows west on the great blue yonder of the Pacific. The magic of ¡§Las Encantadas¡¨ may one day disappear under the surface of the waves, but by then, humans would have gone long before.¡¨ |
(Note: This book can be borrowed from the
Hong Kong Public
Library or
bought from Amazon.)
