Greetings from San Cristobal Island, a part of the Galapagos Islands!! Another surreal journey has brought me to the Galapagos Islands and Darwin aside, this place is beautiful! Coral derived beaches, blue ocean for miles in every direction, and sun, sun sun! I just stepped out of the ocean after a great couple of hours snorkeling with sea turtles, parrotfish, damselfish, cornet fish and many other species!
I actually have been on San Cristobal since Sunday, but there is too much calling my name outside to spend time indoors and online. We flew in from Guayquil after camping for three nights near Puerto Lopez. While on the mainland we went to a couple of intertidal zones to look at tide pool life and to a fish market to in Puerto Lopez to see what was being caught. We saw some manta rays, which are endangered species, being cut up and sold. The market was interesting, a little vomit inducing, though not quite, and kind of beautiful to see the finesse and skill that fishermen have both in their art of catch and in the art of sale.
Anyway, life on the island here is hot! The Galapagos Islands are more or less deserts, though the cool Pacific waters would make you think otherwise. The black lava rocks are hot enough to fry an egg and their tide pools actually don't seem to have as much life as I was expecting. However the town here we are staying in is great, as is my new host family. I have a host sister who is 8 years old and another host sister who is actually a gringa that is here for the entire semester. My host mom is a teacher at the high school and my host dad is a jack of all trades.
We have been having class every day from 9 to 12 followed by afternoon field word. Monday and today we went snorkeling and Tuesday we scoured the intertidal zone and watched marine iguanas run around on the rocks. I don't think I have stopped sweating since I stepped off the plane, but I couldn't ask to be in a more beautiful place, so you won't hear me complaining!
Things in my life seem to be coming full circle again. Just this morning we were talking about Coral Reef death, something that rarely, if ever crosses the mind of Midwesterners who are geographically so far removed from the ocean. Well folks, sad to say our hard work up north is having devastating effects downstream. All that sediment that flows down the Mighty Mississippi is making its way into reefs and suffocating coral and favoring algal growth. Basically there's no way to escape life in the heartland, not that that is what I am trying to do, but it certainly gives me a new perspective.
Anyway, tomorrow we are off for an 8 day boat trip around to different islands. It will be a snorkel filled week and I can't wait!!
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