Dear Giant Tortoise - We arrived in the Galapagos today!

Dear Giant Tortoise,

             Today we finally arrived in the Galapagos Islands! It wasn't until after a 9 a.m flight, a 12 p.m flight, five bus rides, and one boat that we arrived on your home island of Santa Cruz. As we drove closer and closer to the tortoise preserve where you live, more and more trees and plants crept into view until, all of sudden, the land surrounding the road was covered in lush jungle. We then took a quick tour of two craters, Los Gemelos or “The Twins,” that were similar in size and depth. The formed when lava tried to break through the tough surface of the earth and failed because of the impenetrable rock layers, The lava eventually found a spot with weaker rock layers where it was finally able to break through and form a small volcano. The area where it originally attempted to emerge then collapsed without the lava under it – forming the craters. We also saw a wide variety of vibrant plants. The majority of the plants were actually blackberry bushes, an invasive species.  Another type of plant that grew in this area was the Escalesia tree.  This tree is a keystone species in its environment.  Its leaves have little furs on them that catch the morning dew and fog.  This moisture falls off of the leaves, and moisturizes the ground and small plants underneath the tree - forming a mini ecosystem.  The Escalesia tree is also known as the Everyoung tree because it grows quickly and becomes too large for its small, shallow roots. These trees usually die around age 20, which is why they are forever young. They are also called Evergreen trees because their foliage stays green throughout all the seasons. 

             Then we headed to lunch at your home - the Giant Tortoise Reserve! It was fun to put on rubber boots and walked around the reserve. Our favorite part was being able to see the difference between the males and females of your species. You females tortoises are much jumpier and you males move around much more. One of the more interesting things to see when we arrived in your environment was how muddy the area is. We wonder, How do you put up with such a muddy environment? And why is it that both of you males and females enjoy rolling in the mud and eating the grass so much? 

We also found it funny when the females would run away from the males who would attempt to mate with them. Because it resembled a game of chase, we often found ourselves cheering on the slower females who were attempting to run away from the faster male.

Seeing you eat was also a funny sight. You never seem to be full! With a face that looks like E.T. you also look really cute when you tug at the blades of grass that cover the ground. How are you never full? 

Finally we left the reserve. But not without swerving along the road to avoid hitting a few of you on the way out. Make sure to stay out of the road! 

Yours

Mary Helen, Christine, and Emmy

North Seymour Island (Day 3 - Blue)

 

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

Santa Fe Island (Day 5 - Blue)

“That’s not a bee… That’s a pterodactyl.” – Josh Mehling

            At approximately 3:27 PM, a white bus pulled into Puerto Ayora. The driver whistled slightly through his teeth and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He glanced over his shoulder and looked around for the tour group he was supposed to pick up. Sighing, he walked over to the back and eased the windows open, to let the breeze cool the cabin. As he made his way to the front, a large, black, winged creature flew into the back of the bus.

            The driver glanced at it, and shrugged.

           

No big deal.

           

            Across the corner, a group of tourists laughed, and licked ice cream. One person politely asked for a coke, another for a bottle of water. One of the boys glanced at the bus and raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is that our bus?” Another shrugged. Sighing, the boy returned his gaze to his drink and took a swig.

            The group crossed the street without incident, the teacher ushering the kids and keeping a wary eye out for traffic. Duncan, the leader of the group, pointed at the bus.

“That one,” he said, his voice lilting in a slight Spanish accent. “That’s our bus.”

The kids eagerly piled on, relieved to be out of the sun for even a moment.

            In the back of the bus, the creature stirred, rattling its wings and then briefly settling down. The large creatures were rocking the bus, and it raised a wary eye and surveyed them. Large legs and bright colored feet moved swiftly across its vision. As they piled on, the seat that the creature was sitting under sagged, and squeaked loudly. The ground rumbled, and the creature shot up, wings rattling.

           

In the back of the bus, someone screamed.

           

            The creature scanned the bus wildly, looking for a way to escape, its senses stretched to the breaking point. It ducked and weaved, frantically looking for a place to land, a place to escape. All around was chaos. Waving limbs shot past it, and a baseball cap whizzed by. The creature buzzed in the air, and ignored the screaming passengers of the bus. It was tired, and it needed a place to rest.

           

As the back of the bus devolved into chaos, a hero wearing a bucket hat heard the cries for help. “Ford!” they screamed “Fooorrd!” Whipping off his hat, the hero placed a firm foot on the floor of the bus, and surveyed the area.

            Ford Young had arrived.

A brief explanation as to what exactly a ‘Ford Young’ is:

As mentioned during a pre-Galapagos meeting, Ford’s spirit animal is an eagle. When asked why, Ford responded, “Freedom. The eagle is all about freedom.” Ford himself has become a symbol of freedom in an insect infested world, and is, as quoted by Jack Scofield. “A grizzly bear that goes home to his family and loves them, who defends justice and all that is right in the world.” Ford Young, is every pterodactyl’s nightmare.

Meanwhile on the back of the bus, anarchy reigned. Hats flew in the air, tears were shed, and screams permeated the air. In the front, the driver drummed his fingers and pretended that whatever was happening in the back wasn’t actually happening.

           

Ford made his way through to the back, carefully dodging flailing arms and screaming people. “What seems to be the problem, folks?” he said, flashing a shining smile, and letting the breeze wave his hat around a bit. Someone screamed something about a bee, and Ford spotted the rouge insect perched on a window. Cupping a hand, he approached it and prepared to make a lethal strike.

           

            The insect on the window never saw it coming. A hand, as big as the moon to the tiny beast, came down on it and knocked it from its perch. Sending it tumbling, senseless, to the ground. And there it lay. Ford had been careful enough to only knock it out, rather than killing it, ever mindful of the conservation lessons learned earlier in the week.  The back of the bus quieted, the beast quelled at last.

            Five minutes later, someone looked down, and said, “… It isn’t dead.”

           

            And then the screams erupted again.

A picture of the Beast vanquished by Ford
(sketch by Thomson Brown)

- David L, Jack S, and Stephen S

                                  

North Seymour Island (Day 5 - Red)

After much complaining from the blue-footed boobies group, we came into the day with low expectations. We expected to die from heat and exhaustion while exploring North Seymour Island. We felt the cool ocean breeze on our previously burned skin, as the boat transported us to the island. The entire group hid from the beaming sun anywhere they could around the boat. Forty-five minutes later we loaded onto the small dinghy, we felt our legs burning from the gleaming sun. It was only a fraction of what we would feel one hour later. Evil bright red crabs awaited our arrival onto the island. As we disembarked from the dinghy, the black steaming lava rocks, that felt like they were still lava, were used as the stairways to hell. Immediately afterwards, we smelt death. Hundreds of frigate birds circled above our heads waiting for our bodies to shrivel up and burn. As we walked away from the coast, the heat engulfed us. Even after slathering on pounds of sunscreen and sporting native African wraps, our efforts were a small vermin in the way of a car. As we began on the path, all we could hear were the squealing and squeaks of the birds as they suffered in agony from the stifling heat. The bright red balloons on the frigates necks, the males’ tool for mating, stood out in the bland dry island. As we passed by a baby frigate bird, we noticed its neck was vibrating. Our tour guide, Sandie, informed us that the baby frigate had to vibrate its neck to thermoregulate. Every once and a while a stray iguana would scurry away from us, which alarmed our tour guide to possible capture of the iguanas because they are usually nonchalant toward people.  She later notified the National Park of this odd behavior. As we all tried to find a way to describe the island, we came upon a pile of frigate bones that described the atmosphere of the island better than any of us could have. Some classmates jumped at the opportunity to take a selfie with the bones to always remember the barren vibe of the island. Walking further and further down the path, we could hear the crash of the giant waves on the black lava rocks. The sound at first reminded us of a small earthquake, but as the waves collided with the rocks everyone was itching to dive in despite the eminent death that would follow.  On our way back to the dinghy, we passed by a sea lion with its split skin flaps displaying its infected flesh. Sandie explained that the sea lion had exploded due to the brutal heat. We thought of it as a warning to leave the island as soon as we could. After one-hour of the continuous exhaustion, we boarded the dinghy anxious to get in the water. A handful of people chose to snorkel along the rocky coast of the island while others decided to spare their skin from further damage. Those that snorkeled encountered four sharks as well as a vast array of fish. After ingesting enough seawater, everyone decided to return to the Santa Fe II, our boat as well as our oasis from the sun. As we set sail to our next destination, we were served a common Ecuadorian meal. The whole meal smelt exceptionally inviting because of the long and vigorous morning everyone endured. It consisted of brown rice shaped in a quasi cone presentation. On the left side of the plate, there was a vegetable salad resembling the American potato salad.  On the right side of the plate, a cucumber and tomato arrangement was left untouched by many. The centerpiece of the meal was the fresh smelling mystery fish doused in a dark tomato balsamic concoction. By the time we were done eating, we had the option to remain under the protection of our glorious vessel or venture out into the scorching outside world. The brave embarked towards the beach, and the wise stayed onboard. Those that went to the beach, went on a quest for flamingoes; however, they were unsuccessful. Despite not seeing any wildlife, they enjoyed the gargantuan waves as they crashed over their heads effectively cooling their sunburned skin even at the loss of a few sunglasses.  Those that stayed on the boat enjoyed a peaceful laid back atmosphere with the occasional jump off the side of the boat. Despite the harsh conditions, we all made the best out of our brief visit to purgatory.  Its hard to complain when you´re in the Galapagos Islands rather than sitting in a classroom.

Male frigate trying to attract a mate

Sea lion that died due to heat conditions

Walk through Purgatory

- Kennedy G, Sarah S, Will M

Santa Cruz Island (Day 4 - Blue)

Dear Garrapatero Beach,

            Thank you so much for a lovely morning. As we drove in our big white bus and sat in the blue leather seats, we overflowed with excitement and anticipation of our meeting. Your beautiful blue and clear water is both enchanting and marvelous. The water crashing over the countless large, grey lava rocks took our breath away.  Your lagoon revealed bright pink flamingos feeding off micro-shrimp. Everyone was amazed by their knees that bent backwards and the hidden black wings.

Thank you very much for letting those with energy kayak. We saw many incredible creatures – sea turtles, marine iguanas, and sea lions. We could see the brown-green spotty head of the sea turtles pop out of the water and the most remarkable sea turtle experience – their mating. The male sea turtle wrapped his long, brown flipper around the struggling female in order to maintain their position of love. The black reptile with gray spikes along the top of his head to the back of his lengthy tale swam a great distance. We followed him swimming for around 200 feet. His spiny tail swiveled back and forth in a motion similar to that of a shark. And finally, thank you for our short but magical glimpse of a sea lion. Its brown, smooth, and shiny head with long, yellow whiskers popped out of the water and was soon followed by the splash from its brown tail. Our new friend had disappeared. Thank you so much for letting us meet your friends.

For all of us who didn’t want to go kayaking, your white sand beach blinded us and reflected the unbearable sun onto our bodies. Thanks to our kikos, we were protected somewhat from the hot Galapagos sun. Even though some of us didn’t necessarily enjoy your waves and water, we were very thankful for our new finch friends under the shady, long-reaching poison apple trees with each branch overlapping the others creating a cover that protected us. We watched our friends, the finches, attack the apples we brought for snack; they fought over it like it was territory. When an apple core was left on the bench, the finches were so close we could almost touch them. Even though some of us were too tired to go adventure in the water, we want to thank you for not only the fun in the sun but also for providing us with shady trees to rest and recharge for the rest of our activities.

Thanks to this nice adventure and recharge, we were prepared for the rest of our day. We stopped and admired the largest crater on Santa Cruz - Cerro Mesa - that was previously a volcano.  At the restaurant, we were tricked by Dr. Clayton and Ms. Fleming into thinking we were eating a unique Ecuadorian cuisine - guinea pig. Fortunately, we later discovered that we were just eating chicken after all. After leaving the restaurant we went to the sublime lava tunnel and observed the wavy walls. There was a hole in the middle of the ceiling where the light shined through allowing a small but lush bright green plant life. After 20 minutes in the lava tunnel, we hopped back on the white tourist bus and journeyed with wind in our face to the Charles Darwin Research Center. The half-mile trek with occasional shade to save us from the blazing sun allowed us to observe a whole new species of turtles and two land iguanas. The shell of these Española turtles was unusually high – showing an odd view of their flexible, brown, and wrinkly necks. Finally, we ended the day by shopping for souvenirs and gifts in Puerto Ayora. We were all very blessed to get a better glimpse of the culture, the people, and the economy of the Galapagos. None of the later events of today could have occurred without the great start you gave us.

Thank you again,

Hannah, Chelsea, and Lauren

Farewell Galapagos - last evening picture

Thanks for the great memories!

Cooking Class with our Chef before dinner

Charles Darwin Research and Conservation Center

Visiting a Lava Tunnel