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15/06/2024Getting to know the Galapagos Islands: Tour Floreana through its history
Floreana is one of the four inhabited islands of the Galapagos archipelago; and it has a fascinating ecosystem; Not only is its biodiversity unique, it also has a great story to tell about human colonization; Because over the years Floreana has been the scene of interesting stories of adventure and survival; That is why so many tourists have been interested in visiting it and learning from it.
The first humans on the islands
Among the collected documents that have won the battle over time is the record of the first time someone saw Florena; It was the Spanish bishop Fray Tomás de Berlanga who did it; At first they called it Santa María as a tribute to the ships that followed Christopher Columbus. Over the years Floreana has adopted other names; among them: Charles Island, in honor of King Charles II of England; until finally; Once the archipelago was included as an Ecuadorian territory thanks to the first president of Ecuador Juan José Flores in 1832, it was definitively called Floreana Island.
When the settlers arrived on the islands
In 1830 the first attempt to colonize Floreana Island occurred; It occurred when the government of Ecuador sent several convicts and soldiers to guard them to form a colony for penal purposes; However, life in Galapagos at that time was truly difficult and the initiative became unviable]; Even so, from that moment some people decided to stay and make their lives there.
When the German settlers arrived
Although the entire history of Floreana is fascinating, there is a crucial moment to know the passage of time on the island; And in 1920 a group of Germans arrived to change the course of their history forever; Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his companion Dore Strauch, who were the first humans to settle on the island.
Both had been looking for a long time for a place to live their love story together and form a simple life where they could stay alone and away from all people; and so it was for a short time, however following his arrival an enigmatic and unbearable woman named Eloise Wagner von Bousquet, named herself a baroness, arrived with two lovers and a family named Wittmer to settle in and share the future of her life. on the island and, in addition, build a luxurious accommodation for the time in Floreana.
The couple and the new visitors immediately noticed the friction on the shared island; The atmosphere had become tense due to the strong and dominant personalities that the majority had, everyone sought to make their will law, first among rumors and negative looks until sometimes when they argued over the island’s limited resources.
It was then that a series of suspicious events, sudden disappearances and mysterious deaths occurred; first with the hasty departure of the baroness and one of her lovers, the two were fed up with the conflicts with the other inhabitants of the island and had mentioned their desire to leave for Tahiti, although when they left the others had noticed that their belongings They were still in Floreana, although they did not investigate much further.
To this probable tragedy we must also add that of Dr. Ritter who died from an alleged ingestion of meat, after a long life as a vegetarian; Sadness consumed Dore Strauch who left the island never to return, leaving the Wittmer family in total authority of Floreana.
This series of unfortunate events are what gave rise to the fantastic creation of legends and myths that fall on the island and that are still maintained today.
Who lives on Floreana Island now?
Although the population of Floreana is quite small, it is usually a somewhat deceptive island, as there are always groups of tourists who come to enjoy the contrast of its dark volcanic sand beaches.
Around 150 people live here and they are all descendants of the Wittmer family, who have remained on the islands enduring droughts, rains and more challenges that may have arisen in Floreana; Thus, currently the island has a basic infrastructure that tourists can admire and enjoy.
Floreana has been the setting for stories of adventure, survival and mystery, attracting naturalists, pirates, settlers and adventurers from all over the world; So if you travel to the Galapagos Islands, and want to know the history of this specific island, we recommend visiting a couple of historical places such as the Asilo de la Paz, where the cave where the first settlers lived is located; and of course Playa Negra, because the contrast of the dark sand with the blue ocean is a truly beautiful landscape; Although its history is not the only admirable thing about the island, we must not forget that Floreana belongs to an important marine life reserve and a great biodiversity shares this area with the people who live here, a clear example is the mangrove finch. , giant turtles and many more seabirds that you will surely want to photograph as soon as you step foot on that pier.
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