THE GRANDMA ARRIVES TO VALLETTA, MALTA

The Grandma is walking across Valetta streets

The Grandma has just arrived to La Valetta after saying goodbye, only for few days, to The Jones and The Beans. 

She has an appointment with Paqui Bean and Silvia and Michelle Jones in a month and she doesn't forget this date.

Meanwhile, The Grandma has decided to travel to Malta to search Corto Maltese, his great lover, and she's waiting for the arrival of some friends who are going to help her in this searching: Claire Fontaine, Tina Picotes and Joseph de Ca'th Lon. It's better staying surrounded by friends when you're doing something special.

The Grandma loves Malta and she is taking profit of this travel to visit the island again and enjoy one of the most beautiful places around the world.

More information: Visit Malta

Valletta is the capital city of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt, The City, in Maltese. Geographically, it is located in the South Eastern Region, in the central-eastern portion of the main island of Malta having its western coast with access to the Marsamxett Harbour and its eastern coast in the Grand Harbour. 

The Grandma is walking across Valletta streets

The historical city has a population of 6,444, while the metropolitan area around it has a population of 393,938. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe and the second southernmost capital of the European Union after Nicosia.

Valletta contains buildings from the 16th century onwards, built during the rule of the Order of St. John also known as Knights Hospitaller. The city is essentially Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture in selected areas, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. 

The City of Valletta was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.

More information: UNESCO

The official name given by the Order of Saint John was Humilissima Civitas Valletta—The Most Humble City of Valletta, or Città Umilissima in Italian. The city's fortifications, consisting of bastions, curtains and cavaliers, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches, led the ruling houses of Europe to give the city its nickname Superbissima—Most Proud.

The Grandma is arriving at home in Valetta

The peninsula was previously called Xaghret Mewwija. Mewwija refers to a sheltered place. The extreme end of the peninsula names Xebb ir-Ras of which name origins from the lighthouse on site. A family which surely owned land became known as Sceberras, now a Maltese surname as Sciberras. At one point the entire peninsula became known as Sceberras.

From 1566 to 1798 the Island was under The Order of Saint John. In 1798, the Order left the islands and the French occupation of Malta began. After the Maltese rebelled, French troops continued to occupy Valletta and the surrounding harbour area, until they capitulated to the British in September 1800. 

More information: The French Occupation-Visit Malta

In the early 19th century, the British Civil Commissioner, Henry Pigot, agreed to demolish the majority of the city's fortifications. The demolition was again proposed in the 1870s and 1880s, but it was never carried out and the fortifications have survived largely intact.

The Grandma in a Maltese-style balcony, Valletta

Eventually building projects in Valletta resumed under British rule. These projects included widening gates, demolishing and rebuilding structures, widening newer houses over the years, and installing civic projects. 

The Malta Railway, which linked Valletta to Mdina, was officially opened in 1883. It was closed down in 1931 after buses became a popular means of transport.

In 1939, Valletta was abandoned as the headquarters of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet due to its proximity to Italy and the city became a flashpoint during the subsequent two-year long Siege of Malta. 

German and Italian air raids throughout the Second World War caused much destruction in Valletta and the rest of the harbour area. The Royal Opera House, constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century, was one of the buildings lost to the raids.

More information: World War II-Visit Malta

The entire city of Valletta has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, along with Megalithic Temples of Malta and the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni.

The architecture of Valletta's streets and piazzas ranges from mid-16th century Baroque to Modernism. Buildings of historic importance include St John's Co-Cathedral, formerly the Conventual Church of the Knights of Malta. It has the only signed work and largest painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. 

The Grandma is walking to the harbour, Valleta

The Auberge de Castille et Leon, formerly the official seat of the Knights of Malta of the Langue of Castille, Léon and Portugal, is now the office of the Prime Minister of Malta. 

The Grandmaster's Palace, built between 1571 and 1574 and formerly the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, used to house the Maltese Parliament, now situated in a purpose-built structure at the entrance to the city, and now houses the offices of the President of Malta.

The National Museum of Fine Arts is a Rococo palace dating back to the late 1570s, which served as the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet during the British era from the 1820s onwards. The Manoel Theatre was constructed in just ten months in 1731, by order of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, and is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe.

The Mediterranean Conference Centre was formerly the Sacra Infermeria. Built in 1574, it was one of Europe's most renowned hospitals during the Renaissance. The fortifications of the port, built by the Knights as a magnificent series of bastions, demi-bastions, cavaliers and curtains, approximately 100 metres high, all contribute to the unique architectural quality of the city.

 

More information: Daily Mail

Min jistenna jithenna.

He who waits is rewarded. 

Maltese Proverb

SAYING GOODBYE TO THE JONES: NO SURRENDER!

The Grandma & The Broom, Sant Boi de Llobregat

After buying a new house in Zarautz for The Jones, The Grandma is thinking about her own future again. Last Saturday, when she was in Sant Boi with her families, she remembered her childhood. Sant Boi was an important place for her when she was a child, first, and a teenager, later. She spent the most unforgettable moments of her life in this city with many loved friends. 

It was when she was arriving to her appointment with her families that she crossed a beautiful little forest full of broom and, suddenly, all the memories returned like if all of them were the real life. She remembers Marianao Park, the Montbaig range, Sant Ramon Mountain, the Ateneu, the almond trees, the cherry trees, the rosemary, the carob trees, the lignum trees...

Now say: "The broom tree blooms,

everywhere the fields are red with poppies.

With new scythes we'll thresh

the ripened wheat and weeds."

The Grandma has considered these memories as a message. She must continue her searching of happiness and she has decided to search Corto Maltese, the man who stole her heart some decades ago and one day disappeared in Stonehenge. The Grandma hasn't got news since that moment and although she has never stopped the searching, she thinks that perhaps she was taking a wrong path. If Corto Maltese was born in Malta, perhaps she must start to search in this Mediterranean island. This is the reason because of The Grandma is going to travel to Malta to find her old friend.

Ah, young lips parting after dark, 

if you only knew how dawn 

delayed us, how long we had to wait 

for light to rise in the gloom!

The Jones are going to continue with their lifes. The Grandma is totally sure that they are going to be happy, find good jobs and enjoy their new families without forgetting this one, because, whatever happens, they will be always a Jones and they are predestined to write great pages in our history.

Good Luck, Dear Jones and No Surrender!

The Grandma & The Broom, Sant Boi de Llobregat

The broom is considered the national plant in Catalonia because two of its most important poets have written about it: Joan Maragall and Salvador Espriu. These poems are considered vital messages of hope about future, resistance about difficulties, faith in changes and the deep desire of surviving as a culture. To sum up, broom is a symbol of no surrender.

Genisteae is a tribe of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae. It includes a number of well-known plants including broom, lupine (lupin), gorse and laburnum.

The tribe's greatest diversity is in the Mediterranean, and most genera are native to Europe, Africa, the Canary Islands, India and southwest Asia. However, the largest genus, Lupinus, is most diverse in North and South America. Anarthrophytum and Sellocharis are also South American and Aryrolobium ranges into India.

But we have lived to save your words, 

to return you the name of every thing, 

so that you'd stay on the straight path 

that leads to the mastery of earth.

The Genisteae arose 32.3 ± 2.9 million years ago in the Oligocene. The members of this tribe consistently form a monophyletic clade in molecular phylogenetic analyses. The tribe does not currently have a node-based definition, but several morphological synapomorphies have been identified.

The Grandma and The Fennel, Sant Boi de Llobregat

Brooms tolerate, and often thrive best in, poor soils and growing conditions. 

In cultivation they need little care, though they need good drainage and perform poorly on wet soils. 

They are widely used as ornamental landscape plants and also for wasteland reclamation, e.g. mine tailings, and sand dune stabilising. Many of the most popular brooms in gardens are hybrids, notably Kew broom and Warminster broom.

We looked beyond the desert, 

plumbed the depth of our dreams, 

turned dry cisterns into peaks 

scaled by the long steps of time.

The Plantagenet kings used common broom, known as planta genista in Latin, as an emblem and took their name from it. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Wild broom is still common in dry habitats around Anjou, France.

Charles V and his son Charles VI of France used the pod of the broom plant, broom-cod, or cosse de geneste, as an emblem for livery collars and badges.

The flower buds and flowers of Cytisus scoparius have been used as a salad ingredient, raw or pickled, and were a popular ingredient for salmagundi or grand sallet during the 17th and 18th century. There are now concerns about the toxicity of broom, with potential effects on the heart and problems during pregnancy.

Now say: "We hear the voices 

of the wind on the high sea of crested grain." 

Now say: "We shall be ever faithful 

to the people of this land." - Salvador Espriu

We made a promise we swore we'd always remember:
No retreat, baby, no surrender.

Bruce Springsteen

ZARAUTZ: THE BEGINNING OF NEW PROJECTS AND HOPES

Selfie in Zarautz's entrance

After an intensive day with Cambridge University Exams, The Jones are preparing their new objective. The family has decided to establish their central residence in Zarautz, in Euskalherria. Although they are the owners of other residences, they have chosen this as the main one.

Meanwhile The Jones are finishing their last exam about occupational hazards, The Grandma has travelled to Zarautz to buy a house and talk to Zarautz City Hall to announce their arrival. They are going to be excellent neighbours. Zarautz's inhabitants can be sure that they are going to welcome a fantastic family.

The Grandma has visited one of her old friends, Kepa Junkera, a Basque composer and music, who she adores. In her opinion, he's one of the biggest genius in folk music nowadays. She remembers him playing his accordion while Ginesa Ortega, a Catalan Gypsy artist, was singing Maitia nun zira, one of the most beautiful Basque songs that talks about absence and love.

More information: Zarautz

Zarautz is a coastal town located in central Gipuzkoa, in Euskalherria. It is bordered by Aia to the east and the south and Getaria to the west. It has four enclaves limiting the aforementioned municipalities: Alkortiaga, Ekano, Sola, and Arbestain. It's located about 15 kilometres west of Donostia. 

The Grandma is arriving to Zarautz's City Hall

As of 2014, Zarautz has a population of 22,890, which usually swells to about60,000 in the summer.

The Palace of Narros, located adjacent to Zarautz's 2.8 km long beach, is where Queen Isabella II and Fabiola of Belgium once spent their summer holidays.

The beach is known for being the longest in the Basque Country and one of longest of the Cantabrian cornice.

-1237: The city is awarded status as fuero by king Fernando III of Castile.

-1857: The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Zarautz, thanks to the enterprise Fabril Linera. An era of economic growth and development begins.

-1936: The Civil War begins and Zarautz overwhelmingly supports the Republican cause.

-1937: The province falls to Falangist forces in the Spanish Civil War, who carry out reprisals against the Basque nationalists.

The Grandma is leaving The Jones' new home

At the end of the 19th century, and the beginning of the 20th century, the popularity of Zarautz as a luxury tourist destination grew, and many well-known people began to holiday there. 

A number of lavish houses and mansions sprang up, particularly along the beach. Nowadays, many of these buildings have become public buildings or have been demolished and replaced by chic apartment buildings.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Zarautz became a more affordable destination, and is now perhaps best known for its surfing and water sports.

As it is tradition in the Basque Country, gastronomy is a very important part of Zarautz. Many restaurants can be found in Zarautz, offering traditional as well as modern fine cuisine.

More information: Turismo Zarautz

Zarautz is home town of one of the most famous cooks, Karlos Arguiñano, whose restaurant can be found right in front of the beach. He also created a prestigious cooking school called Aiala. As in all cities around The Basque Country there are a lot of gastronomical societies in Zarautz. They are very traditional and called Txoko in Basque.

There are two museums in Zarautz, the Photomuseum and the Art and History Museum of Zarautz. In Dorre Luzea there are frequent art exhibitions. The town also has many other picture galleries.

The Grandma in Zarautz beach

Zarautz has first class sporting facilities, such as an old and elegant Golf Club. But Zarautz is renowned worldwide as a surfing destination. Over the last few years, it has become incredibly popular among surfers, and even a number of surfing schools have been established.

Zarautz is the birthplace of the Basque Weightlifting Federation as well as the Gipuzkoa Weightlifting Federation. Since 1968 weightlifting, ZKEhalterofilia, has been one of the sports that can be practiced at the local sports club, Zarautz Kirol Elkartea. Since then, every summer an international weightlifting event has taken place in the town. At first, very famous athletes took part in that competition such as Serge Reding and Alain Terme to name a few.

More information: Hotelka

The town is also famous as one of Basque's most popular surfing spots. Its 2.5 km beach offers highly consistent surfing with many different peaks for all standards of surfers. The town is a great place to learn how to surf. Zarautz is one of the places where the world championships in surfing takes place.

 

Maitia, nun zira? Nik ez zaitut ikusten,
ez berririk jakiten, nurat galdu zira?

Where are you, my Love? I do not see you,
I don't know anything, anymore, are you lost?

 Kepa Junkera & Ginesa Ortega

MARIANAO, THE JONES & THE BEANS REACH THEIR GOALS

The Grandma is waiting her families

Today, The Jones have met The Beans. They had a common objective: a Cambridge University Exam. 

The families have been working very hard for some months and today they have done a fantastic work. The Grandma is very proud of all of them. 

It's not an easy goal but they have trusted in their work and effort and they have demosntrated themselves how much English they have learnt in these intensive months.

More information: Cambridge University

Thanks Jones. Thanks Beans. Thanks for trusting in this project and work with all your effort and illusion and thanks for sharing these wonderful and unforgettable days with The Grandma, a person who loves words and names and music and old stories and who takes profit of them to try to create connections between things, people and places. 

The Grandma in Marianao, Cuba

Places and names like Marianao, the beautiful place where two  families have met each other, and a special place for The Grandma, who has an unforgettable and special story which connects her with Sant Boi, a city very important in her life, a city that she loves eternally.

Marianao, which means the ship of Maria, it’s a place in Cuba where a Catalan family, The Samà, created a big fortune. They were Indians.

An Indian, often cited with the popular names of Indian or American, is how the adventurers and traders in Catalonia knew each other who, having emigrated to the Spanish colonies in America, returned to the metropolis after having done fortune. This is the origin of the expression made the Americas.

More information: The Catalan Indians-Evokating the American Past

Their dress was of great elegance and they gave them a gentle breath that distinguished them from the rest of the population. Typically American clothing: clear trousers, vest with gold-plated rings, a large silk scarf in the neck and the jipi, a hat from Panama.

Old pictures of Palau Marianao, Sant Boi

Some, when returning, built large mansions, houses of Indians, who, despite being daughters of ostentation of what had prospered, nowadays are an excellent example of the best architecture of the second half of the nineteenth century and first third of the twentieth century.

In fairness, it must be said that they were often generous with their people, and they became promoters of actions and works that could benefit the impoverished contemporary society of the overseas empire. Thus, lighting, railroad or schools were built in many places thanks to their patronage and will. The municipalities expressed their gratitude towards their benefactors by naming their favorite children and christening the building with the name of the Indian, or by dedicating a street to them in order to perpetuate their memory.

More information: Cuban people of Catalan descendent

The phenomenon was very important in Catalonia, which after the lifting of the monopoly of trade in the exclusive Indians of Castile could obtain some compensation for the military defeat of 1714 and the brutal subsequent cultural repression.

Palau Marianao, an Indian building in Sant Boi

Catalan community in Cuba grew very fast thanks to their habilities in commerce. They were great sellers and made great fortunes with the exportation of sugar, cacao, rom, tobacco and anise. 

They inverted in their hometowns and Catalan cities like Badalona, Arenys de Mar, Torredembarra, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Sitges, Begur, or Cambrils became Indian cities thanks to new factories dedicated to manufacture and export rom and anise. Indians expanded from Cambrils to Begur across all the coast and their presence is easy to discover nowadays because they are an important piece of our recent history.

More information: Office of the Historian

During the War of Independence of Cuba, the Catalan community helped the Cuban one against the Castilian power. Repression and prosecutions against Catalan people increased in Spain and Catalan were forced to fight against Cuban but they denied and were accuses of disloyalty and dishonour and prosecuted, even with death penalty. Castilian government wanted to take possession of these factories and enterprises and Catalan enterpreneurs decided to not return and stay in Cuba forever, mainly by two reasons: help Cuban people, who were their workers, in their reclaims and protect their businesses in the Caribbean island.

Marianao Gardens and its palm trees, Sant Boi

Marianao is the result of an Indian, Salvador de Samà i Torrents, Marquis of Samà, Marianao and Vilanova i la Geltrú. The name of the land evocate a Cuban one. The characteristics of Palau Marianao are Cuban ones. Marianao gardens are full of plants which have a Caribbean origin in the same way that Palau Novella, in Sitges, or Parc Samà in Cambrils.

The origin of Catalan Havaneres is also in Cuba. Havaneres comes from Havana, the name of the Cuban city, and the lyrics of these songs always talks about homesickness. This homesickness was the main cause of the architecture of Indian houses. Indian wanted to evocate the life in the island and they built houses similar to Cuban ones with gardens full of Caribbean plants, the most important of them, the tree palm.

More information: Palau Marianao-From Cuba to Sant Boi

There are some famous havaneres in Catalan like El meu avi, which talks about the Cuban Independence Wars, La barca xica or La Gavina and in Castilian, Yo te diré, which talks about the Philipines Independence Wars, La bella Lola or La paloma, a popular song created by Basque Sebastián Iradier Salaverri which was versionated in English by Elvis Presley. 

These havaneres are love metaphors because although it seems they are dedicated to a woman's love, this woman is really Cuba, and the singers are crying its absence, its memories and its lifestyle.

More information: Visit Palafrugell

Darling, I love you so, and my heart forever,
will belong to the memory of the love that we knew before.
Please, come back to my arms; we belong together.
Come to me; let's be sweethearts again and then let us part no more.

Elvis Presley

GOODBYE THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS, WELCOME SANT BOI

The Jones are coming back by plane

Last evening, The Jones left the Galápagos Islands and they are flying to Sant Boi de Llobregat where they're going to meet The Beans. 

Both families have an important appointment tomorrow with Cambrigde University.

The Jones have watched some films during the flight. The Grandma has preferred black and white cinema because she loves Charles Chaplin but every member of the family has been able to choose her/his favourite films.

Eli Jones watches an amazing Playmobil Film about Egypt and its history while the rest of the family is sleeping. It's a long flight and tomorrow they must be relaxed and ready to enjoy a new experience.

Watch Curse of the Pharaons, The Movie by Eli Jones

Good luck Jones! Good luck Beans!

In the end, everything is a gag.

Charles Chaplin

CLIMBING CERRO AZUL VOLCANO ON ISABELA ISLAND

The Jones are visiting Isabela Island

Today, The Jones have spent a free day visiting Isabela Island and enjoying its views and its animals. 

They have talked about some memories of their childhood and beautiful experiences that they remember with emotion.

The Grandma has remembered her favourite TV Programs and Peke, her old friend which lives in Masquefa, near Barcelona. Both of them are beautiful past memories.

The family has read the last chapter of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Cerro Azul is a shield volcano on the south western part of Isabela Island in the Galápagos Islands. At a height of 1,689 m it is the second highest peak in the Galápagos and due to its topographic prominence of over 1,500 m it is categorised as an ultra. The volcano is one of the most active in the Galápagos, with the last eruption between May and June 2008.

More information: Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are believed to be formed from a mantle plume which creates a hotspot of volcanic activity away from plate boundaries where islands then form above it, similar to process that has created the Hawaiian islands. Cerro Azul is at the edge of the upwelling with steep drop offs in the ocean to the West, while the sea is shallower to the east of Isabela Island.

The Galápagos Islands from the air

Cerro Azul is one of six coalescing volcanoes on Isabela Island: Ecuador, Wolf, Darwin, Alcedo, and Sierra Negra.  

Cerro Azul is shaped like a large upturned soup bowl and like the other volcanoes on Isabela Island has a large caldera its one at 4x5 km across is one of the smallest. The caldera shows evidence of collapse following eruptive episodes and reaches a depth of 450 m to 650 m below the rim of the caldera, only Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos is as deep. The volcano is 34 by 22 km at maximum and has a volume of 172 km3. It has steep upper slopes of between 12 and 30 degrees. The shape of the volcano is affected by the sharp ocean drop off to the west where this flank of the volcano slopes steeply to the ocean.

More information: Galápagos

Historical eruptions date back to 1932, but the volcano has had a number of active periods since then in 1940, 1943,1949, 1951, 1959, 1968, 1979, 1998 and most recently in 2008. It is estimated that the surface of the volcano is young, less than 5000 years old and it is estimated that the volcano is about 350,000 years old. The age of Cerro Azul is similar to Sierra Negra and Alcedo and their positioning is not believed to be related to plate movement over the magma plume but instead an interaction between the plume and the lithosphere.

Geochelone Nigra Vicina

The 2008 eruption began in May and included a fissure eruption on the south east flank of the volcano; the eruption in 1998 had also included fissure eruptions on this part of the volcano. The fissure eruptions resulted in lava flowing 10 km from the fissure. There was also an eruption within the caldera. A second fissure opened lower down the slope in early June.

Analysis of the lavas on Cerro Azul show a range of tholeiitic to alkalic basalts and are unlike the neighbouring Sierra Negra or Alcedo volcanoes.

A study published in 2006 showed that there was continuous expansion of the volcano prior to and after the eruption in 1998. This expansion would have been due to the emplacement of magma into the magma chamber.

More information: The Atlantic

The subspecies of giant tortoise on the island is Geochelone nigra vicina, this subspecies is dome shelled and has an overlapping range with the subspecies on the neighbouring Sierra Negra Volcano, Geochelone nigra guntheri, which is a saddleback tortoise. They Cerro Azul tortoises were not affected by the 2008 eruption although the 1998 eruption did force the National Park authorities to move tortoises by land and helicopter. Other tortoises were killed in that eruption, either from lava or associated fires.

More information: Drink Tea Travel

All civilization has from time to time become 

a thin crust over a volcano of revolution. 

Havelock Ellis

GALÁPAGOS TORTOISE, 152 YEARS OLD LIVING SLOWLY

The Galápagos Tortoise

Today, May 23, is World Turtle Day, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue. The purpose is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.

World Turtle Day is celebrated around the globe in a variety of ways, from dressing up as turtles or wearing green summer dresses, to saving turtles caught on highways, to research activities. Turtle Day lesson plans and craft projects encourage teaching about turtles in classrooms.

The Jones continue their trip in the Galápagos Islands. The family has visited the tortoises today, one of the most typical animals of these islands to celebrate this important day. They have rested on the grass and have revised the Reported Speech.

More info: Reported Speech & Download Reported Speech

 

Later, they have read a new chapter of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The Galápagos tortoise complex or Galápagos giant tortoise complex, Chelonoidis nigra and related species, are the largest living species of tortoise. Modern Galápagos tortoises can weigh up to 417 kg. Today, giant tortoises exist only on two remote archipelagos: the Galápagos Islands 1000 km due west of mainland Ecuador, and Aldabra in the Indian Ocean, 700 km east of Tanzania.

Galápagos Tortoises and some Jones

The Galápagos tortoises are native to seven of the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago about 1,000 km west of the Ecuadorian mainland. With lifespans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates. 

A captive individual lived at least 170 years. Spanish explorers, who discovered the islands in the 16th century, named them after the Spanish galápago, meaning tortoise. Shell size and shape vary between populations. On islands with humid highlands, the tortoises are larger, with domed shells and short necks; on islands with dry lowlands, the tortoises are smaller, with saddleback shells and long necks. 

More information: Galápagos

Charles Darwin's observations of these differences on the second voyage of the Beagle in 1835, contributed to the development of his theory of evolution.

Tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. This decline was caused by overexploitation of the species for meat and oil, habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals to the islands, such as rats, goats, and pigs.  

Galápagos Tortoise and Claudia Jones

The extinction of most giant tortoise lineages is thought to have also been caused by predation by humans or human ancestors, as the tortoises themselves have no natural predators. 

Tortoise populations on at least three islands have become extinct in historical times due to human activities. Specimens of these extinct taxa exist in several museums and also are being subjected to DNA analysis. Ten species of the original 15 survive in the wild; an 11th species, Chelonoidis abingdonii, had only a single known living individual, kept in captivity and nicknamed Lonesome George until his death in June 2012. 

More information: National Geographic

Conservation efforts, beginning in the 20th century, have resulted in thousands of captive-bred juveniles being released onto their ancestral home islands, and the total number of the species is estimated to have exceeded 19,000 at the start of the 21st century. Despite this rebound, the species as a whole is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Galápagos Islands were discovered in 1535, but first appeared on the maps, of Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius, around 1570. The islands were named Insulae de los Galopegos, Islands of the Tortoises in reference to the giant tortoises found there.

Galápagos Tortoises and some Jones

Initially, the giant tortoises of the Indian Ocean and those from the Galápagos were considered to be the same species. Naturalists thought that sailors had transported the tortoises there. In 1676, the pre-Linnaean authority Claude Perrault referred to both species as Tortue des Indes. 

In 1783, Johann Gottlob Schneider classified all giant tortoises as Testudo indica, Indian tortoise. In 1812, August Friedrich Schweigger named them Testudo gigantea, gigantic tortoise. In 1834, André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron classified the Galápagos tortoises as a separate species, which they named Testudo nigrita, black tortoise.

All species of Galápagos tortoises evolved from common ancestors that arrived from mainland South America by overwater dispersal. Genetic studies have shown that the Chaco tortoise of Argentina and Paraguay is their closest living relative. The minimal founding population was a pregnant female or a breeding pair. 

More information: Darwin Foundation

Survival on the 1000-km oceanic journey is accounted for because the tortoises are buoyant, can breathe by extending their necks above the water, and are able to survive months without food or fresh water. As they are poor swimmers, the journey was probably a passive one facilitated by the Humboldt Current, which diverts westwards towards the Galápagos Islands from the mainland. The ancestors of the genus Chelonoidis are believed to have similarly dispersed from Africa to South America during the Oligocene.

Claudia Jones and some Galápagos Tortoise

The closest living relative, though not a direct ancestor, of the Galápagos giant tortoise is the Chaco tortoise, Chelonoidis chilensis, a much smaller species from South America. 

The divergence between Chelodonis chilensis and Chelodonis nigra probably occurred 6–12 million years ago, an evolutionary event preceding the volcanic formation of the oldest modern Galápagos Islands 5 million years ago. 

More information: New Scientist

Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates that the oldest existing islands, Española and San Cristóbal, were colonised first, and that these populations seeded the younger islands via dispersal in a stepping stone fashion via local currents. Restricted gene flow between isolated islands then resulted in the independent evolution of the populations into the divergent forms observed in the modern species. The evolutionary relationships between the species thus echo the volcanic history of the islands.

More information: Live Science

We called him Tortoise because he taught us. 

Lewis Carroll