“It is a hideous-looking creature, of dirty black colour, stupid and sluggish in its movements”

–Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle

While there is much attention and focus on the endemic avian fauna of the Galápagos we should not forget the unique reptiles of the Enchanted Islands.

One of the reptiles that I was really looking forward to seeing was the world’s only aquatic lizard: the marine iguana.

Now this is the iguana that, without fail, features in any nature documentary about the Galápagos.

The marine iguana, as the name implies, is at home to the coastal salt waters of the Pacific. They are only found in the Galápagos Islands.

While I have seen a green iguana in Belize swimming across a stream, its distant relative spends much more time in the tides of the Pacific foraging underwater for sea vegetation.

We had many encounters with marine iguanas on the different islands that we visited. Like the birds of the Galápagos, they show no fear of humans. Our guide told us to be careful and not step on an iguana. They certainly do not move out of the way when approached.