Day 4: Galápagos We began the day with another buffet breakfast and after we departed Puerto Ayora for Isabella Island. To get to the island, we took a 2 & 1/2 hour speedboat ride. The moment we stepped off of the boat, we saw many sea lions and marine iguanas laying about the island. We took a short bus ride to check into our next hotel, the Cally Hotel. Once we were finished, we took the same bus ride to the beach where we prepared for our next activities: kayaking and snorkeling.
Some sea lions lounging on the beach
From our kayaks, we jumped into the ocean and began to snorkel. Right away we saw marine iguanas swimming and we spotted two white tipped reef sharks hiding in a small underwater cave. We were surrounded by beautiful marine life. We saw another shark and some of us even saw a sting ray, unfortunately, I did not. In one area of the ocean, we had to pass through a very shallow area of rock and coral. While I was swimming through, I scrapped my leg amongst a rock. It was very difficult as we were all anxious to continue exploring and trying to pass at once. As we continued our activity, most of the group began to depart towards the kayaks. Greg and Tait spotted a sea turtle from their kayak and a small group of us remained to witness this beautiful creature in its natural habitat. Thankfully I had my underwater camera and I was able to get the sea turtle on video! The small group then began to swim back to the kayaks where we once again joined the rest of the group. On our kayak trip back, we saw two Galapagos penguins lounging on land. Both of these activities were amazing experiences!
The giant sea turtle that I caught on video while snorkeling
A Galápagos penguin that swam up to Greg and Tait’s kayak
We then returned to our hotel and got ready for lunch. I ordered a very delicious meal, garlic shrimp, white rice and it even came french fries (love me some potatoes)! Once lunch was finished, we took a bike ride to flamingo island. Unfortunately there were only two flamingos present but the “island” was very beautiful. We continued our bike ride to Arnaldo Tupiza-Chamaidan, a tortoise rehabilitation and breeding center. Here we learned about how pirates would capture the tortoises and bring them along on their long journeys across the ocean. Tortoises have the ability to go without food and water for up to a year, the pirates discovered this ability and captured the tortoises for food. We also learned about how the tortoises were affected by lava flows on the islands. Due to their slow nature, many of them do not survive the lava eruption. There was actually one survivor but unfortunately she lost one of her legs from being caught in the lava flow. Thankfully she was found in time and the workers were able to stop the bleeding and save her life. She will remain at the Arnaldo Tupiza-Chamaidan for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, these events had taken a toll on the tortoise population and they were on the brink of extinction. Without the center, the population of tortoises would not have bounced back as quickly. Once the tortoises have been rehabilitated and breeding has completed, they are quarantined from human interaction for several months and eventually released back into the wild.
A lava lizard and a baby giant Galápagos tortoise
Jessie, Haley and I at the beach
After our bike ride, we returned to the hotel for some downtime. A small group of us walked to the beach to watch the sunset before dinner. We all had a mini photo shoot while enjoying the absolutely beautiful view. Once the sunset departed, we returned to the hotel for dinner. To conclude our night, Jessie and I presented our presentation on The Galápagos Islands and Global Climate Change. I began my discussion with the formation of how the islands were created by volcanic eruptions and plate tech tonic movement. I discussed the arrival of species to the barren islands by traveling by sea and air. Jessie began her discussion with the definition of climate change and how it is affecting the world. I finishing my discussion with the impacts of global climate change on the Galápagos Islands and what Ecuadorians can do to combat it. Jessie finished her discussion with the ways the world can combat global climate change. We both concluded our presentation with a fun interactive game of jeopardy! We all returned to our rooms, prepared for the next day and went to bed.