Galapagos!

Brace yourselves…this one will be long! Feel free to skim through for the pictures!

By an enormous stroke of luck, and a lot of help from Boni, I was able to sneak onto a tour of the Galapagos Islands this weekend. Let’s just say he knows all the right people in Quito. The timing was perfect – I was able to travel with Matt and Katie’s families and Amy, all of whom had made arrangements for the trip a while ago. I made #8 in the group, which was a great number to travel with. It was really nice to travel with parents… different from being with the BC crew of 17, but reminiscent of a family vacation.

In case you’re not familiar with the Galapagos, maybe the name Charles Darwin rings a bell? Though Galapagos was put on the map in the 16th century, it was Darwin who made the islands especially famous: his theory of natural selection was inspired by his stay and studies on the islands. Since the islands are volcanic and thus isolated from the main land, the species that are native to the archipelago are not (naturally) influenced by any other species. Here’s a basic rundown of what we did…

Friday:

On Friday morning, we left Quito for the island of San Cristobál, where the crew of our ship, the M/V Santa Cruz, met us. After a valiant yet failed effort of trying to persuade the National Park Guides to let us into the park for the student rate of $25 instead of the tourist rate of $100 (apparently we have the wrong visa and lack sufficient student ID), we boarded a bus and then a dingy (aka zodiac boat or panga) that took us to the ship. The Santa Cruz is one of the larger tourist boats in the Galapagos, holding 90 passengers. The rooms were beautiful, spacious, and air conditioned, and the food was outstanding.

After being welcomed aboard by the very friendly crew, we met our Expedition Leader (“this is NOT a cruise, it’s an expedition”), Ramiro to hear about basic rules and safety. The Parque Nacional Galapagos takes the preservation of the islands very seriously, and thus no one is allowed to touch or feed animals, bring food onto the islands, or take flash pictures. As a result, all the animals we encountered were completely indifferent towards our presence on the islands. They did not once seem to change their behavior patterns or run away when they saw people. Since the islands were not historically inhabited by humans, and have been closely protected for a few decades, they have no real reason to be afraid of people. All the passengers were divided into smaller groups which were led by one guide (also known as Naturalists). The 8 of us were in the Fregata group, led by Edison, a native Galapaguenion (not really sure how to spell it) who has been in the tourist industry for 16 years and was extremely knowledgeable about, well, everything Galapagos.


Above: The frigates. From the right (behind me and Katie): Mr. & Mrs. Blach, Amy, Mateo, Mr. & Mrs. Gelman

Our activity on Friday afternoon was swimming and snorkeling on Cerro Brujo, the visitor site on San Cristóbal. We took the pangas from the boat to the beach and were able to swim, snorkel, walk along the beach, and take our first peek at the wildlife endemic to the islands. We met our first sea lions, which are NOT to be confused with seals, as our guides were certain to make clear! The water was perfectly clear and beautiful.


Sea lion in motion, but not running away from us!

Later in the evening, we gathered for the Captain’s Cocktail and a discussion of the plans for the next day. After the presentation and introductions, Ramiro asked to speak with me afterwards, in front of all the passengers on board. I immediately got nervous that something happened with my ticket, and all the parents with us got concerned, but reassured me that they’d take care of any problems. Not to worry though – when Ramiro finally approached me, he told me he’d been put up to that by a friend of mine who was in Ecuador last semester (thanks, Chris). Apparently the fall BC crew got to know Ramiro pretty well when they did their Galapagos trip last semester!

Saturday:

After a very early wakeup call and buffet breakfast (yum), we disembarked on Española island. We went on a 3km hike around the island and met a ton of blue-footed boobies and marine iguanas. We walked through the “albatross airport” which is currently deserted because the birds have migrated for the season and enjoyed a beautiful view off the cliffs. Edison told us all about the various types of boobies (go ahead, laugh) and other birds that live on Española.


Blue Footed Booby! (Blue feet are verrrry attractive to the boobies…they get their color from hormones!)

After the hike, we returned to the boat for lunch and a talk on the human presence in the Galapagos. There are about 20-30,000 people who call the Galapagos home. We were also lucky enough to be joined for a while by dolphins! They swam with the boat for part of the trip from Isla Española to Isla Floreana.


We jumped out of bed where we were napping to see the dolphins!

Once anchored by Floreana, we had the opportunity to go deep-water snorkeling, which was simply fantastic. After a panga ride out into the middle of the ocean to look for a whale, which we successfully saw, we arrived at a craterous structure that emerged from the water. We snorkeled off the panga and saw thousands of fish, sea lions, a shark (!), enormous starfish, and more. The sea lions swam right up to us, not seeming to mind our presence at all. I wish I had an underwater camera with me – the water was SO clear, and there was some great stuff to see (example – blue starfish!).


Some strangers snorkeling…

After snorkeling, we took a walk around the island, saw some flamingos and frigates, and watched the sunset. We learned about the plant life on the islands and found turtle nesting sites on the beach, along with skulls of some animals that had washed up on the shore. After cocktail hour and dinner, the sky was sparkling with stars. There were no clouds and no lights. The last time I saw so many stars at once was in the planetarium!

Sunday:

On Sunday morning, we walked around Isla Fernandina, the youngest of the islands, and (I believe) the youngest island in the world. The lava rocks were solid black and the beach was perfectly white – beautiful! As we walked onto the island, we were greeted by a congregation of very large, very content marine iguanas lying in the sun. As we walked around the island, we also saw crabs, turtles, sea lions, barnacles, eagle rays, fish, and parts of a whale skeleton.


Just a fraction of the iguanas we saw…practically posing for the pictures (but actually just trying to cool down in the breeze)

In the afternoon, we went snorkeling around Isla Isabela, the largest island in the archipelago. Unfortunately, the visibility below the water was not great, but we did get to see our first Galapagos penguins above the water. The penguins were absolutely adorable! We took a ride around the perimeter in the panga and got to explore a cave and see the birds and special sea lions that call that island home.


Penguin!

In the evening, we gathered again for a cocktail as we passed over the equator into the northern hemisphere and watched the sunset. After dinner, we watched a slideshow from the weekend and got our instructions for the trip home. [For the nineman: before bed, the 4 of us watched a double feature of SATC, season 4] I couldn’t believe how quickly the time had gone and how much we had squeezed into 2.5 days!!


Katie, Amy, Matt, Me, and the Ecuadorian flag at sunset as we crossed the equator!

On Monday morning, we got up early to visit the Charles Darwin Foundation on Isla Santa Cruz. This is the heart of the national park, and is where scientists are working with the land turtle population. We saw some huge turtles as they were feeding (let’s just say they don’t have great table manners!) and some little baby ones. After a quick tour, we hoped on a boat to the island of Baltra, where we were rushed on our plane back to Quito!


The land turtles are so much bigger than they look in this picture!


Some more pictures…


Beautiful crabs!



crystal clear water


sunset as we crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere


beautiful beaches and volcanic rocks


more beautiful beaches.

Amanda’s and Mindo

Greetings! I don’t know why, but the weeks are absolutely flying by. I feel like I just got home from Mindo, yet here I am, done with another week of class and getting ready for the next trip! I just finished week 12 of classes which leaves me with 6 more weeks until exams…it just doesn’t seem right. The semester is going by much faster than it does at BC because we seem to merely be squeezing in class, homework, and exams between trips. (Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, I haven’t forgotten that I’m here to study!)

Last week, while Maqui and the girls were on what sounded like a fabulous cruise, I stayed with Amanda and Boni. They took SUCH wonderful care of me. I had my own room, wireless internet, wonderful dinners, lots of fresh fruit, and a chance to enjoy their beautiful home. Unfortunately, I spent most of my free time doing the projects and reading that I had due, but I was in the best possible environment. There’s nothing like living with your professor to get you motivated to do work!

On Wednesday night of last week, Amanda and Boni took me to a neighborhood in the historical center called La Rounda. La Rounda is a beautiful street that is home to many little shops, cafes, bars, and historical buildings. The environment is much more relaxed and has a much more local feel than the Mariscal (the bar district most popular for young Quitenos and extranjeros alike) and is much more safe. We sat and hot chocolate in a little café called La Chulla Vida (chulla = only in Quichua) and enjoyed live music. The live music thought we were all gringos, because he kept saying “Thank you very much, table four” and thanked Boni for his tip in English. Amanda and I were cracking up because Amanda and Boni are both Ecuadorian through and through…I was the only gringa! Later in the evening, Boni took a picture of a large Ecuadorian family, and they also thanked him in English, so we were laughing all the way home. As we were sipping our hot choclate (which was some of the best I have ever had) I learned a new Ecuadorian phrase that explained why the coco and cookies came with pieces of cheese: “Chocolate sin queso es como abrazo sin beso” (chocolate without cheese is like a hug without a kiss). Cute, eh?

On Thursday, I enjoyed the convenience of being in Cumbaya at night because I could attend a program at Colegio Menor where I do my pre prac. The Spanish department (which is the department I observe) put on a program called “Globalizarte” (Globalize yourself). All the Spanish classes in the high school prepared creative interpretations and presentations of a work of literature that they had read that year. The works ranged from Ulissess to Cronica de un muerte anunciada to the Kite Runner. The students did skits, made videos, put together fashion shows, hosted talk shows, constructed booths, and recreated scenery that marks the literature they had read. I was so impressed by the talent and creativity! I am grateful that I was able to attend because for the two Wednesdays leading up to the program, the classes I observed were consumed with the preparation, which left me more or less watching as they painted, rehearsed, and designed their presentation. My favorite presentation was by the AP Lit class; they put on a skit called Les Luthiers, which was a satire about the most famous Latin-American writers, many of whom I have or am currently studying. The skit was hilarious, and they had a great crowd!

On Saturday, I took off bright and early for Mindo with a small portion of our group. This past weekend was the first time we all split up to travel, and it was strange to not all be together! Matt, Amy, Eddie, Hallie, Jenna, Chris and I were the largest of the groups to split off. We took a two hour bus to the town of Mindo, which is located in the Northern Highlands of Ecuador. Saturday was a bit rainy, which is especially typical during the winter (aka rainy season). We took a cable car ride to a hiking path. We were unbelievably high above the trees and river. As the clouds descended, we literally rode through a cloud and couldn’t see to the other side! From there, we hiked down to one of six waterfalls, but decided to head back after seeing one because the rain was picking up. From there, we all went back to our hostel and enjoyed an evening in the hot tub and had a really nice dinner.


the cable car is in there somewhere...

the waterfall we hiked down to, and the ladder that chris decided to climb (crazy?)

Sunday was another early morning, but much sunnier. We met our guide in Mindo and he drove us up the mountain to where the ziplines are located. I didn’t really know what to expect from “ziplining,” but it was SO much fun. Basically, they put your legs in a harness of sorts, give you a couple straps with carabineers and pulleys, a helmet, gloves, and send you on your way. There are guides who do all the connecting of people to cables stop you at the end, so no one falls into the valley or smashes into a tree. It was all very safe and professional, but the same services would certainly require waivers and more than a $10 fee in the US! There were about 10 cables, which varied in length and height. The longest was probably the length of 2 football fields, and the shortest was maybe 2 basketball courts. The cables are quite high, which gave quite a thrill but wasn’t scary. Besides being attacked by bugs (shorts were a bad choice), ziplining was my favorite part of the weekend!
the four girls and a view of the line:



This week has not been too eventful. My host family is home, so it’s back to the normal routine. Classes were pretty normal…I had one exam, finished reading Cien Años de Soledad (good book!), and have started on two more novels. I will definitely have read a lot of great Latin-American literature by the end of this semester! The most spontaneous part of the week was planning for this weekend’s trip to the Galapagos! Boni helped me wiggle my way onto the nicest cruise ship with 3 other people in my group and two sets of parents who are visiting. I’m SO excited and very lucky to have Boni, who certainly knows all the right people in this city! So, stay tuned next week for adventures in Darwin’s evolution laboratory!!

Pictures of paradise

Here are a few pictures from the beach! I have many more but these are some of my favorites...

Los Frailes (national park, most beautiful beach ever)


Isla de la Plata (aka Galapagos for the poor)


The most beautiful sunsets, every night!



The beach in front of the hostel. Don't be too jealous.


Me and Bex after our new 'dos a few weeks ago :)

Puerto Lopez!

Hello! I’m sorry it has taken me far too long to get this post up…I am in the middle of 2 weeks of midterms and projects. I have to study while I’m here? Oops. : )

After our trip to the selva, I stayed in Quito for the weekend. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday holed up in my room reading Cien Años de Soledad for my “El Boom latinoamericano” class, and Alicia en el pais de maravillas for Chilren’s lit. Classes are going well, though I must say I don’t really have a brain for Art History, so the paper and midterm were a bit of a struggle.

On Wednesday, March 4th, we had off classes for a professional development day. (I don’t quite understand why they do that the week after vacation for carnival, but I will not complain.) We took advantage of the very convenient timing (that week was also BC’s spring break so we had about 10 visitors come to Quito) to take a 5 day weekend trip to the beach! We took a ½ hour flight to Manta, a coastal city and home to the smallest airport I’ve ever seen in my life – only one terminal! – and then a van ride to the small town of Puerto Lopez. We stayed at the beautiful Hosteria Mandala (check it out if you have time: http://www.hosteriamandala.info/) through Saturday night.

After we arrived on Wednesday, we hopped on a boat to Isla de la Plata, an island about an hour off the coast that was “discovered” by Sir Francis Drake. Obviously, he didn’t actually discover it…indigenous communities and Incas had known about it for centuries. The island got its name because some historians believe it may be the site of the undiscovered treasure that Drake buried, but no one knows. The island has been a national park for about 50 years. We took a 2 hour hike across the island to look at the animals and plants that call this little paradise “home.” The hike was exhausting, especially in the direct sunlight, but absolutely worth it. We hiked to the beautiful cliffs and beaches, saw some really cool birds, and got a great workout! Afterwards, we ate lunch (of delicious watermelon, white pineapple, and sandwiches!) on the boat and then snorkeled on another side of the island – where there was no threat of sharks – for a while.

On Thursday, we went to Los Frailes, another park and probably the most beautiful beach I have ever visited. There was not a single rock, shell, piece of seaweed, or jellyfish and the water was perfectly clear. The sun was strong, the clouds were few but fluffy, and the sand was beautiful (and hot!). Really, it was heaven on earth. The only downside was the lack of shade. Needless to say I am “bien bronceada y un poco quemada,” despite the amount of sunscreen I used.

Friday and Saturday were spent in a hammock in a cabana on the beach at the hostel, reading, napping, and enjoying relaxation. I felt quite grown up in the sense that I was appreciating a relaxing “vacation” away from the “real world,” although it is still quite a stretch to call my life here the “real world.” While, yes, we are learning about the serious issues that Ecuadorians face and yes, I have seen a lot of this in action over the past two months, I have been very blessed to be able to travel so much, to study at such a beautiful university and to life with a great family.

On Sunday, we spent the morning on the beach and then went back to Manta for our flight home. Leaving the sun of the coast for the clouds of the Sierra (the mountains in the middle of the country, where Quito is located) was a drastic climate change, and a bit sad.

A few other thoughts:
It’s a Small World, Take II: Though the hostel we stayed in is owned by Italians, the manager while we were there was from the US (being here makes me hesitant to say American to identify US citizens...South Americans rightfully identify as Americans as well!) who has a niece who goes to Brandeis, which is only a few miles from BC and where Jackie goes! (I didn’t get her name…sorry Jackie!)

Paths Crossing in Florida: In the next two weeks, all 6 members of my families – host and real – will be in Florida for some time. Maqui is there now, for work, and will be joined tomorrow by her daughters and entire extended family for a cruise celebrating Maqui’s mom’s 85th birthday. The Zippilli’s will also be there, at different times, for senior trip, a visit to Marco, and work! ¡Que coincidencia!

Salsa update: We had our last salsa class on Wednesday! I enjoyed it so much, despite the teacher being a bit tough on us, and am looking into more classes. I liked having an “after school activity” a couple days a week and enjoyed learning the moves. Now we just have to test them out at the salsa club…

Making new friends: One of the notoriously hardest parts about studying abroad in a big gringo group as USFQ is making friends with native students. We perceive the Ecua students as cliquey and they say the same thing about us, which is probably due to the clumps of international students always hanging out on the appropriately named “gringo grass.” Last week, a girl in my Children’s lit class, Diana, offered to make me a copy of what I missed when I was at the beach, which was so nice because we had never spoken before. Next thing I knew, I was at her house yesterday for a few hours working on our project together and chatting. She gave me lunch, which I wasn’t expecting at all, but is quite pretty much protocol for hosting visitors, and it was delicious!

Halfway Begun: I dare not say halfway done, but that’s the truth. Can you believe it? I certainly cannot. I have will be done exams two weeks from today, and then here for another week with MY FAMILY! (I’m excited they’re coming, if you can’t tell!).

Anyway, that’s all for now. Sorry it’s kind of a lot! I have some great pictures, but can’t put them up until I get my camera cord back, so check back in a few days to see some beautiful beaches and sunsets!