¡Bienvenidos a paraíso!

Already I have made the next transition from Cumbayá to San Cristóbal. I have gone from 10,000 ft above sea level to sea level and it is wonderful… except for the sunburns that were bound to happen but are painful nevertheless. The Galápagos Islands are amazing, or at least San Cristóbal and its islets are. Already I have seen sea lions, marine iguanas, lava lizards, many other types of lizards, many species of Darwin’s finches, warblers, canaries, pelicans, herons, many species of tropical fish, frigate birds, various sea birds, sea turtles, blue-footed boobies, and Nazca boobies. I’m sure I’m missing some species in that list, but experiencing all of these different animals pretty much leaves me speechless.

Strictly speaking, the biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands is very low compared to the biodiversity of the rest of Ecuador. There are only a handful of species of mammals that inhabit the islands (aside from cats, dogs, horses, and cows) and fairly few birds, reptiles, etc. The list above of species that I have seen probably isn’t half of what I saw when we were in the Yasuní National Park (I promise I will write about Tiputini soon!) Statistically speaking, the rain forest and the cloud forest are both much more diverse than the islands. I don't know if the fish that live around the Galápagos and are considered endemic here would raise the biodiversity all that much.

So why is it so important to people to conserve the Galápagos as they are and try to limit the growing population? Although there are not a great number of species, there is a high rate of endemism. Endemic species are those that cannot be found anywhere else in the world and the majority of the species that live on the Galápagos have evolved here, therefore most of the species are endemic. These unique species do not exist anywhere else in the world so we take it upon ourselves to make sure they have a safe place to live. Of course, the population of the Galápagos has soared within the past few decades so that the census says there are now 23,000 people living here (among 4 islands) although my professor thinks there is actually closer to 30,000 people and I think I’ve heard up to 40,000 people live here. On San Cristóbal, the island where I will be for the majority of my 3-month stay in the Galápagos, has around 7,000 people. The most populated island is Santa Cruz. There is a community of a couple of thousand people on Isabella, the largest island, and around 100 people live on one of the Floreana. 

Currently San Cristóbal is under a deluge of water. That is the best way I can describe how much rain is coming down. My professor (the professors live at the university) ran down the stairs a short while ago to go swimming in the rain. I actually couldn’t be much happier about the rain because it cools everything off and I am extraordinarily sunburned from snorkeling yesterday. Of course, if the rain ever stops then the humidity will come back, but for now the rain is nice. For the most part of my first week living on the Galápagos Islands (I keep having to remind myself of where I am… it is still very surreal) was hot and sunny. There is roughly 12 hours of sunlight here, which is much to my liking. I think I am still getting used to life here compared to life in Cumbayá although it is much easier to transition to island life than it is to transition to semi-dangerous city life.

In Cumbayá (which I will also write about one of these days when I come back to reality) I lived with Cecilia and her grandson Mateo came to visit on the weekends. Here on the islands I live with my host parents and their 2 daughters and 2 sons. My host-dad’s name is Luis, my host mom is Flora, one of the daughters is Flora and the other is Inseña, and the sons are Fernando and Andreas. I am not entirely sure if Andreas is actually my host brother or if he is a friend that is here for a couple of weeks. It is currently summer vacation here on the islands so there are a lot of people coming and going between the mainland and we’re some of the only students who are in session. My host-family has had 4 students before me, one of whom liked to make bread and biscuits and one of whom came back drunk one night very late and may have had to be escorted by the police. Of course, this is what I can pick up from having Spanish spouted at me and trying to understand what is going on. 

Living on an island with 7,000 people is a very strange experience. I feel that by May I will know who everyone is, where everyone lives, and what everyone’s lives are like. We seriously run into the same people night after night. Part of these occurrences is probably that the GAIAS group is a large group of gringos who tend to travel in a herd together. A note on the word gringo: in the United States I guess it can be a derogative term about people. However, here in Ecuador a gringo/a is simply someone who is not Ecuadorian. It is used mainly for Europeans and North Americans. Therefore, I am a gringa. Living in such a small community could become a bit annoying after awhile, but about 6 weeks into living here we take several excursions over 2 weeks and then we are back for around another 4 weeks. 

Everything about coming here and being here is interesting. The flight alone was a new experience because we flew from Quito to Guayaquil, which is a city on the coast of Ecuador. We stayed on the plane because we were in transit passengers and we used the same plane but loaded more people on board. Most of the people that joined our flight from Guayaquil to San Cristóbal were either with the Smithsonian or with National Geographic. Flying into the island was amazing because we were able to see the beaches and the beauty that we are now living amongst. Luckily we are here during the rainy season so that it is greener. I also do not like staying places when there are droughts. The only way to get relief from overly dry weather is water of some sort and despite the islands being surrounded by salt water from the Pacific, there is very little freshwater on the islands. In fact, most of the islands lack freshwater altogether. 

 

Our first day we were able to meet our “primos.” We’re participating in a program with locals who are taking English classes so that we can learn some Spanish and they can learn some English. I actually still have yet to meet my primo (his name is Daniel), but I may end up tagging along with one of my friend’s primas and her prima’s husband. We were also able to check out the beach that is literally right across the street from my university building. The beach is called Playa Mann and it has a little shack that sells snacks, empanadas, and drinks. There are a good handful of sea lions that call this beach home, including baby sea lions. They are sometimes loud and scary, but most of the time they are sleeping or playing in the water. In the afternoon our host families picked us up. I live about 10 minutes walking distance away from the university. 

 

Monday, our first full day on the island, the GAIAS group was taken to the historical/cultural center that is again about 10 minutes away from the university in walking distance. By following paths along this center we were able to go to a cove and a beach for swimming. At the beach we saw a fish climbing up a rock and our guide, a local student, was playing with a sea lion in the water. They are very curious creatures. Aside from writing my paper and actually starting class on Thursday, I’ve pretty much been swimming and snorkeling and enjoying island life. I really enjoy snorkeling and cannot believe that I had never bothered to try it before. I am also hoping to get my SCUBA license while I am here. 

 

Saturday was an amazing although vaguely painful day. The pain came later when I discovered just how sunburned I am, but the excursion was well worth it. Our professors set up a wonderful adventure that included going to Leon Dormido (also known as Kicker Rock), Islote Lobos, and Puerto Grande. I think we stopped first at Islote Lobos where I saw my first sea turtle and stingray, there were marine iguanas, pelicans, other birds and curious sea lions. Swimming with sea lions is kind of scary because they do bite but the ones around us were simply curious and swam around us. On the way there I also saw my first blue-footed booby! (The origin of the name “booby” comes from the Spanish term “bobo,” which means stupid. They are kind of silly looking birds.) At Leon Dormido we saw a lot of really cool fish, more sea turtles, and many of the group saw some sharks but I did not see any. Sadly, I do not have a way of getting pictures from my disposable cameras onto my computer. Perhaps I will find a way and be able to share those pictures, but if not I will be sure to post some of them once I back in the states. The water here was a darker blue because it was deeper, but it was also very clear. Leon Dormido is what is left of an old volcano. Here there were more blue-footed boobies as well as Nazca boobies. Puerto Grande is not a port. It is a section of the national park in which boats with permission can land and you can swim in the waters. On this section of the island there are mangroves, pelicans, lizards, ghost crabs, which really look like ghosts that hover on the ground, and some brave fish that kept coming up to us in the water.

Today, on this lazy Sunday afternoon, my fellow students and I are hanging out at the university where there is semi-reliable access to the internet. I certainly should be working on presentation, which will happen on Tuesday, but it is very hard to actually care about doing work when you are living on a tropical island. I really hope that sometime in the future I am able to come back here. UNC has a program with GAIAS, probably for something that has to do with marine ecology. They are building a large research center behind the building where my university is now. Also, URI has a program that allows graduate students to go to Bermuda to do research. I still have no clue what I want to do with my life, but I know I do want to be around the ocean and working towards the future in some way.
 

I hope all is well at home with everyone and that there might be less snow than the last time I heard from some of you. Please hold out for the spring that I’m sure will be wonderful after such a horrid winter! Enjoy this beautiful sunset that I saw on one of my first days here at Playa Mann!