JANUARY 8, 2016
We were finally making our way to the Galapagos Islands today, the part of the trip I have been looking forward to the most. We had to go through extra precautionary measures at the airport to ensure that we were not bringing any invasives to the islands. After about two hours of flying I was finally seeing the Galapagos Islands in real life and not through a computer screen. There are no words to describe the complete and utter awe I felt at this moment, after months of preparing and years of dreaming, I was finally here. To get to the port we would board our cruise on, the Nemo I, we had to take a little boat from Baltra to Santa Cruz and then take a shuttle to the city of Puerto Ayora. On our ride we saw Galapagos tortoises in the wild, they are just as massive as I have read about.
We went to Darwin's Research Center, we saw rescued tortoises and land iguanas. The rescued tortoises were rescued by the center from people who had them as pets. There was a breeding center there where the eggs were harvested in vitro. The breeding center brought the tortoise population from 4,000 to 27,000 individuals. Tortoises’ skin doesn't harden until after 5 years. They can go up to a year without food and water, the captive ones eat every day and wild ones eat twice a week. I wish that we could've seen the breeding center because that is what I was looking forward to the most in the center. We saw marine iguanas on the sidewalk and the beach, they were completely still, soaking up the sun. We also saw yellow warblers, small ground finch, and a fly catcher. We got to swim before we boarded the boat in Santa Cruz, the water was warm and calm. The water was so clear, we swam a little deeper and found ourselves standing on lava rocks. After we finished swimming we boarded the catamaran for the night and it was much more spacious than I expected from the pictures and videos. |
JANUARY 9, 2016
We drove to Punta Pitt, San Cristobal, while we were sleeping. Sydne and I shared a room, I had the top bunk and when I woke up to the most stunning views. We went on a hike and saw sea lions on the beach, red and blue footed and Nazca boobies, red red rock crabs, lava lizards, frigate birds, eagle rays, and American oyster catchers. The hike was beautiful and the landscape and vegetation was interesting and unlike anything I've seen. Then we went snorkeling, this was my first time, we swam with different fish and sea lions. I remember reading a National Geographic article that mentioned swimming with sea lions is a must when visiting the Galapagos Islands and ever since then I always told myself that I would swim with them if I found myself there one day. It was an absolutely amazing experience, I had so much fun and I was surprised how friendly the sea lions were.
Our next stop was Cerro Brujo, we saw a frigate bird harass a blue footed booby for the fish it just caught. We got to go swimming in the crystal blue water. We boarded the catamaran again and went around a rock formation called the Sleeping Lion, while we were we saw humpback whales. (I didn't think the sleeping lion that was known as the sleeping lion looked like a sleeping lion, I thought the view from the beach we were on looked like a female sleeping lion more) We watched the sunset over the Pacific Ocean and it was breathtaking. |
Negative Impacts in the Galapagos
Tourism contributes to population growth on the islands. The gross income from tourism has grown by 14% every year in the last 15 years. With tourism growing every year, it requires more infrastructure and human resources. (Galapagos Conservancy, 2016) The Galapagos Verde 2050 project was created to restore degraded ecosystems, eradicate invasive species, and create sustainable year-round agriculture on the islands. The EcoHelix was introduced to the Galapagos Islands, it is an invention that allows tourists to rate businesses. It also will push tourists to choose more sustainable business and it’ll push businesses to complete with its sustainability. The goal of the EcoHelix is to reduce the ever-growing tourism industry’s ecological impact on the islands. (GNPD et al., 2015)
There are currently six establish invasive species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, with increasing boat traffic in the GMR, there is a greater chance for more invasives to be introduced. To help combat this issue the Charles Darwin Foundation along with other organizations created the Marine Invasive Species Project. The project will minimize the impact invasives have on the biodiversity by increasing monitoring and management in the GMR. (GNPD et al., 2015)
There are currently six establish invasive species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, with increasing boat traffic in the GMR, there is a greater chance for more invasives to be introduced. To help combat this issue the Charles Darwin Foundation along with other organizations created the Marine Invasive Species Project. The project will minimize the impact invasives have on the biodiversity by increasing monitoring and management in the GMR. (GNPD et al., 2015)
JANUARY 10, 2016
When I woke up we were in a cove at Santa Fe Island. We got on the beach and saw more sea lions and red red rock crabs. Then we hiked up a steep cliff on the island, when we arrived to the top of the mountain there were prickly pear cacti everywhere. We found several orange and yellow land iguanas laying in the shade of the cacti. The prickly pear cactus serves as a water and food source to the land iguanas. The water here is so clear that I could see the bottom of the seafloor from the back of the boat. We went snorkeling again today and saw a sea turtle resting on the ground, sting rays, and common fish in the Galapagos.
On our way to South Plazas, I got to drive the catamaran, I am actually the reason we made it to South Plazas safely. On our walk around the island we saw the usual species again but we also got to see the Galapagos Gull up close, there was a cliff that had countless gull nests. Seeing the sea lions at every stop never got old, I always enjoyed coming across them. After dinner Dominick, one of the other passengers on the catamaran, gave us a presentation on his work as an electrical engineer in Australia. It was interesting for me to compare what I learned in Energy Planning, which focused on the energy use and types of energy in the United States, to Australia. I'm sad that this is our last night on the Nemo I because I had some of my best nights of sleep on it. |
JANUARY 11, 2016
At 6 am we went on the dinghy around Black Turtle Cove, it is an inlet on Santa Cruz and it is surrounded by mangrove forests. We saw sting rays, a baby shark, and countless sea turtles on our hour ride. When we got back on the catamaran we had to pack up our things, we were dropped off on Baltra Island. On our way back to Puerto Ayora, we stopped at El Chato Ranch, a Galapagos tortoise reserve. There were giant tortoises in the drip pools and the different tortoise shells that we read about before the trip. Afterwards we had the option to go snorkeling or stay in Puerto Ayora, as I was getting ready to leave I realized my calves and knees were so swollen from sunburn, I decided it would have been irresponsible for me to go and I didn’t want to jeopardize the rest of the trip if I went. Sarah, Emily, Sydne, and I walked around in Puerto Ayoro and relaxed. This was our last night in the Galapagos and it was an amazing experience, I wish I we had the time to see more islands and more species. The islands were more than I ever expected, I hope I find myself returning one day.
Works Cited:
Galapagos Conservancy. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.galapagos.org/
GNPD, GCREG, CDF, and GC. (2015). Galapagos Report 2013-2014. Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador. Retrieved from http://www.darwinfoundation.org/media/filer_public/47/cc/47ccd2cc-d295-4b44-b433-2a62440c8442/galapagosreport_2013-2014.pdf