A trip to the Galapagos Islands is high on my list of dream vacations which I know I will never experience. This island group is located on the equator some 600 miles west of Ecuador (who owns them). The islands have little practical value. The volcanic geology makes them inhospitable for human habitation and they are not convenient to the major shipping routes. Their appeal is the uniqueness of both the geology and especially the animal life. Charles Darwin visited here in the 1830 s and saw a kind of closed biosphere of specie development which crystalized his theory of natural selection.
       The most famous inhabitant of these islands is the Giant Tortoise (galapagos is the spanish word for tortoise). Before the arrival of man in the 16th century the tortoise had no natural predators throughout the eons of its presence on these islands. This fact and the abundant and easily accessible vegetation available for these herbivores along with the year round temperate climate which minimizes the need for shelter beyond its giant shell created a somewhat faineant lifestyle as described in the Honolulu Zoo web site:

The giant tortoise leads a generally peaceful, lazy life. He wakes up between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning and basks in the sun as his bulky body warms. The rest of the day he spends grazing and browsing. The tortoise retires at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, spending the cool night half submerged in mud or water or burrowed into dense brush. This keeps the tortoise warm and the conserved body heat probably aids digestion. Tortoises have symbiotic relationships with other animals, such as between the tortoise and the finch. The tortoise will extend its neck to allow the finch to pick off ticks.

These gentle monsters (up to 500 pounds) are thought to have an average life span of more than 150 years and have been documented to live up to 200 years. The very tortoise that carried Charles Darwin on its back may well be wandering around these islands this very day !
       Darwin noted the hundreds of species observed here that are found nowhere else on earth. He and all others who visit here are also struck by the lack of fear of man displayed by all the indigenous inhabitants. Galapagos wildlife indifferently allows humans to come right up to them without any reaction.