2019 Middle School Galapagos Islands Conservation Expedition

Snorkeling

After a very restful night sleep at Campo Duro we woke up and had a delicious eggs, fruits, and patacones (fried pressed plantains) breakfast. We enjoyed the camp grounds for a bit more running around and playing tag before leaving for our day at sea.

First we went to the Puerto Villamil beach where we swam in the bright turquoise ocean water for a while. We then played in the sand for a while, making a wrestling circle and having a fun competition. After some beach fun we headed to the port to catch our small boats towards our big snorkeling adventure. We got divided in three groups and headed out about 45 min into sea. On the way we spotted sea lions and penguins on rocks and also big 10 foot long mantarays.

Snorkeling was incredible! We saw white tip and black tip sharks, roaming around and in a cave. We also swam next to turtles and sealions, and we saw seahorses, eels, octopus, and lots of different fish. Pretty amazing stuff! We were all quite impressed with how natural it all was and how all the animals were so relaxed being next to us, not scared at all with our presence. We also got to snorkel through some tunnels and caves.

Lunch was served on the boats and once we were finished we stepped out of the boats and were able to walk around. We saw blue footed boobies up close. They are the cutest! Back on the island we had our last island dinner and closed off the night with a group circle at the beach. Everyone had very insightful comments about their days in Galápagos and the overall feeling of the group was one of gratitude and of taking home green and eco friendly practices that will hopefully be contagious to those around us. We are now guardians of the Galápagos!

There was quite the noise and music going on for a mayors election coming up. We were all so tired we didn’t really mind. And with a full moon and starlit sky we said goodnight.

The Middle School Galápagos Program

Isla de Isabela

This morning we walked to the pier after a fantastic buffet breakfast. We saw some sea lions resting on a boat as well as some iguanas as we waited to board our speed boat towards the Island of Isabela. It was a two hour boat ride, that wasn’t the most pleasant for everyone. But attitude is everything in life and as soon as we were back on solid ground we were good. The island of Isabela is the largest island of the Galapagos. Immediately as we arrived we encountered many iguanas and sea lions. There was even an iguana on the road and a bus driver was honking at it to move.

We then visited the tortoise breeding center of the southern part of the island. They had tortoises of all ages, even some under 5 years old. After the breeding center, we walked along the beach. The sand and the ocean looked incredible. We were surprised to find rocks full of marine iguanas on them and minding their own business. It was really cool to see them not care when we walked right passed them. We took some great photos and videos with them.

We continued walking along the beach and headed to lunch. The restaurant was very nice and the food was excellent. We had breaded shrimp and pasta. After lunch, we took a bus to Campo Duro, our camp for the night. It was super nice, it had a lot of different things like hammocks, tents, outdoor showers, and plenty of space for us to run, play tag and hide and seek.
After dropping off our stuff we headed out for our afternoon adventure: hiking to the crater of the Sierra Negra volcano. This is rated one of the biggest craters in the world. No words can describe the vastness and magnitude of this crater. The pictures don’t do it justice. It was the coolest!

Back at Campo Duro for dinner we had a delicious home made meal (roasted chicken, rice, salad, lentils) made in an oven built with volcanic rocks and in the shape of a tortoise. Off to bed in the glistening moonlight of an almost full moon and starlit skies.

The Middle School Galápagos Program

Service and Exploration

Today we woke up in our tents surrounded by green and immersed in the woods at Cerro Mesa. We started our day with a yoga circle, the stretches helped us wake up and gain some energy. We then had an amazing breakfast: toast, eggs, cheese and ham…it was delicious!

Once we were ready, we started walking towards the location of our reforestation service project. The whole initiative is set on the grounds of an upscale hotel, where we planted around 40 endemic plants. Our biggest challenge while planting the trees was avoiding the ants. Although we did get bitten by a few ants while we were digging the holes for the seedlings to be planted in. It was momentarily painful, yet we overcame and managed to plant all the “escalecia” plants and do our part for the reforestation project on the island of Santa Cruz.

We then got back on the bus, with our trusty driver Polo, who took us to Garrapatero beach. The first glimpse of the beach was mesmerizing. Beautiful white sand and bright turquoise waters. We were able to enjoy the waters as we kayaked for a long time! Some even spotted mantarays on the kayak ride. We also saw our first Galápagos marine iguana swimming in the ocean! After the kayak we built a wonderful sand castle and enjoyed the beach for a bit more time.

In the afternoon we drove to the island center where we checked into our hotel for the night…air conditioning was praised!
After relaxing a bit we hit Charles Darwin avenue for some shopping. We then went to a beautiful restaurant where we had fresh tuna and grouper for dinner. After a delicious brownie or blackberry mouse dessert we walked back to the hotel and called it a day.

More adventures to come!

The Middle School Galápagos Program

Our first days on the Islands

*This blog is brought to you by our students and their vision of their days on the Islands.

Monday March 18

Today we woke up in Quito from a very much needed night of sleep. After our orientation session and getting to know each other a little better, we went back to airport to board our plane towards the Galápagos Islands. We arrived to the island of Balta (where the airport is located), and fun fact where the US Army took post after the Pearl Harbor attack in order to protect the Eastern Pacific and the Panamá Canal. Today we took almost every form of transportation: plane, bus/car, and even a boat to cross over the Itabaca Channel towards the island of Santa Cruz. It was beautiful!

Once in Santa Cruz, we went directly to a Giant Tortoise Reserve, where we would find Porter giant tortoises, better known by all as “Galápagos”. We soon found out that back in the day these Galápagos were reduced by 90% because of whalers. Whalers took hundreds of thousands of these tortoises on their boats for their own substance. Due to the fact that Galápagos could go months without food or water.

We also learned other cool facts about these giant creatures. You can distinguish between the male and the female because the male is larger with a bigger tail, while the female is smaller with a small tail. Also, the smoother the shell the older the Galápagos is. In the reserve we also got to go through lava tunnels, which are part of the geomorphical decline of the island.

Once we got back from our exciting tortoise viewing, we took our bus to the Cerro Mesa camp. We had an amazing fish dinner (steamed local red tuna). Once we finished, we all sat around the campfire before going to bed in our tents (with quite the noise complaints of course).

Stay tuned to more adventures to come,
The Middle School Galápagos Program

Ps. We’ve been completely off the grid, with no cellular phone coverage or wifi until this blog reaches you. And while it’s been nice for us to be disconnected, we know you’re all looking forward to seeing more abuot our adventures. We’ll do our best to continue sending as soon as possible!