Prompt: How to Survive Seymour Island
1.
Be extremely carful while embarking and
disembarking the zodiac. – The zodiac is the smaller boat we took from the main
boat to get on and off the island. This little boat was very tricky. First,
make sure you disembark the boat while holding the forearm of the guide. This
ensures you do not fall into the water if a wave approaches and knocks the boat
around. Secondly, make sure you have a good footing before trying to get back
on the zodiac. The inside of the boat can be very slippery and can cause a fall
if you do not have your footing. Finally, on a wet landing, you have to sit on
the side of the boat and slide your legs over. Standing in the ocean waiting to
do this can be dangerous. Watch your feet to make sure rocks do not cause a
cut. Overall, the zodiac makes for an amazing tool while trying to get close to
the shore in shallow waters, but make sure you are very conscious of the risks
involved.
2.
Wear and bring lots and lots of sunscreen. –
First things first, no matter what you do, you are going to burn. We all knew
it was going to be a sunny day, so we lathered our sunscreen on and hopped on
the boat headed toward the island. Once we got there we saw the extreme lack of
shade. The sun was beating down on us tremendously, so after five minutes of
walking around, we were all sweating sunscreen. No matter how much sunscreen we
put on and reapplied, everyone burned. Some people even suggested they even
burned through their shirts.
3.
Wear long sleeves. – The sunscreen was obviously
useless. Everyone kept trying to protect themselves from the sun, but nothing
was working. If we could do it all over again, we would have worn long sleeves.
Even though the sun was beating down on us, and we were completely miserable,
it would have been tremendously better to be hot and sweaty for a couple of
hours than experiencing the pain of sunburns for a couple of days. Being so
close to the equator, there is nothing you can do to prevent sunburns by using loads
of sunscreen; however, you can at least try to prevent them by wearing long
sleeved clothes.
4.
Bring twice the amount of water you think you
would need. – You are on this island for about an hour and a half. There is no
way to get back to your main boat if you need something, in this case, water.
The sun is blazing down on you, the heat is unbearable, and all you want to do
is drink your water the entire time help you cool down a little. If you drink a
lot of water, eventually, you are going to run out like most of us did. Plan to
drink a lot of water while walking around, and make sure that you bring as much
as you are willing to carry.
5.
Focus on the beautiful surroundings. – Despite
all of the unfortunate conditions, it is always better to focus on the things
unique to the Galápagos. On this island
specifically, we got to see a variety of birds, like the Frigate, which blows
out its red balloon connected to its neck to attract a mate, the blue-footed
boobies, who use the tiffany blue color of their feet to attract females, the
yellow and red land iguanas, and the beautiful blue water, seen in very few
places around the world. Also, listen to your guide to learn more about the
animals you encounter, like the fact that the Frigate flaps their wings and
clap their beak to further attract their mates. Paying attention to all the
beautiful and unique aspects of the Galapagos can make all the hardships fade
away.
- Anna Maria J and Samantha W
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