Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Don´t know when I´ll be back again. :(

My family and I dropped Tara off at the airport this morning. I returned home and packed my bags; it is my turn tomorrow. I will miss Quito a lot, but I am way excited to come home.

I´ve spent my last few days here seeing as much of the city as possible with my friends and family here. It has been great. I know I'll be ready to come back soon!

Quito!

It is great to be back in Quito; I was kind of missing it!

Tara and I spent most of Saturday with our host brother Tato. We drove around running errands all morning and in the afternoon the entire family went to the Teleferico. This is a gondola ride up one of the hills surrounding Quito. It was really pretty; and cold!

Sunday we drove an hour to our family’s farm. I really had no idea what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. The farm is a little gated community where strawberries, avocados, tree tomatoes, figs, limes and a few other fruits are grown. Our family has a little cottage/cabin there where they basically go to relax. We met our other two brothers and their families there. We spent most of the day playing soccer, snoozing, and walking about the strawberry field. There was also a BBQ! I had finished stuffing my face with steak, potatoes, salad, corn on the cob, empanadas, grilled bananas and I thought I could not possibly eat anymore when my host mother walked out with a cake singing ‘Feliz Cumpliaños’ or ‘Happy Birthday’. I had been in the Galapagos during my birthday, so I guess this was my celebration with my family. Everyone was singing, they also have this song that basically translates as ‘you keep getting older’. The cake was set in front of me—chocolate and whipped cream with “Feliz Cumpliaños Kaleen”—I blew out the candle and everyone started chanting, “¡¿Que muerte el pastel?!” aka “What killed the cake?!”. Apparently, it is at this time that the birthday person bites the cake. As I took a bite of the cake my head was pushed into it!! (I had talked to one of the guides in the Galapagos about their birthday traditions and I totally knew what was coming…). Haha! It was funny. I wasn’t too covered in cake, mostly my nose.

Before we left I picked some avocados (because I’m tall) and we had the best guacamole EVER when we got home. I didn’t think I would eat anything since we had so much earlier, but it was just too good!

We had our final day of class on Monday; gracias a Dios! We had to give final presentations over our research papers. We all wanted to find an adventure for the afternoon, but we ended up splitting up and wandering around until dark. We were going to try to visit some of the old churches we didn’t get to see, but everything just takes so long here that we ran out of time.

Today a majority of the group went on another field trip to Bellavista, a cloud forest reserve and orchid garden. It sounded like a really beautiful trip, but Tara and I couldn’t bring ourselves to spend another day with the group on a bus. Instead, we are planning on spending the day with Tato again, going to museums and whatnot around the city.

One Final Galapagos Note

The Galapagos is a wonderful place. It is more than just a tropical island; it is a unique ecosystem—home to many endemic plants and animals. A species is endemic when it occurs only in a certain area. There are species endemic to the United States, North America, etc. But to be endemic to an archipelago of only 7882 sq km is pretty amazing and some plants and animals are endemic to certain islands in the Galapagos. Basically it is the only place in the world you can see the wildlife that occurs there.

All of this ecological rarity has spawned many conservation efforts. There is the Galapagos National Park (GNP) and the Charles Darwin Station (CDS) in the islands and many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) worldwide who work to preserve the islands. They have done well so far considering 95% of the islands are biologically original. Still there are many threats to the Galapagos today:

*Introduced species are a major threat to the endemic and native species of the islands. Introduced species are those that are brought by humans. Cats, dogs, goats, pigs, and cows are all examples of introduced species. None of these existed on the islands before humans and they are all causing problems. Grazing animals like cows and goats not only trample the ground eliminating plants and causing erosion, but they also create competition for native herbivores of the islands. Giant tortoises were able to grow and flourish on these islands because they were the only herbivores. Slowly their habitats are disappearing. Cats and dogs do things such as endanger local bird and iguana populations. Rats feed on baby turtles. Raspberry bushes are plants introduced to the islands and have become very successful at blotting out native/endemic plants. There is now approximately 700+ introduced plant species compared to the 500-600 native species.

There are many projects through the Galapagos National Park to eradicate all of the introduced species. Introduced animals are much easier to control than introduced plants or insects. One project were we told about was the Judas Goat. Goats gather in herds and one goat will seek out herds to join. So they put a tracking device on a goat and let it lead them to the herds so the goats could be removed from the islands. The government also tries to enforce strict guidelines as to what can be brought to and transferred within the islands.

*Fishing has grown to become a major source of income for people in the Galapagos. Unfortunately they have not managed their resources and fish stocks are depleting rapidly. The GNP recognized this and has tried to place restrictions on the fishermen. This has resulted in riots, strikes, and even threats to Lonely George. They have formed a local government that mediates between the fisherman and GNP to set seasons and limits for fish, though the system is only part-way working. There is still a lot of illegal fishing taking place. Shark fins are a very big, very profitable, very illegal market; though it happens a lot. One pound of shark fins equals $100 when a weeks worth of work equals $30-40. Sea cucumbers also cause many conflicts because of the growing demand and receding populations.

*Immigration is another problem. As of the last nation census, the Galapagos has 18,000 or so permanent residents. It is estimated now there are really 25,000-30,000 people living in the Galapagos. People come to live there because the economy of the islands is higher and much more stable than that of the mainland. A person can make twice as much money in the Galapagos. Immigration here causes many of the same problems it does in the United States: illegal residents are willing to work for less; they deplete the pool of resources, etc. The law states that only permanent residents are permitted to live on the islands. To be a permanent resident a person has to be born in the Galapagos, lived in the Galapagos 5 years prior to 1998 (when these laws were established), or marry a permanent resident.

Immigration is detrimental to the Galapagos because of the development it creates. The more people that are on the islands, the bigger environmental impact they make. The people of the islands want to live like everyone else—pure, running water; paved roads; good education; employment; etc. It is difficult to cater to these people and give them what they demand and deserve when it means harming the ecosystem of the Galapagos. More people cause more trash, more air pollution, more land clearing, more food needed…the list goes on forever.

*Tourism. This goes hand-in-hand with my previous bullet points. The locals want more tourism because this means more money for their community. (Right now most of the tourism is contracted outside of the Galapagos as part of an earlier plan to conserve the islands. Of the $400 million dollars brought to the Galapagos by tourists, only 15-20% stays in the islands with the local people.) They want hotels and restaurants, the whole works. The same thing happened to Hawaii and there is less than 20% of this archipelago is unchanged by man.

There is beginning to be a shift in the type of tourists that visit the Galapagos. It began with nature lovers and evolutionist wishing to come and appreciate the history and the uniqueness of the Galapagos. It is slowly changing. People are now visiting the Galapagos not because it is the Galapagos, but because it is a tropical island. They want to surf and hang glide and lay on the beach, all with luxury. This type of tourism would attract more tourists (more money), but the value of the Galapagos per visitor would slowly decrease.

Ok. This is a quick, probably poor, briefing about the problems facing the Galapagos Islands. They are all interconnected and pretty complicated. Most of what happens in the islands is political, but Ecuador is very unstable politically. Every time the people of Ecuador become upset with the government, they march in the streets, riot, and overthrow it. They have had 3 presidents in the last 5 years (4 year terms) and are currently constructing they’re 23rd constitution. There are many organizations and governments working to preserve the Galapagos, but none of them have the same vision. We spent a lot of time in class discussing these problems and possible solutions.

Good-bye Galapagos

The last few days on the islands have been great!

Wednesday we woke up early—6 am—and caught a ride on the Sea Finch to Bartolomé Island. The Sea Finch is a sweet yacht where we finally had room to spread out and enjoy the boat ride. The Finch was fairly small, but had 3 levels with a kitchen dining area, nice bathrooms, etc. Bartolomé Island is a small island, only about 1.2 square kilometers, which looks kind of like the moon! It is the edge of a fallen volcano that is all red because of the iron in the soil. Its terrain is covered in lava flows and it has some little crater-looking side vents of the volcano. There are only two types of vegetation growing on this little island, lava cactus and some other small plant; it is pretty barren. We climbed 375 wooden stairs that lead to the very top of this island. From here is supposedly the most famous picture of the Galapagos with this pinnacle. It was really pretty. The beach just below the pinnacle is where we headed next for snorkeling. Really great snorkeling. I saw a sting ray, and lots of schools of colorful fish, some big bottom feeders, giant starfish, and a couple penguins!

Thursday we had to leave the luxurious Sea Finch and go back to our wave hopping speed boat—which happens to be called Cally, haha. We all kind of dread the Cally, yesterday was by far the worst. We left almost an hour late waiting for the ocean to calm down and it was pretty rainy. Yesterday we went to Floreana, which is in the south. It is a bigger island, but has only 100 people living on it. This number is so small partially because the only fresh water is provided by a small spring that sometimes leaves these 100 people short for water. It is also known as an island of mystery—there are stories about some of the first settlers disappearing and such. We first went snorkeling. We were suppose to snorkel around and then in an old volcanic crater, but as far as I can tell, we snorkeled along the coast! It was still really great. Exactly what I expected the first time I went snorkeling and was disappointed. There were really cool rock formations covered in plant life and surrounded by fish. We saw a lobster (rare I’m told). It looked like it was covered in little Christmas tree lights—so colorful. We also saw the tail of an eel in one of the rocks and I decided some of my favorite fish are Parrott Fish. They are big, super colorful, and always look like they have this big, goofy, buck-toothed grin!

After we snorkeled we went into town for lunch then headed up to the highlands. This is by far my favorite island! Very beautiful. We saw the natural spring and then…we explored pirate caves!! There are these crazy rock formations—tall labyrinth-like—that were maybe formed by ocean currents before the island uplifted, or rain, or lava…no one really knows. But pirates that were looting the coast of Ecuador and Peru back in the day hid in the Galapagos and some used these rocks as a hiding place. You can see where they carved into the rock to place doors and roofs. There are little caves that were used as bedrooms and even a kitchen cave! I really wanted to stay and live like a pirate for a few days…I couldn’t stop exploring! The caves were later used by whalers and there is a cauldron left from them. It was just really cool. Our guide yesterday is really familiar with the island, so he had many cool stories. He also learned English in Britain, so he had really proper English and a sweet accent.

Today we leave in a few minutes to go check out the Charles Darwin Station. This organization is key in conservation efforts in the Galapagos. It is also the home of Lonesome George—a giant tortoise. There were 14 species of giant tortoises in the Galapagos; 3 are now extinct (two by humans). George is the only turtle left of his species. They have tried to get him to mate with a different species to preserve some of his genes, but he just won’t have it! We will then have to say good-bye to the Galapagos L and catch a plane back to Quito. Only a week left in Ecuador—crazy how time flies…

Adventures!

We left San Cristobal this morning and headed for Santa Cruz. We even had to get our bags checked when moving from island to island. A couple of girls had mandarins that they to eat or leave. I guess I forgot to talk about getting into the Galapagos; it is an interesting process.
Once we were at the airport we had to wait in a special line where we paid $10 for an immigration card and had all of our luggage sent through an x-ray. The card is a new system put in place 4 months ago attempting to curb the amount of illegal immigration to the islands. With the card, the Galapagos National Park knows when everyone comes in and if they leave when they’re suppose to. The x-ray checks for things like fruits and what not. We then went through normal airport security. When we were nearly ready to land in the Galapagos the flight attendants opened all of the overhead compartments and sprayed them all with something to kill any sort of bugs or whatnot that may have been present. This is to help control the introduction of new species to the islands. It was funny though, they did not do anything to the luggage under the seats. Once in Galapagos we had to wait in a line where they checked our passports, punched our immigration cards, and collected the $100 entrance fee (already covered in our program cost—thank goodness!). Then you are free to enter the islands!

Ok, anyways. We took a speed boat from one island to the next. I didn’t know I would get so nauseous! I spent the entire two and a half hours on the boat concentrating very hard on the horizon, haha. I decided to be sure to take my seasickness medicine before the rest of our boat trips. We arrived in time for lunch and had a free afternoon. A few of us hiked up to a beach recommended by one of our program leaders. It was a 40 minute hike at a fairly vigorous pace—very tiring! It was really worth it. The beach was great. It was white sand, super calm, and the water was perfect. After a swim a couple of us made this sweet sandcastle! We saw more marine iguanas and these endemic cactus trees that are really cool.

The next day we had a 2 hour boat ride to Isabella Island at 6 am. I think the combination of the early morning and my seasickness medicine made me incredibly drowsy! We began our day by visiting Muro de las Lágrimas or The Wall of Tears. It is a wall built in the 1950’s by prisoners that were stationed on the island. It is something like 3 m wide, 6 m tall and 25 m long. Its construction was basically torture as the rocks used were ridiculously heavy and there were often collapses killing men.

Next we went to another giant tortoise reserve where they have 5 different species of tortoises. We were able to see them all, see some eggs, and hold a turtle that was only one month old!! I was way tempted to put him in my pocket…so cute.

That afternoon we went for a walk around the island. This was the view! It certain type of is a lava…rather than making the rope like formations, it is sharp and jagged because it is more gaseous than the other. The lyceums growing are the white; they are the organisms that begin to break down the lava into usable soil. There were also marine iguanas everywhere! It is apparently the end of their nesting season. We saw hundreds of baby iguanas. It was cool.
We then snorkeled with the Galapagos penguins!! They are the coolest animals ever (after the sea turtles, of course). They were darting around catching fish as flew underwater. There were also some playful sea lions and sea cucumbers (a really big asset in the fishing industry here).
Today we went horseback riding up a volcano! I was a little nervous—I’m really scared of horses. It ended up being a good day; I had a really nice horse. It took us an hour to ride up to the top of the crater. We rode through what is know here as a drizzle forest. The volcano is tall enough to stop the clouds that blow in from the ocean creating a constant cloudy mist. It was pretty muddy. The crater we saw is called Cierra Negra, last erupted in 2005, and has a diameter of over 10 km. We didn’t have a lot of time up there, but we hiked around a bit.

After we made it back down, we had lunch and got on the boat to head back to Santa Cruz. We are back and staying in this really nice hotel for the rest of the week as we take day tours to other islands.

Sorry its Been So Long!

I think it has been a week since my last update...I'll do my best to fill you in!

Our trip to Kicker Rock was great! (It is called Kicker Rock because it is shaped like a foot. It is also known as Sleeping Lion for the same reason--the toe of the shoe is the back end of the lion.) I was in a small group that was able to sit on the front of the boat as we headed to the island. I could totally start every morning like that--so refreshing. Our professor was our guide for the day. We snorkeled all the way around this rock. It is thought to have been a volcano millions of years ago and to have suffered some major erosion since then. The volcanic rock is frail that it not expected to be here in the next thousands of years. It was covered in birds of all sorts--blue footed boobies (in the picture!), masked boobies, pelicans, etc. The water was pretty murky so we weren't able to see much, but...I saw a Galapagos shark! We actually saw close to a dozen of them and one was probably 8 feet away. They're not very big sharks...still really cool. This is a picture I took with a digital underwater camera I borrowed from my new Norwegian friend named Tina! We also caught a glimpse of these giant, spotted sting rays. Everyone was hoping to see hammer head sharks, but we didn't. I guess they are really common around there and most people see them. Either the water was too cold while we were there or they were too far down for us to see!! Afterwards we were able to go check out some mangroves on a nearby beach before we headed to Islalobo. Here the water was super shallow and clear. The baby sea lions were playing and we were able to swim around them. Very cool.

I have spent a majority of the week reading for class and working on my research paper. (This is our University!) We had our final yesterday and I just email my paper to my professor. It is so hard to sit and study when the Galapagos is right outside! I went snorkeling in the cove a couple of times. One day three of us rented bikes and rode out to another beach that is out past the airport here. It was a very secluded, beautiful beach. The water was pretty rough making it hard to see much. Though there was a giant school of these little silver fish. I think they could have filled a swimming pool! We tried to dive down and swim with them, haha. I also mistook a blue footed boobie for one of my friends! I snorkeled up to it and realized it was a bird. I was able to swim a couple feet in front of it...when I popped my head out of the water it flew away!

We leave tomorrow at 9 am for another island. We will be staying on Santa Cruz every night and taking tours of surrounding islands by day. The only place I remember from our itinerary off the top of my head is Flamingo Lagoon. It's going to be so neat! Everyone in the group also hopes to see the Galapagos penguins! This next week will be great--we are all done with classes!! We will finally be able to enjoy our time here without stressing about homework. I'm guessing that I will have internet access in Santa Cruz, so I will try to update soon! Bye!

p.s. Shout out to Grace, Henry, and Eve---HI!