"The sea, he thought, had treasured its memories deeper than the faithless land."

Of all the myriad strange and memorable creatures of the Earth, the most wonderful are those that dwell on islands. Lemurs and fossa on Madagascar, giant Galapagos tortoises, Komodo dragons, Tasmanian devils and the extinct 'Hobbits' of Flores island are but some of the charismatic island species that have embedded themselves in the public imagination.

This may be in part due to the unique phenomena that affect island life: insular gigantism and dwarfism, flightlessness, and a frequent lack of predators all lead to fascinating new lifeforms. Islands also often act as refuges for groups that have gone extinct elsewhere, like the tuatara of New Zealand.

There is also the appeal of islands themselves. A blank slate, a fresh start, a place outside the normal rules. That would certainly appeal to many. For my part, I love the sea.

For all these reasons - and more - we journey now to Papagaios. This will be an exercise in speculative evolution, science communication and storytelling. We will explore the principles of biology, ecology, geology, geography, behaviour, and how human beings interact with the world around them.

But enough from me. The rest of the story is to be told by those whose lives have been touched by these most unusual of islands.

Let us begin our journey by reading Sister Eithne's account.