The Galapagos Diaries

So, I wrote a reflection/diary for each day in the Galapagos, its in the next several entries. I posted it anti-chronologically so that it would be easier to understand. Pictures will come at some point!

Sunday, Jan 30

Our first day in the Galapagos! Even after being here for so little time I can already tell that it is a unique place that seems to have more in common with both Haiti and Yellowstone National Park than most of Ecuador that I have seen.

The flights here were very normal, they had those fancy individual TV screens and I watched 2/3 of "Easy A" which was hilarious, like Mean Girls but with more social commentary. We got there within five hours; it was all very well organized. We re-united with the bio kids at a restaurant where they complained vigorously about the food. We would soon find out why. After lunch, we went on a very long walk that they told us would be a short walk. We walked on long stone paths, raised and made of volcanic rock. First we walked to a nature-center sort of place and then continued to several viewpoints around San Cristobal. The plant life and ground there is so different from Quito. It reminds me of Texas, actually. Jamie and I had this long discussion about how it looked like Port Aransas or something, Latino people walking to the beach in wife beaters with the same type of vegetation.

We climbed endless steps to a beautiful view over a cove and then to a giant paper maché statue of Charles Darwin. We descended to Playa Mann, a small beach that faces the front of the USFQ campus. The school looks like how people imagine college in California, a single stucco building. Cross the road and there's a beautiful beach. So we went snorkeling there and I began my snorkeling-meditation-cognitive-behavioral-therapy routine that I would develop over the next several days. I'll describe that later. We saw lots of beautiful blue fish, the occasional shadow of a sea lion, algae and anemones waving in the breeze of the waves. It was fun to swim and play around with your friends. Also, it was comforting and a good place to go for our first time snorkeling because it got deep very fast so you could see lots of life but still be very near the shore.

We had to get out after about an hour. I had a really hard time coming in because I sort of got stuck on some rocks. It didn't hurt or anything but I had to scramble and while I was doing that everyone started yelling and pointing at me. I had a sea lion like two feet behind me and I got so scared. Abstractly, and in the future, I have and would consider sea lions interesting and un scary. In the water, different story. I just stuck my head underwater and kicked really hard until I got to shore.

After that experience, I breathed deeply for a while and then we went to another snorkel spot, a cove we had seen from our walk. It was very different water, much deeper and clearer. I started to do little underwater dives that were fun if very salty. I could swim right by whole schools of fish, get close looks at the floor and generally have a much more three dimensional experience. It reminded me of that moment in The Sword in the Stone where Merlin and Arthur are fish and Merlin says, "You are now living in a world that exists between the ceiling and the floor."

Highlight of the day: Seeing a puffer fish!

Galapagos Jan 31

I woke up very early that day to help Jacob with his project which is counting sea lions on a particular beach. Only problem: Jacob kept sleeping, leaving me sitting on the steps waiting for him. It was fine, though, because I had a nice conversation with the owner of the hotel about things you need to do to own a tourist operation successfully.

Once the day officially started, we did a lot of touring and seeing sights. We went to the highlands to a crater lake called Lago Junco. It was very misty and foggy and we could barely see anything until all of a sudden the fog cleared and there was this giant round hole that looked like something out of middle earth. Actually, most things in the Galapagos look like things from fantasy novels, expect many references in the coming entries.

After that, we went to a turtle breeding station. Turtles are so slow and cute when they walk! Their bodies are just not designed for fast movement. We learned about the different verities of turtle on each island and how they developed.

We took a long, hot hike through desert like craggy trees to this gorgeous beach. It looked like some sort of Caribbean fantasy, flour sand, clear sky, turquoise waves. We ate horrible, huge quantities of fried rice that was what was for lunch every day. Now I understand the bio kids complaints. We swam and played and lay in the sun in that beautiful locale. And then walked the hot walk back. Some unmentioned friends did not want to put on their shoes and tried to run 3k back on volcanic rock barefoot. There was a lot of screaming.

On the way back, we passed a hill with wind turbines. It’s a good idea because there is a lot of wind there. Back in town, we had hours to kill. Stew, Iggy, Jamie and I hung around for a while eating ice cream and looking at the sea lions. It's sort of ridiculous how the sea lions act there. There is this playground by the beach and they just lie around on the benches and in patches of shade. They barely notice if you get close, until you get too close and then they snap and bark at you. Beyond the playground there's a beach where endless sea lions lie and cuddle like bums. There is a constant low-level of movement, adjusting and twitching and snuggling closer. It’s adorable and alien.

We found Natalie and she bought us milkshakes and we talked about if English is better than Spanish. No conclusion was reached. We ate dinner, walked around the sleepy beach town, sat on the roof of our hotel and talked about the stars and space and constellations. We also had a discussion about breast milk which would become a prominent theme in the coming days.

Highlight: sea lion viewing, beach appreciation.

Galapagos Feb 1

Tuesday was boat day and lordy am I glad that I do not get seasick. We woke up really early, at 4 am, then realized there was a time difference and slept till 5. We went to the boat port and waited an hour and a half. I took a sea lion-esque nap. Our boat ride took 2.5 hours and I was on the boat for "people that do not get seasick" and people got seasick. Eventually, we found some land and looked at boobies and friggit birds. We learned how they evolved co-dependently and how neither is evolved to deal with predators.

We went snorkeling in open water which was originally scary but I got over it fast. It was just so beautiful! You can see how the island shelf/volcanic material just drops into the deep ocean below. Fish flutter in schools and divide endlessly around you, around rocks, around currents. Some people got to play with sea lions but I never saw any, I was really enjoying the fish and the geology. We swam a long way; it’s so easy with fins and beautiful things to keep your eyes busy.

We got back on the boat and went to the island of Floreana which has an insane story that was told by our guide Jeff in an insane way. It involves a baroness, polyamory, living in caves, and death by chicken soup.

Back on the boat, a long ride, too many games of 20 questions including one about Mr. Peanut that almost caused a fistfight. We arrived in Isabela and got into our hotel. Our guide, Jeff, works at/ owns? the hotel with his wife Courtney. She is gringa and met Jeff on vacation. He's from San Cristobal. Story goes, they fell in love, she came here to teach English and see where it went, and now they have a two year old and a tourist business. It's pretty amazing. They are both very fun and successful people and they must really love each other. They both have interesting life stories and seem to be really happy here.

So their hotel served us this enormous meal, huge pieces of chicken and tuna, endless rice. We took heavenly showers in brackish water (all the water on the islands is brackish, you have to buy sweetwater) and went to sleep.

Highlights: Seeing a beautiful sea star, ridiculous story, beautiful friggit birds

Galapagos Feb 2

Wednesday was the Big Hiking Day. We took buses to the Volcan Chico walk. It was probably 10 k on muddy horse trails, not bad at all. Walking, we had these long discussions about our religious beliefs and how we were raised. Interesting. An hour or so in, we stopped to look at this enormous volcanic hotspot/crater/I don't know that much about volcanoes. It was a huge hole at least 20 k across with sulfur deposits on one end and it was just huge and brought out the agoraphobe in me.

Another thing that was going on during the walk was one of our coordinators was constantly pumping breast milk. She has a 6-month-old baby that she left at home but she was producing milk and was storing it in bottles because she had a psychological attachment to it. This lead to a long question-and-answer session about breastfeeding while we had a snack.

After that health class lesson, we started our descent to the lava fields. This is where I understand when people say the Galapagos looks like Mars. There was so little life, only tiny plants and just endless lumps of lava. You felt in danger there, remember the heat that had rolled down those planes so long ago and so recently, depending on whose eyes you use. It was so hot and sunny and reflective there. I could see coming here, being a pirate, and feeling as though this were hell. And to be stuck there, to not know trails or where the edge was, with no water would be hell. You would die. We climbed up this huge mountain of hard lava (imagine that forming! swirling and bubbling!) and saw the view: forest to one side, ocean to the front, grasslands to the west and hell all around

Alana, Sarvie and I decided to run on the way back. And by run, I mean jog for 20 minutes and then walk the rest of the way. It started raining very very hard midway back so we were very cold. Of course, we beat the rest of the group (but not the people who actually ran) so we sat in this pavilion and contemplated stealing this family's food. We went to this restaurant that would have been lovely had it not been raining because it was entirely unconnected grass huts. However, they gave us scalloped potatoes and hot sauce and fruit and it was good. We took vans home and took naps.

Highlight: is there life on mars?

Galapagos Feb 3

Thursday! It was still raining! We went to el Muro de Lagrimas (wall of tears) which was appropriate because god was crying. You know, rain. Originally, parts of the Galapagos were used as penal colonies and they made the prisoners build this giant wall of volcanic stones. It was a very impressive wall and even more impressionable because Jeff talked about how much suffering went into the wall. So many prisoners died there, they started with like 3000 and after a few years only 300 were left. Humans do really horrible things to each other. Organized government, especially when it's into punishment rarely ends well for individuals.

We walked a trail along the wall, looked at more of this bizarre thin vegetation. Walked some more along boardwalks saw stately pale flamingos. Their knees are backwards and their throats are flexible tubes. Its amazing they can stand and fly both- their bodies seem designed for neither. Our walk was then along the beach which was beautiful but we were all very sick of the rain and cranky.

In the afternoon we went snorkeling and sightseeing. We went to a place called Tintorearas which is several very small (the size of a house) islands very close to the water level. The whole place looks like it is made of lava dribble castles. We saw boobies and penguins and friggits and sea lions! They were all sitting next to each other and many pictures were taken.

After that we tried to go snorkeling and it was really scary. It might be time to explain the Dana Snorkel Stay Calm method now. Basically, snorkeling involves a lot of things that are scary: being in the water, not having totally free breathing, not being to see clearly, feeling alone, seeing creepy plants, waves, possibility of hitting something, possibility of getting lost, drowning, etc. Basically, I am a fraidy-cat about a lot of thing and snorkeling combines many of them. But I also like water and fish and animals and exploring and I certainly wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. So I tried to look at snorkeling like a meditative, spiritual activity. I worked to slow my breath, audible through the tube. I tried to relax my jaw and shoulders. I kicked evenly and reminded myself bodies float naturally. I let the wave add rhythm. Of course, I still hyperventilated every time I got too close to seaweed and when rocks got too near I almost gave up and sank. But I'm proud of what I did manage.

However, despite my excellent mental control, the snorkeling was pretty bad. The water was deep and cloudy and you couldn't see anything. We tried another spot and that was better but extremely cold and had Dana's enemies, rocks covered in algae, near the surface. I saw a giant ray, though, just chilling out under some sand.

We got out of the water and took a walk to mangroves, another natural environment that I am unreasonably scared of. There was a beautiful bay at the end, though, that reminded me of the dock in Requiem for a Dream. But not horrific and drug addicted. We walked back. There was only van, so half the group stayed behind and drank beer while we waited. Beer is horrible here.

Highlights: lava formations, cute animals! Not dying while snorkeling.

Galapagos Feb 4

This was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. We had a relaxed morning which entailed me taking a two-hour nap. Being on antibiotics really takes it out of you. At 10, we went to the subcentro de salud on the island. It was fascinating, both to see it with my own eyes and see other people's reactions.

It was very similar to Puembo, same paperwork, posters, and organization. It was larger, with a special OBGYN and pediatrician and a trauma room. I was very impressed and pleased to be there, but I think many other people were not. Many pre-med students I was in a group with were surprised by how small and bare the spaces were. Additionally, they were shocked by the trauma room. Alcohol, agua oxegenada (peroxide?) and other cleaning fluids were stored in Gatorade bottles and most of the equipment was very old.

I'm really of mixed opinions about this. On one hand, yes, healthcare all over the world should be equal. The ecography machine should be less than twenty years old, records should be computerized, alcohol should come in its own bottle. On the other hand, its impressive that an island 600 miles from shore is integrated into a national health care system, that this system gives free care and medications, that there is alcohol and a trauma room to use it in. Additionally, when you think about it, most emergency room visits can be treated with a few stitches, a bandage, antibiotics, an IV for rehydration and other simple procedures. Probably 75 or 80 percent of medical care can be considered "basic." And cases that aren't basic might be just as likely to die in an excellent hospital or a basic one. It’s a matter of perspective and where to put your money. And in most cases, Ecuador has put its money where its mouth is.

Ate lunch, got on the boat to Santa Cruz. On the way there, I overheard a really interesting conversation between an unnamed student and an unnamed teacher/coordinator/guy in charge. Student was pointing at something and accidentally poked Adult's exposed belly (we were all sitting around in bathing suits)

Adult: Hey man, don't touch me

Student: sorry, it was an accident.

A: No man, I notice you, I see you touching a lot of guys.

S: We are a close group of friends. We are comfortable with each other

A: Its pretty gay.

(Silence for a long while)

S: so, you've worked with kids from K before? So you know what Crystal Ball is?

A: No, what is that?

S: Its a dance, where the guys dress up like girls, and the girls like guys and everyone just sort of goofs off about gender. So you have to understand that homophobia doesn't really exist in our culture

A: I'm not part of your culture; so don't touch me any more.

Wow. How do you respond to that, to a person in power showing such...bigotry might be too strong, but its also appropriate? And what if the Student had been gay? What if he was unsure about his sexuality? I'm proud of my friend for defending his relationship with his friends, the culture of K, his own rights. And I feel uncomfortable that the Adult went automatically to judgment and anger in a situation that started off as relaxed. Of course, its part of Ecuadorian culture drilled in early that being gay is the worst possible thing that you could be. But this Adult is hired to make international students feel comfortable. We had been speaking in English and using USA standards of behavior all day, the whole trip. Of course, in lots of parts of the USA, in places all over the world that kind of behavior is OK, but on that boat between two islands, we all felt uncomfortable.

Ok, moving on. We got to Santa Cruz and it was beautiful, island paradise style. Oh! We saw this giant solar-powered boat in the harbor that is traveling around the world-teaching people about solar power. So that was cool. We went to our hotel and it was lovely and had a pool. Of course, the guys were acting as though they were all in a giant romantic relationship so as to put off our favorite Adult. Also, because they are friends and like to make human pyramids in pools.

Highlights: Public heath and fighting homophobia where you see it: both things I think about on a daily basis.

Galapagos Feb 5

Friday! In the morning, we went to the Charles Darwin Research station where we saw many giant tortoises. We learned about how the tortoises and the cactus-trees evolved. As the tortugas' necks grew, the cactus grew taller. That's a simplification of a millions of year’s process, but its simplicity and slowness is what makes it beautiful. We watched a tortuga eating leaves with its pokey jaw, strong tongue. They are pretty stupid, actually, they can't see very well and drop much of their food.

We also saw Lonesome George who is the last of his species on earth. Despite many attempts, including an attractive Swedish evolutionary biologist helping him out (the imperfect of the word is 'masturbaba,' which is endlessly funny), he just isn't into reproducing. Good thing tortugas live like 200 years and George is only 130 or so.

In the afternoon, we went to Tortuga Bay which is a bay that often has many turtles and fish. Unfortunately, it was raining and cold so there was barely any life in the bay. I saw a sea cucumber which looked, honestly, like poop. Also, many marine iguanas which have very defined claws, move hilariously, and leave a little trail in the sand where their tails drag.

In the evening, a bunch of us went out to a bar and did that bar thing. It was overwhelming for me, as usual. I wish I could just relax and enjoy dancing. Jamie and I left and walked around the pier and looked at pre-teen galapagüeño (isn't that a cool word?) kids harass a sea lion. I went to hang out in the boy's room, which was filled with bugs, attracted to the lights. I was so scared that my room would be empty of people and filled with bugs so I slept on their extra bed on top of the covers. No bugs ate me in my sleep.

Highlights: evolution is awesome, I was not eaten by bugs, dinner was really good.

Galapagos Feb 6

Our last day! We left early with our huge awkward bags on the top of the bus. We went to visit Los Gemelos (the twins) which are these ditch-crater things that are very deep and large and filled with trees and plants. We were almost late to our plane so we were running and flashing our passports and saying goodbye to Jeff and Courtney and then the plane didn't have those nifty TV screens so I read Midnight's Children. We were back in Quito nice and early so I had time to take my absolutely filthy clothes to my favorite Laundromat and eat pasta and take a nap. What a trip!