GALAPAGOS – Preserving Nature’s Wonders A – August 4

8/4/2017

Suzannah Crandall

They made it! After a late dinner and quick intros, everyone headed to bed for some much-needed sleep after traveling.

This morning we went through orientation for the program and will be headed out on a city tour later. We have smiles all around and are looking forward to two weeks with this group.

8/5/2017
Suzannah Crandall

What a great first day in Ecuador! After initial program orientation in the morning, we all headed to “old town” Quito to explore and learn about Ecuadorian culture. Highlights included a visit to the Panecillo/Virgin of Quito statue, a tour of the golden church (La Compañía de Jesus), a quick stop at a pop-up wind instrument concert and visits to some local, traditional craft stores. We finished at a chocolate producer and learned about the chocolate making process and tasted some of their fine product.

After a delicious dinner, we did an activity introducing how we can all act as leaders in our everyday actions.

With heavy eyes, we all headed to bed early in expectation of tomorrows journey to the Galápagos Islands.

8/6/2017

It began at 3 a.m. As we stumbled down the stairs, rushed through breakfast, and hurried onto the bus, everyone was beyond tired but excited far beyond belief! Today was the day our adventure began: we were on our way to the Galápagos! We arrived at the airport – customs was a breeze, the U.S. should really take notes – we got to the plane with no problems and wait in anticipation for take off… We kept waiting…. and waiting… and waiting. Some official looking people got on and talked to the pilot, then we had to disembark. A couple hours passed then we were back on our way, excitement unaffected by the delay.

Once on the islands we hopped on a bus and took a boat from island to island, finally arriving at Isla Isabela. Most everyone slept.

The islands have beauty beyond belief, and not in the way one would expect. Where jungle was expected desert was delivered, and the towns had a simple elegance of a beautiful balance between humans and nature. Our guides are extraordinary and the food was amazing! We all are looking to the adventures we will have in the days to come.

Isabel Cohen

Joseph Schmitz

8/7/2017

Alex Fortin and Meadow Beckett-Cook

Today was our first service day and experience of a Galápagos ecosystem. We walked to wasp infested mangroves to a shallow beach where we saw blue footed boobies, penguins, marine iguanas, pelicans, and sea lions. We then walked back to town and stopped for home made ice cream. After that, we returned to the hostel and got ready for our first day on the service project. We pulled invasive species of plants while working amongst the giant tortoises. After a few hours of work, we ended the day by playing a soccer match in a nearby field.

8/8/2017

Jeffrey Sullivan, Emily Evangelakos

Today we snorkeled and saw white tip sharks, reef sharks, sea turtles, and swam with sea lions. Afterward, we walked back to the hostal and got ready for service. Once we got to the site we were able to finally finish the project and enjoyed passion fruit afterward. Finally, we headed back feeling accomplished and content to dinner.

8/9/2017

Edward Evangelakos

Amelia McCarthy

In the morning we went to the Tortoise Sanctuary which was really cool. We saw two kinds of tortoises, which were from two different volcanoes on the island. We saw ones that were a lot older as well as the little baby ones (including a 3-month-old tortoise; it was smaller than my hand!). After that, we walked back into town and we all spent our time wandering a little bit or back at the hotel. In the afternoon, we hiked a volcano. It was incredible to see the huge crater. The first half of the hike was a little up hill and then flat along a dirt road. We stopped at a few view points and at the third, we took a thirty-minute span of time to just chill and look at our surroundings. The second half we spent hiking back to our starting point. We hiked up, and then right back down. The downhill was probably the most difficult part of the hike, mostly because it was slippery mud and it was misting out. Overall, the hike took around three hours and it was nice and not overly difficult. For the rest of the night, we just hung out at the hotel, listening to music and playing cards or reading. The day was very pleasant and to add to it, we’re getting our laundry done, which is pretty exciting and necessary at this point.

8/10/2017

Danielle Johnson & Carsun Hall

We woke up at 7:30 to a wonderful breakfast made just for us!

After a 30 minute drive, we arrived at a Esperanza, which is a school in the mountains of Isabela Island.

We repainted the walls and had a blast doing it! Then we played soccer and basketball with some of the adorable children at the school. The children were super sweet and we loved hanging with them!

We then came back to Home Base to a scrumptious meal, and after we were finally finished we left for the beach. Our task was to create a fictional animal and how we would preserve and protect that animal. Finally, this activity was followed by free time in the town and a group activity.

The day ended with another wonderful dinner and an amazing group activity!

8/11/2017

RJ Schreck and Nick Fostera,

Today, we woke up very early and caught a boat to Floreana Island. We arrived at 9:30 and hiked a little bit to an ocean Lookout. We then snorkeled for about an hour, seeing both giant sea turtles and sting rays. Finally, we had lunch and took a 3-hour boat ride to San Cristóbal where we explored the town before we took a bus up to the home base and prepared for the first night in San Cristóbal.

8/12/2017

Grace Coxworth

Eitan Goodman

We had an amazing day! We started out first with service where we had to cut blackberry bushes with machetes, plant new trees, and clean up the area. Tactfully, some people wielded the long blades, careful not to cut themselves, while others planted small trees in an attempt to restore the endemic wildlife. After a grueling day of hard work, we traveled down to the beach to finally relax. Then we concluded our day out by taking a stroll into town. There, we devoured the wonderful native foods and purchased souvenirs for our loved ones. In all, it was a wonderful day, and we can’t wait to have much more.

8/13/2017

We woke up bright and early at 7 and ate a nutritious breakfast to prepare for some serious service. Our service for the day was clearing out non native plants and planting new ones. We (the leaders of the day) started a game of infection for our break.

After service, we ate a delicious lunch and prepared for snorkeling. While snorkeling we saw a bunch of cool sea life like sea turtles and sea lions. We also survived the sea lion trying to eat us. We got some town time and ate a TON of empanadas because they opened up just for us.

After a fun filled day we headed back to base and played cards. For dinner we had rice, omelets and veggies with delicious fresh juice. Our after dinner activity was an informative video followed by a discussion. We were all super tired so went straight to bed after a long day.

-Beth and Elias

8/14/2017

Today we finished our service work for the trip, we work at home base in the tree nursery, we helped plant baby trees and potted bags of dirt. We then went to a beach, a few of us went snorkeling and saw some sea turtles, while most of us played games on the beach.

We then had our last town time. After town time we had a massive feast at home base, and we then played trivia and had s’mores, which was a great way to end off the trip.

-Val and Hannah

8/15/2017

We have some new photos to share with you all!

8/16/2017

As the sun sets on this once in a life time adventure, tears and memories come flooding out like the ocean tide on a Galapagos beach. On this trip every single child’s life has been transformed for the better. We conserved habitats, hiked up monumental mountains and swam in encapsulating lagoons. We made intimate connections with the wildlife and were exposed to the wonders of the natural world.

The group bonded into one impenetrable kaleidoscope. Everybody brought their unique perspective and we melded into an inseparable stew of personalities. We laughed together, we cried together, we had conversations that transcended intellectual and philosophical forces. The culture here spread to our souls like a wildfire traversing through the cold yet beautiful spectacle of the wilderness.

The food was decadent and mouthwatering. All of us became overjoyed at the thought of having a meal together. Around the table was the place where we shared our experiences and became more than just teens on a trip. We became a community, a tightly knitted quilt of friendship. On our last day in Quito we visited the equator, which is the line that separates the northern and southern hemispheres. We were entranced by the sights of ancient native artifacts and delighted by stories about a culture that lived long before us.

Later that day, we went to the market and shopped. We explored the market which was a colorful explosion of authentic items hand crafted by the local artisans. Everybody bought souvenirs and gifts so the experience of this trip will live on into the future journeys of our life. We then did some final games and activities, all wearing the colorful fabrics and clothing we purchased from the aforementioned visit to the market.

Our last dinner together was bittersweet. Teats gently drooped down our faces as we realized that our farewell was soon to come yet we found solace in an emotional discussion of the time we had and the comical moments that made us laugh because they were humorous. Everybody said there goodbyes or how they say in Ecuador, “ADIOS”. We were sullen that this transcendental journey was over but ready for the adventures to come in our individual lives, no matter what they may be. The lessons learned on this trip will stick with us like sap fresh from a Galapagos tree.

-William Stern, William Spencer and many others

8/17/2017

The final few students are on their way to the airport, most of the group is arriving to the USA and their families momentarily and, finally, it is time to close up the summer in the Galápagos.

Session 4 and all its wonderful, hard working, thoughtful and entertaining students was the perfect way to cap off an extraordinary experience in the islands.

Thank you to every student that made this session so memorable and thank you to all the families, friends and loved ones that made this trip possible.

From the entire Galápagos team, thanks for an awesome session!

-Suzannah

GALAPAGOS – Preserving Nature’s Wonders A – August 4 – August 17, 2017

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