Struggle - is the ancient law of nature. To survive it is necessary to fight. In afternoon or at night, on land or in water there is always a struggle between strong and weak, predator and prey. To prolong generation it is necessary to fight. Struggle - is the ancient law of the life on Earth.
Sometimes, one would like to break this law. Overstep the limit. And find oneself in the parallel world. Somewhere on quiet islands in the Pacific Ocean. Where harmony and calm, peace and welfare are.
The parallel world is not a product of fevered imagination. It lives on islands of Galapagos archipelago. Here animals live quietly. Here there are no strong and weak, predators and preys. Water limit draws a line between the land - the world of peace and the ocean - the world of struggle.

But if somebody begins to break this limit, the ancient law of survival comes again into its own.

Realization of Darwin's dream.

200 years ago a famous scientist-naturalist Charles Darwin discovered the parallel world of Galapagos. He realized that islands are the most unusual place on the planet. Right there Darwin found a confirmation to his Theory of Evolution. Animals, the naturalist met on Galapagos, proved to be unique, the only ones of its kind. Science till now doesn't know another analogues of species. Migration from the continent is out of the question. Galapagos Islands are isolated from the external world for thousands of nautical miles. It means, millions years ago animals someway came out of the water, settled on uninhabited remains of volcanic rock and established their own - parallel world. In the 20th century people made a reserve from Galapagos and named it thanks for great Darwin. Dead remains of volcanic rocks got a new full life thanks to the theory on species' origin. But work of Darwin didn't answer the main paradoxical questions, those questions which trouble a modern. Why is a limit between the life and the death so distinct? How it happens that paradisiacal calm prevails on islands, but perpetual fight continues in defined area of water?

Followers of Darwin doughtily look for scientific answers on metaphysical questions. Mountain ridge is situated on equator's line, but the temperature in the area of water of Galapagos is very temperate. It's slightly somewhat more than 20 degrees. It happens because of cold currents. And just water arctic mass dictates the future of archipelago. It distinguishes archipelago from another tropical zones. It makes Galapagos as the peculiar parallel world.

Galapagos is the only place on the Earth where two nature forces are met - the strong tropical sun and the powerful stream of arctic water.

Scientists from Russian underwater expeditions know cold and warm currents not through hearsay. Misha Safonov has studied biota of the White Sea for many years. Dima Orlov is a specialist on the tropical seas. Their joint experience will help to find out paradoxes of Galapagos archipelago.

The shooting team consists of underwater operators and photographers. Rule (a native pilot) is with them. Just in beginning of the trip Rule intrigued travelers - he promised to show the most unusual places of Galapagos. In the early morning a yacht "Guantaramera" heads for the open sea.

The life of sea-lions - the most genial on the archipelago - passes quietly in full view of everybody. Guys even don't have to look for animals for observation. Firstly, it seems that sea-lions settle helter-skelter. Actually hierarchy in their common is very strict. Lions settle in clans. There is a leader in every family; it's a big bull, which has a full harem of cows. Bulls are the laziest and less active. They are in no danger, but, nevertheless, they rake with vigilant eye their domains and look for cows. This full-grown paterfamilias lies on the covering of volcanic stones like an east sheikh. Some young cows hang round him. After some time, they will grow up and share fare of breast-feeding mothers. Aggression of cows even in such important period is minimized and spreads only to annoying flies. One of cows lies on the pier and doesn't react even upon natural requests of travelers to clear away the passageway. Other sea-lions are very interesting. They busily familiarize with the crew. The old ones sleep, burring themselves in the sand. The youth is more active - it plays with people and poses before photocamera. Sea-lions are in friendly relations with their neighbors. Sea-lions can share the bed in shady bushes with a lizard - it is a younger sister of land iguana. This species is named konolopha. A big lizard is awful in the face, but it is very kind. Konolopha sits for hours under a big bush with thorns. Its yellow skin droops down like rags. Hardened tumours spot its body. A frightening appearance doesn't prevent konolopha to eat only cactuses. In the past people unmercifully wiped out lizards just for hack value. Even 100 years ago the island was full of their holes. Today a traveler has to make much more efforts to meet a land iguana…

To redress even a little a wrong made by mankind, Dima gives cactus to iguana. Konolopha takes the gift with pleasure. Peace and friendship are reestablished. Scientists try to wear hearts on their sleeve, but they are overflowed with joy. It seems that this island is the most intelligent and peaceful creation of God. It is the parallel world, so unlike to one where we live.

At the same time an active life continues on the shore. A lot of crabs crawl near sea-lions. One of them - the biggest one attracts Mikhail's attention. He (as a specialist on invertebrates) is glad to this acquaintance. Sea-lions are very friendly with crabs. Every sea-lion also feels itself in a perfect security on shore. Nobody ever attempts its life. And it doesn't strive to eat somebody. From this it follows total absence of fear. After rest, a sea-lion feels a need for food. Operators dive together with some young lions and it seems that operators frustrate them underwater hunt. Usually lions hunt for schools of small fish. But a wish to play with scuba divers overcomes a feeling of hunger.

Here, underwater, the parallel world of islands stops and a new world of dangers and adventures begins.

Mikhail notes a big scar sized in half of a side at one of bulls. It's known that sharks pass big sea-lions by. The old ones can always fight away. Underwater sea-lions keep together. But little ones are very naughty; they can loose their vigilance and swim off far. To satisfy hunger sharks are often in wait for the youth. Young lions can't withstand so strong enemy. This lion was lucky. He survived after a serious trauma.

The most dangerous enemies of sea-lions are hammerhead sharks. It's interesting that there are only cows in this huge school. They swim hundreds kilometers looking for a bull. Hammerhead sharks are viviparous.

As a rule, the biggest ones are ahead of the school. Meeting cows, a ready to coupling bull, impregnates the first sharks. It happens, some sharks wait for their turn for years. Huge schools of hammerhead sharks are one of the most terrific sights near islands. Cows-predators make schools not only for prolongation of their generation. Sharks gang up and devise special attack tactics on fish. To protect themselves fish also form a school. A school feels enemy's approach thanks to side lines and joint movements. Sharks can't concentrate and choose one prey. People also make some kind of a school - it is the best way of protection underwater. Predators keep aloof from crowd. Exceptions to the rules exist, if somebody from divers is drifted. It happened with video operator of Russian Underwater Expeditions - Alexey. He took a great interest in fish shooting and didn't notice how because of a guileful current he found himself far from his friends. At some moment his suspicions were visceral. He turned round and saw a big hammerhead shark near him. Only a meter and something awful could happen! Adrenalin increased in the blood because of the think that the shark could attack him, but Alexey continued shooting for some reason. Maybe, it was defence, wasn't it? And then a predator departed.

Cases of sharks' attacks on a man are not fixed here. What forced a predator to look for a meeting with our operator? Character's bitchiness or simple curiosity?

Full reasons of good.

Plenty of food in defined area of water decreases nature aggression of carnivores. Sea biologists - Misha and Dima paid their attention immediately to fantastic amount of sea inhabitants. Active evolution of the life on Galapagos is probably thanks to water saturation by biogenes - mineral matters. Biogenes are organic formations without which being of the life on the earth and in the water is impossible. Algae, parts of dead animals are source of organic formations. Saturation of the ocean by mineral matters depends on temperature difference of high and low water. Tropical seas are well warmed up from the top. But low layer of the water, where perpetual darkness is, sharply contrasts with cold temperatures. Biogenes in the tropical sea always settle to the bottom. Because of the great temperature difference biogenes don't have time to saturate the water layer, rendered habitable by fish. Galapagos are tropical waters. It would seem that life energy of biogenes should settle to the bottom. But the life in the mixed diversity is in full swing! And what makes up the mystery of life diversity? These are cold currents. From every side they cool a warming up layer of the water. Temperature contrast is as few as possible. Exchange by mineral matters happens continuously, and it allows animals to multiply greatly. Under the water these processes are not so visible, but in defined area of water one can see everything oneself. A film unit comes to the mangrove thicket.

Mangrs grow in the zone with a low level of the water. The muddy water is not similar to the sea one - clear. It's difficult to believe that the mangrove thicket is one of the zones saturated by sea living creatures most of all. But water temperature in mangrs is constant, and it means there is enough food there. Here pelicans made nests. Trees are places of refuge and defined area of water gives food. These birds are good fishers. Pelicans wouldn't live in mangrs, if there wasn't plenty food there. And some animals like the thicket because of the solitude's possibility. A couple of turtles swam here to continue their kin. A school of skates looks for them. This is a typical example of life's diversity in this amazing area. Rule is one of the most professional rangers on Galapagos. He names himself a naturalist, although he hasn't anywhere studied specially. According to this reason his relations with Russian biologists are very tremulous. Rule tries to show and tell everything what he knows. An impetuous "Gvantarmera" reaches rocky shores of the island San-Kristobal quickly. Tourists are again in the parallel world. Rule takes a film unit to the reserve of elephant's tortoises. It's one of the most unusual places on Galapagos. In contrast to other islands of Galapagos archipelago San-Kristobal is celebrated for its elephant's tortoises. To see reptiles in a natural habitat is a big luck for a biologist.

Native land tortoises are unique. There are 11 living subspecies today. A male can weigh to 400 kilos. The land, where there is a reserve, is a private property. During tens years tortoises migrate to the water source. A spring hides in the bosk near a farm, which belongs to a rich Ecuadorian owner. There are big plantations of sappy grass on the farm of a hospitable Ecuadorian. Tortoises eat it with great pleasure. An animal bites off tufts of grass easily. A tortoise can eat long without hurry, turning food in the mouth into the cud. Craning its neck for plants, a reptile begins to look like a strange snake. And only a passion for soiling food gives it out to be an elephant's tortoise. Here, in the reserve, an only representative of died out species of elephant's tortoises lives -Single Jorge. Already many years an old inhabitant of the tortoise reserve stubbornly gives up to continue its kin. In the hope of holding a rare species of Single Jorge, he was offered some similar females from different parts of the Earth. He rejects all of them. Other males copulate happily and don't think on what subspecies belong a female to. Population of tortoises increases. Reptiles make marriage plays. And only Single Jorge doesn't take part in continuing the shoal' life. Probably, he would like to be an only owner of the species? It's rather difficult to judge his wishes by the passive behavior of the melancholy male. But other reptiles show their stately emotions cheerfully. At the meeting two males friendly measure with their height. They rise on the forefeet and stretch out their necks. Males are not going to bite or push each other. The process of stretching out a neck is a way of self-affirmation. Who is the highest one goes out with satisfaction. Watching for elephant's tortoises persuades everybody that there is an immutable idyll of the island's life. Even in the 18th century one could meet herds of 300-400 heads in number on many Galapagos Islands. By name of reptiles Galapagos was, in fact, called Galapagos. From

Spanish "Galapagos" means a big tortoise. Today they are almost eaten. Land elephant's tortoise can live without food for a long time. In the Middle Ages sailors used this peculiarity. They packed holds with tortoise's meat to the full to eat it then during a trip.

A great hell for a small paradise.

During the expedition a team has known that an oil ship was wrecked at Galapagos shores. A large oil spot appeared and remained on the surface of the sea and threatened to destroy a unique flora and fauna of the waters. Scientists worried this tragedy much. If the Galapagos ecosystem suffered, all living things could be lost irrevocably. Local ecologists strained every nerve to minimize ill effects of oil catastrophe. Nature brooks no interference. And who knows what will be with this paradise in some years? Perhaps, natural temperature balance under the water will brake and many species will disappear. The parallel world of Galapagos - unique islands will change without fear completely. Animals won't continue to trust each other and will fight for survival and generation's prolongation already not under the water, but on shore.

These are only hypothesizes. But a border between two worlds can be obliterated and then on the earth there will be fewer examples of divine harmony and kindness. We hope that mankind will have enough common sense and love to all flesh and the present to save the parallel world of Galapagos.