We woke up to the sounds of birds chirping, trees whistling,
and alarm clocks buzzing loudly. Unfortunately, it was only 6:45. Exhausted, we
stumbled into the bus as the sun glared into our eyes. The bumpy 45-minute bus
ride had lots of turbulence and bounced through the Galapagos wild on a gravel
road. Finally, we arrived to the port to
board the Santa Fe III. To get on the
dinghy, we had to climb down a slippery ramp. We boarded the blue dingy, eight
at a time. When we climbed out of the dinghy onto the Santa Fe III, we slipped off our shoes and explored the ship. The
wooden accents lined the couches, tables, and chairs of the boat. On the bow,
there were three benches, perfect for reclining on the two hour boat ride.
Above on the top deck, there was a white plastic picnic table with chairs as
well as cream comfy mats like the ones from preschool to lay-out on during the
mini trip. When the engine started to rumble, we proceeded on our voyage to the
wondrous island of Santa Fe! En route, we jammed to music and basked in the
Ecuadorian summer sun. The waves jolted us back and forth like an angry rocking
chair. A gull followed us, flying in circles above us and waiting to drop its
scat. When we arrived in Santa Fe, we boarded the dinghy carefully clutching our
cameras, GoPros, and shoes. Much to our surprise, the sea lions greeted us
cheerfully with their playful noises and swam around us. We immediately
scrambled off the dinghy, ready to meet our new friends. The sea lions honked
at us as we photographed them. Some of them even posed! We had the opportunity
to see a two-day old baby sea lion! Its mother nudged the baby to swim, gently
nurturing it into the world. As cute as sea lions can be, they were also quite
territorial which we learned about through their sounds. We got some angry
glares from the alpha male as well as the others stretching out on the sand as
they absorbed the sun’s rays. They looked like beefy brown sausages roasting on
the yellow sand. After admiring the sea lions, we put back on our shoes and got
ready for a short hike along the coast. However, just as we finished dressing,
we saw The Placenta. According to our guide, Sandie, The Placenta was less than
a day old. The vile aroma of the black and red placenta was a mixture of rotten
fish, blood, and feces. After plugging our noses and carefully stepping around
The Placenta, we continued on our walk and climbed up the steep, steel gray
rocks. The sun beat down on our backs as we navigated our way through the
beaten down path. On our journey, we passed sea lion carcasses that were from
the sea lions that died of starvation due to El Nino. El Nino is weather phenomenon
that makes temperatures rise above normal levels. We also saw yellow Galapagos
iguanas that rested in the shade of prickly pear cactuses. Prickly pear
cactuses in the Galapagos Islands can grow up to 50 feet tall! After our
exploration on the island, we headed back to the boat to get ready for
snorkeling. Dressed in our sun shirts and snorkel masks, we hopped into the
cool, turquoise water. We followed Sandie along a reef that had many
interesting types of fish including a rainbow Parrot fish. In addition to the
Parrot fish, we also saw many different schools of small fish. The best part of
our snorkel experience was getting to interact and swim with the sea lions.
One of the sea lions was especially playful and did somersaults along with other members of our group. It blew bubbles back at us and followed us around doing front flips and back flips! A couple people in our group had accidental brushes with the sea lions and got to the feel their sandpaper skin. After 45 minutes, we headed back to the boat and the Captain greeted us with spicy tuna and peppers on crackers and delicious fried fish, yellow rice, and a variety of vegetables. We then disembarked back to our home island, Santa Cruz.
Sea lion looking for friends with whom to play |
One of the sea lions was especially playful and did somersaults along with other members of our group. It blew bubbles back at us and followed us around doing front flips and back flips! A couple people in our group had accidental brushes with the sea lions and got to the feel their sandpaper skin. After 45 minutes, we headed back to the boat and the Captain greeted us with spicy tuna and peppers on crackers and delicious fried fish, yellow rice, and a variety of vegetables. We then disembarked back to our home island, Santa Cruz.
- Caroline W., Katherine B., Sax M.
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