"the archipelago is a little world within itself.... Both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact-that mystery of mysteries-the first appearance of new beings on this earth" -Charles Darwin, The Voyage of The Beagle wind power in paradise how an international team of engineers brought wind power to the Galápagos Islands By Erico Guizzo A gentle breeze blows across the harbor of san cristóbal, the easternmost island in the galápagos archipelago. sea lions bask on the beach under the equatorial sun, and blue-footed boobies dive for anchovies in the pacific waters. a round brown finch swoops down from a prickly-pear cactus, flutters in midair for an instant, and then lands on my head. tens of thousands of tourists come to the galápagos islands each year to get close to its extraordinary fauna-to snorkel with hammerhead sharks, hang out with giant tortoises, and have their scalps inspected by darwin's finches. the archipelago's exquisitely unique creatures gave charles darwin a good deal of inspiration for his theory of evolution when he visited in 1835. nature-loving visitors now flock to the islands in hopes of seeing what darwin saw. www.spectrum.ieee.org march 2008 * IEEE SpEctrum * Na 39http://www.spectrum.ieee.org