Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The remarkable first-hand account of Margret Wittmer, who settled the island of Floreana in the Galapagos-600 miles from the mainland of Ecuador. It took Wittmer and her family weeks to travel to the island in 1932; they battled with the ties for three full days before they could land.
Wittmer and her husband left their home and family in Germany, seeking a new life in a place not yet touched by civilization. Their first home was a cave, previously abandoned by pirates. They planted their first garden, only to find it torn up continually by wild boars.
Five months pregnant when she arrived, Wittmer found the beauty of the tropical island constantly tempered by the traumas of attempting everyday life in a wild and lonely spot. From the mysterious disappearance of a stranger linked to another recluse on the island, to a missed opportunity to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The 56 years recalled in this memoir are full of exotic adventures and the joys and tragedies of a lifetime.
Synopsis
Embark alongside Margret Wittmer on her journey to the Galapagos to settle the island of Floreana in this remarkable first-hand account. 600 miles from the mainland of Ecuador, Wittmer and her family traveled for weeks to Floreana in the early 1930s. Only after battling the tides for three days did they reach the shore; they were seeking a new life, after leaving everything in Germany for a place not yet touched by civilization.
From living in an abandoned cave previously occupied by pirates, to planting their first garden and finding it torn up by wild boars, Wittmer provides a touching account of finding beauty on a tropical island that is constantly tempered by ill-fated attempts at everyday life in this new world.
The 56 years detailed in this memoir recount stories about a mysterious disappearance on the island to a missed opportunity to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt; they are full of exotic adventures, and the joys and tragedies of a lifetime.