10 March: The Galapagos Islands

On this date in 1535 Tomas de Berlanga, Bishop of Panama, discovered the Galapagos Islands. 10 things you might not know about the islands.

1. Where are they? The Galapagos Archipelago situated 600 miles/906km off the coast of Ecuador, straddling the Equator. Today they form Ecuador's Province of Galapagos. The capital is Puerto Baquerizo Morena, situated on San Christobel Island.
2. It consists of 18 main islands, three smaller islands and over 100 islets. The main islands include Baltra, the only island with an airport where planes can stay overnight so will be the entry point for many visitors who can then catch ferries to other islands; Wolf Island, which is home to the vampire finch, a finch which feeds on the blood of other birds; Darwin, named for Charles Darwin; and Isabela, named for Queen Isabela, which is the only place in the Northern Hemisphere where you can see Penguins in their natural habitat.
3. Tomas de Berlanga didn't set out to discover the islands - he never intended to go there at all but ended up there when his ship was blown off course. He wasn't very impressed, either, and wrote in his journal that the land was good for nothing but raising thistles. During the 16th century, the islands were often used by pirates as a place to hide out.
4. By the 19th century, however, people had begun to see the value of the islands as a base for the fishing industry and as a tourist destination. The most famous visitor was Charles Darwin, who spent some time there in 1835 and made the observation that finches on different islands had differently shaped beaks, adapted to whatever food was available for them on their island. This observation was one of the arguments he used when putting forward his theory of evolution by natural selection.
5. Despite what Berlanga said, there is some farming on the islands. There are farms there growing Coffee and Chocolate. In fact, coffee is one of the major exports, with Starbucks being a major customer.
6. The archipelago was formed by volcanic activity which continues to this day. There are 13 active volcanoes there which erupt from time to time.
7. About 25,000 people live on the islands, but 97.5% of the land mass has been a national park since 1959. The oceans around it are a marine reserve.
8. As well as the finches and the penguins, there is plenty of wildlife to see, including three species of booby birds, and marine Iguanas - the only lizards in the world that live in the sea. Charles Darwin described them as "hideous looking" but they no doubt added evidence to his natural selection theory. It's thought land iguanas got washed out to sea on driftwood and adapted so they could live on seaweed and algae. They are herbivores but have sharp teeth to allow them to forage for food on rocks.
9. Another notable animal is the giant tortoise. It is from these animals that the archipelago gets its name. Galapogos derives from an old Spanish word for saddle, which was a reference to the shells of these tortoises. They can go for a year without eating or drinking and can live up to 150 years. They can weigh up to 417kg/919lb and grow to nearly 2 metres/6ft long.
10. Eighteenth century whalers in the area devised a way to keep in touch with their loved ones at home. They'd write their letters and place them in a barrel in what has come to be known as Post Office Bay. Ships which were heading home would collect the letters and take them back. People still do this today. 

My Books 

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The Ultraheroes series

Several new groups of superheroes, mostly British, living and working (mostly) in British cities like London and Birmingham. People discovering they have, and learning to live with, superpowers. Each book is complete in itself although there is some overlap of characters.

The Raiders series

A tale of two dimensions, and worm hole travel between the two. People displaced in both time and space, learning to get along and work together to find a way home while getting used to the superpowers wormhole travel gave them. A trilogy.

Golden Thread

A superhero tale with a difference. Five heroes from another dimension keep returning - whenever they return, they have a job to do and are a well-meshed team in order to do it. Until one time, something goes wrong...

Tabitha Drake series

A different kind of power - the ability to talk to dead people. Tabitha has it, and murder victims seek her out to make sure justice is done. Tabitha has this and a disastrous love life to cope with.

Short story collections

Some feature characters from the above novels, others don't. They're not all about superheroes. Some are creepy, romantic, funny.