We had our first ''break'' from our classes to go on an all-expenses paid (as part of our semester fee ;) ) to the other islands. Three days in Santa Cruz, and 4 days in Isabella, I saw so much NATURE! Read on to hear about the best parts of the trip.
*disclaimer: none of these photos are mine. Some were collected from the internet, and some were taken by my very talented friends!
Bartolome Island
One of the most photographed spots in the Galapagos, and for good reason!
Near that big pointy rock is a snorkel site of WONDERS!
Quite possibly the best snorkeling site in all of the islands. Red cushion sea stars covering the benthic floor, white tip hammerheads hiding under ledges, white tip hammerheads hovering, white tip hammerheads in the open, sea lions swimming, and best of all --- PENGUINOS!
I first saw him jet by, like a turtle in the water. Following close, I couldn't lose him! I held my snorkel in my mouth for fear of spitting it out as my breath became shallow and feelings of joy pulsated through my body. He swam around for a bit and raced off. I lost him. But wait! I saw a flurry of fish activity over near the rocky shore. The penguin was fishing! And I was snorkeling to see it! The small silvery fish bunched to form a large mass in a group, the penguin would dive down under the group and pop up, splitting the group. I'm not sure how much he was actually able to catch. He didn't seem very efficient. As a bird, he kept having to surface but would quickly dive down again.
My good friend Mackenzie was with me as we saw the spectacle. Afterwards, we hugged (in the water) out of joy. Pure, sheer, beautiful joy.
Fun facts about the Galapagos Penguins!
1. They are the Northern-most penguins in the world!
2. They can only live in the Galapagos due to the Humboldt current that travels along the coast of S. America that brings cold water and nutrients.
3. Only a population of about 1500 penguins live amongst all the islands, but none live where I normally am in San Cristobal.
Me and some of my closest buds, Emily (from Kansas) and Mackenzie (from South Carolina but goes to UMiami)
The Pacific Voyagers
Living in a place like the Galapagos surprisingly allows me to meet many people from all over the world: Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Holland. Travelling to Santa Cruz, this trip was no different. We met a group of sailors from different countries throughout the South Pacific - the Pacific Voyagers. My friends and I first first met the voyagers as we were watching a public showing of a video the group made, and a guy behind us said ''hey can you watch our beers?'' Without waiting for a response, he put his down near our feet and ran up with the rest of the group that was assembling and they proceeded to perform a haka ancestral war dance at the end of the video. Not the usual thing one sees in the Galapagos. When they returned, we met some of the other voyagers and learned their purpose: to ''raise awareness'' about ocean conservation by travelling throughout the Pacific and other parts of the world. The group travels in
Vakas, a type of canoe that the South Pacific Islander's ancestors once used, and they navigate
solely based on navigational stars. No GPS.
After befriending the group for a couple of days, they actually let us board the
vaka and check it out! so cool. so cramped. I don't think I could travel in one of those for a year, but it must be very enlightening and carrying self-meaning to connect with one's ancestors like that.
Vaka.
Doesn't it look like it emerged right from a story book?
Los Tuneles
Carrying on, in Isabela we encountered the next-best snorkel site ever: Los Tuneles. Actually, maybe the two sites can share the #1 title because this one was pretty amazing too. The tunnels are a series of volcanic rock intertwining through crystal clear waters.
While snorkeling, I found tiny spots to dive under, and once I even snorkeled into a tiny underwater cave where I popped my head up and was surrounded in a little bubble of volcano rock with no sight of the sky. I took another breath, and found the rest of my way out. In these little caves I saw lobsters and groups of wrasses, but one has to be careful because these are also the hangouts of the white-tip reef shark!
My marine class, naturally up to no good. Missing in the photo: our one other guy, Seth
Getting to los tuneles is about a 45 minute boat ride. 45 minutes cruising through the open water. 45 minutes of nature watching. 45 minutes of potential opportunities to see mantas. And not only see them. If we spotted a manta, our awesome boat driver would slow the boat down and let us JUMP IN the water MULTIPLE TIMES after the manta rays. We were in and out of the boat like navy seals.
Is it comprehensible how big these mantas are? Picture this:
And we were swimming, pulling, kicking with all our might to keep up with these beauties. Once I got close enough, one of them just allowed me to float right above her, barely swimming away, me barely breathing. I think I hugged someone else in the water out of pure joy.
The Rest of the Week
The rest of the week brought hikes in Isabela to the volcano chico, a part of the Sierra Negra chain which last erupted in 2005. We also visited the giant tortuga breeding center, and visited various naturey things along the islands. Oh AND! Roxanne and I went on a dive! A cave dive! Finally after all of our failed efforts when we last visited Isabela, we went to a site called Cuatro Hermanos (4 brothers). Flashlight in hand, we didn't go far in, maybe only 40m before turning around, but it was enough for the light to completely disappear.
Right in that little hole in the wall.
Returning home
The Friday return trip home was not without wonder, for we saw jumping mantas, jumping dolphins, and fin whales! oh my! All in all, a wonderful, relaxing 'Spring Break' (even though I did step on some sort of thorn or sea urchin that is still working its way out now). Viva Ecuador!
