Last weekend I went to the Galapagos Islands with all the other exchange students in my study abroad program.
Friday morning, we flew into the island of San Cristòbal and headed straight to our hotel. We were split into three groups an assigned tour guides. The Galapagos National Park Rules say that all certified tour guides must be native to the Islands. My group got the best tour guide, Carlos, who was 20 years old and had a group of 16 girls the same age. Great group dynamics.
We walked through "Centro de Interpretación" a museum about the history of the islands. We learned all about how the Islands were formed by a hot spot, the three ocean currents defining it marine environment, how plants and animals arrived there with the ocean currents or by bird or by wind, the history of humans on the island, and of course the big man on the islands, "Carlitos" Darwin and his theories of natural selection!
The science behind the Galapagos Islands is absolutely fascinating. But, instead of going too in depth with all the amazing processes of our Earth in my blog...I´ll just post a link for those who are interested.
After the museum we hiked a trail called "Sendero de la Tijeretas." We saw Frigate Birds, Blue Footed Boobies, Marine Iguanas, and got up close and personal with the sea lions. Each of these animals have something about them that is so strange and wonderful.
The Galapagos Islands are not famous for the biodiversity of flora and fauna but for the endémic species. In other words, there aren´t a tremendous amount of different species there but the species they have are unique from any other place in the world.
After our walk, we went swimming in the ocean. The Panama Current is the most predominant ocean current this time of the year and it made the water was a lot colder and saltier than the ocean water in Canoa. We ate dinner and then went to sleep cuz we were exhausted.
Saturday we boated to the Island Floreana for lunch and then to the biggest Island, Isabela, for the night. Around Floreana we went snorkeling in two different locations. We saw lots of fish, swam right next to the sea lions, and I was five feet above a shark. Other groups saw dolphins and manta rays.
On Isla Isabela we visited "Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Gigantes." A place where they study, breed, and take care of the giant tortises. We were there during mating season and witnessed and learned a lot about tortise sex and mating habits, as well as how babies are born and raised.
Saturday night there was a big party for Carnaval on the beach. It was lots of fun. Two friends and I decided we hadnt swam enough that day and went skinny-dipping in the ocean.
On Sunday we hiked 16 km aka. 10 miles around the volcanoes Sierra Negra and Chico. Sierra Negras last eruption was in 2005. We walked along the edge of its gigantic crater that contained some rock that was still molten. The part of the hike to Volcano Chico was pure volcanic rock that hadnt broken down enough to make a soil profile or grow any vegetation. The volcanic rock was so beautiful and all the different minerals made it very colorful. It was also sharp, and I cut my hand when I touched it. Our tour guide (Enrique) showed us rocks as thin as needles that had solidified while dripping. All the rocks were porous because gases were being released as they solidified.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ0oXZAJw-k
On Monday we visited the Charles Darwin Station. They are studying, breeding, and taking care of a variety of flora and fauna. We saw land iguanas and a lot different types of tortises. We saw Lonely George, the last turtle of his kind with his two potential mates, Georgia and Georgina (who are the closest species to his).
That afternoon it started pouring rain but that didn´t stop us from visiting "Los Gemelos" or "The Twins", two giant craters that were formed by periodical collapses of Earth. The ecosystem in this area was different in this area. Arg. I want to write more about the ecosystems and invasive species but I´m getting tired of typing.
We went to a ranch where we saw massive tortises in their natural environment. They had a place where you could try on a tortise shell. They are heavy and difficult to get into, but very entertaining.
We also ventured into a Lava Tunnel. When the lava was flowing, the top part exposed to the air cooled down and solidified while the bottom part continued to move. The solidified top shell creates a huge cave-like tunnel that can run for miles. We walked through this part. It was really neat. Parts of the tunnel had caved in and at one point we had to get down and dirty to crawl through.
That night we spent shopping and dancing. People were celebrating Carnaval on the streets and we were sprayed with a lot of "Puma de Carnaval" which is this shaving-cream looking stuff specially made for Carnaval. Other students got hit with water balloons and/or soaked with water, which is the more traditional form of celebrating Carnaval here. I think I heard somewhere that the soaking other people with water came from people mimicing baptism.
Tuesday, we flew back to Quito from Island Santa Cruz and now all the exchange students are sick either from something we ate or the altitude change.
Hopefully I will improve this blog later and add pictures. For now, you can check out a couple of my pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35732784@N05/
Friday morning, we flew into the island of San Cristòbal and headed straight to our hotel. We were split into three groups an assigned tour guides. The Galapagos National Park Rules say that all certified tour guides must be native to the Islands. My group got the best tour guide, Carlos, who was 20 years old and had a group of 16 girls the same age. Great group dynamics.
We walked through "Centro de Interpretación" a museum about the history of the islands. We learned all about how the Islands were formed by a hot spot, the three ocean currents defining it marine environment, how plants and animals arrived there with the ocean currents or by bird or by wind, the history of humans on the island, and of course the big man on the islands, "Carlitos" Darwin and his theories of natural selection!
The science behind the Galapagos Islands is absolutely fascinating. But, instead of going too in depth with all the amazing processes of our Earth in my blog...I´ll just post a link for those who are interested.
After the museum we hiked a trail called "Sendero de la Tijeretas." We saw Frigate Birds, Blue Footed Boobies, Marine Iguanas, and got up close and personal with the sea lions. Each of these animals have something about them that is so strange and wonderful.
The Galapagos Islands are not famous for the biodiversity of flora and fauna but for the endémic species. In other words, there aren´t a tremendous amount of different species there but the species they have are unique from any other place in the world.
After our walk, we went swimming in the ocean. The Panama Current is the most predominant ocean current this time of the year and it made the water was a lot colder and saltier than the ocean water in Canoa. We ate dinner and then went to sleep cuz we were exhausted.
Saturday we boated to the Island Floreana for lunch and then to the biggest Island, Isabela, for the night. Around Floreana we went snorkeling in two different locations. We saw lots of fish, swam right next to the sea lions, and I was five feet above a shark. Other groups saw dolphins and manta rays.
On Isla Isabela we visited "Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Gigantes." A place where they study, breed, and take care of the giant tortises. We were there during mating season and witnessed and learned a lot about tortise sex and mating habits, as well as how babies are born and raised.
Saturday night there was a big party for Carnaval on the beach. It was lots of fun. Two friends and I decided we hadnt swam enough that day and went skinny-dipping in the ocean.
On Sunday we hiked 16 km aka. 10 miles around the volcanoes Sierra Negra and Chico. Sierra Negras last eruption was in 2005. We walked along the edge of its gigantic crater that contained some rock that was still molten. The part of the hike to Volcano Chico was pure volcanic rock that hadnt broken down enough to make a soil profile or grow any vegetation. The volcanic rock was so beautiful and all the different minerals made it very colorful. It was also sharp, and I cut my hand when I touched it. Our tour guide (Enrique) showed us rocks as thin as needles that had solidified while dripping. All the rocks were porous because gases were being released as they solidified.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ0oXZAJw-k
On Monday we visited the Charles Darwin Station. They are studying, breeding, and taking care of a variety of flora and fauna. We saw land iguanas and a lot different types of tortises. We saw Lonely George, the last turtle of his kind with his two potential mates, Georgia and Georgina (who are the closest species to his).
That afternoon it started pouring rain but that didn´t stop us from visiting "Los Gemelos" or "The Twins", two giant craters that were formed by periodical collapses of Earth. The ecosystem in this area was different in this area. Arg. I want to write more about the ecosystems and invasive species but I´m getting tired of typing.
We went to a ranch where we saw massive tortises in their natural environment. They had a place where you could try on a tortise shell. They are heavy and difficult to get into, but very entertaining.
We also ventured into a Lava Tunnel. When the lava was flowing, the top part exposed to the air cooled down and solidified while the bottom part continued to move. The solidified top shell creates a huge cave-like tunnel that can run for miles. We walked through this part. It was really neat. Parts of the tunnel had caved in and at one point we had to get down and dirty to crawl through.
That night we spent shopping and dancing. People were celebrating Carnaval on the streets and we were sprayed with a lot of "Puma de Carnaval" which is this shaving-cream looking stuff specially made for Carnaval. Other students got hit with water balloons and/or soaked with water, which is the more traditional form of celebrating Carnaval here. I think I heard somewhere that the soaking other people with water came from people mimicing baptism.
Tuesday, we flew back to Quito from Island Santa Cruz and now all the exchange students are sick either from something we ate or the altitude change.
Hopefully I will improve this blog later and add pictures. For now, you can check out a couple of my pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35732784@N05/
Sounds like a great time, except the sick thing. I hope you all are feeling better. Keep writing, I'm enjoying the read.
ReplyDeleteAunt Nisi