The
hot, sticky air welcomed us when we landed in Quito, Ecuador. It was midnight
when we landed and yet we would be going to sleep for only about four hours. We
had to catch a flight at 7:00 am that same day. The person we met from Ecology
Project International in Quito, Ecuador, would not be our tour guide for the
Galapagos Island trip. The tour guides for the Galapagos Island trip, Andrés and Andrea, I would be meeting when I
landed in the Galapagos.
When we took off from Ecuador, the sun began to shine. I
opened the airplane window shade and saw tall mountains with snowy caps. I
turned to my friend and said, “Look you can see the snow caps on the
mountains.” At that, everyone looked out their window and saw the snowy caps.
As we continued to fly and got closer to the
Galapagos Islands, we looked down and were all in shock. When we saw the
different islands that make up the Galapagos Islands, we could not believe that
we would be in the Galapagos for two weeks. I could not believe it. This was a
dream come true.
When we landed in the small airport on Baltra, we walked
to the baggage pickup to grab our luggage before meeting the people from Ecology
Project International, EPI. When we got on the bus, it brought us to a small
dock where we got on a boat and traveled across to Santa Cruz, the main island.
When we got to the other side, another bus picked us up, and drove us to a
reserve where we would be staying for a few days to do our research on the
tortoises. The reserve had no hot water, but that was not a problem because the
weather was hot and humid. At this reserve we got to see the Galapagos Giant Tortoises
and learn about the Galapagos Islands.
For our first encounter with the giant tortoises, we took
a hike around and visited a greenhouse on the reserve. We saw at least four
tortoises. When a classmate got close to a tortoise, it began making strange
noises. It was hissing at us. We learned that the hissing was actually the
tortoise breathing. Tortoises have so much space in the shell, that the hiss
was the extra air being released.
The next few days while at the reserve, we took field
trips around the island. On one of the trips we had to cut down blackberry
bushes that were becoming invasive to the Galapagos plants in the forest. We
all wore gloves for this and had sheers to cut the bush, but the thorns from
the bush still found a way to give us scratches. By the end of our work, all of
us had a few cuts on our arms and legs. After this, we walked to the “Twin
Craters,” “Los Gemelos.” Here we
walked around and did an activity. We were all separated on the path, had to
close our eyes and listen to what was around us. We then had to draw or write
what we heard and what was around us.
On another field trip, we took a bus back to where we had
arrived by boat. There, we got on a boat to go snorkeling around the island of
Santa Cruz. When the boat made its way to the stopping point, we were handed
wet suits to put on. Once we had our equipment, we got into a smaller boat and
picked partners who we would stay with and swim with. As we got into the water,
I felt the cold rush up inside of me. I most likely stayed in the water for
about twenty to thirty minutes until I could no longer take the cold water.
When I got out, the boat driver told me the next time we go snorkeling I could
use his wet suit. It was longer than ours; it had longer pant sleeves and
longer sleeves. Unlike ours, ours were short pant sleeves and shorter short
sleeves. When I got out, I missed seeing a Galapagos Shark, (Black Tip Shark),
but I knew I would most likely be seeing them in other places when we went
snorkeling.
After this little dive, we visited South Plaza where all
the sea lions are, as well as sally light foot crabs, and land iguanas. What
made this visit funny; all of us were taking pictures of the sea lions. It is
ironic that we could just go to a zoo or Pier 39 and take pictures of the sea
lions, but no, we were taking pictures of these sea lions. What is also ironic is
that these sea lions had traveled from San Francisco, California. Not all had
made it, but these were the one who had made it and survived the sharks. Toward
the shoreline it was mostly baby sea lions as well as some mothers, but as we
got to the top of the island, all the rejected males laid there.
After
this excursion, we returned back to the reserve. We got into groups and had to
draw a tortoise. In my group the only good artist was me, so a someone in my
group said, “Vanessa, you take art? You should draw the tortoise.”
I
replied, “Well okay. It may not be great, but I will do my best.”
“Well
it would be better then my drawing,” said someone else in our group.
Once we finished drawing our tortoise, we had
to draw the different islands without looking at a map. Once again the people
in our group looked at me. Without hesitating I took the reins. I lead our
group and drew the different islands. Once we had our islands drawn, we
presented and talked about the Galapagos Islands and how these magnificent creatures
came to the islands.
The next day we researched the tortoises. We learned that
each island has a tortoise and they have differences from one another. The
research consisted of flipping over the turtle and measuring the shell from the
bottom, then weighing the tortoise, injecting a chip into the tortoises, and
then flipping the tortoise back over, (same way), and finally putting a mark on
the tortoise so that other researches would know that this tortoise has been
marked. If the tortoises do not get flipped back the same way, their insides
become twisted and will die. On our journey, we all came across a very heavy
tortoise. The tortoise weighed over five hundred kilos and everyone, including
the tour guide, thought we would not be able to flip the tortoise. Guess what!
We did. It took all of us to flip the tortoise on its back. Once we finished
taking the measurements, we all flipped the tortoise back over the same way it
was flipped.
After
this excitement, we walked back to the reserve to get ready to move into the
main city in Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora. In this town we stayed at a hotel, (with
hot water), and it was near the square. This would be the place where we would
be meeting students from a local high school, and they would show us their
recycling plant, as well as a solar power plant that the government is working
on with other nations.
From Puerto Ayora we took boats to visit Floreana,
Santiago, and Isla Bartolome. In Puerto Ayora, I found out Sea Shepherd had a
base. I was very excited and when I saw the sign, “Sea Shepherd Office.” I took
a picture with it. A few months after I left the Galapagos Islands, Sea
Shepherd came out with a documentary about the Galapagos Islands.
Visiting
the Galapagos Islands was a dream come true. I am the first in my family
getting to travel to a place where we have heard so much about and where
animals are being protected. Seeing the different culture, and being involved
in it changed the way I think and how I see things. I have become more aware of
the environment and everyday I try to make a difference. Whether it is telling
people what is happening, emailing my teachers and family with important news,
or even sharing things on my social media pages. If we do not work together
toward a better world, then there is no point living on this planet. If we
cannot preserve the animals and plants around us then life is not worth living.
