Fernandina Island

There is not much to say about Fernandina – and that’s not because there isn’t much on the island, but on the contrary, there is so much that a whole chapter of a book needs to be dedicated entirely to this pristine place. As you stroll on the island, its beauty usually engages feelings that sometimes you didn’t even know were there. Often, we are either short of superlatives, or we end up not finding the right one that would help us describe the whole picture. If I were asked to describe the island, I would simply say “magical.” I have never encountered any true magic in the world, but I would say that if magic exists, it exists in the colors radiated by a sunset behind Fernandina volcano, perhaps the face of a baby sea lion when encountering a human for first time, or even the incredible instinct used to detect prey when the Galápagos hawk is hunting. Yes, I am in love with Fernandina and I don’t know anybody who is not. I have to share its beaches, its animals and its sunset’s colors with all the visitors every day, but I am content of doing it because when I am there, it feels as if I am the only one that ever set foot on its shores…