Saturday, January 8
Saying today was a hectic day would be an understatement. We woke up at 6, ate breakfast, and got on a plane to Guayaquil. Then we took another flight to San Cristobal. When we got off the plan there, we were blown away. The sight was amazing. We were finally on the Galapagos Islands! The weather was sunny, breezy and warm. We met someone at the gate, Sarah, to bring us to the hotel. She came to lunch with us. We ate at this local restaurant, where we will be eating for the remainder of our trip. It’s great how the locals all support each other here. Okay, before I talk about the school, let me describe the island. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. There is a town with only mom-and-pop shops. There are literally no chains. You can walk anywhere, and all of the locals know each other. Along the entire coast is a boardwalk, overlooking the water. Without doubt, there are sea lions on the coast too. They go everywhere. Usually, they are lounging around on the rocks, but sometimes they go as far as one of the playgrounds, and lounge there. If you walk a little bit (barely 5 minutes), you are at the beach. More sea lions! The way they move is hilarious. They will run up as if they are going to attack you, then just flop down and go to sleep. They are absolutely adorable (there are so many babies), but make the most unpleasant noise. It seems the cuter the animal, the worse the sound. But the weirdest thing is that they are everywhere. It’s really indescribable. After lunch we went to the USFQ School here. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. We have to walk over beaches and boardwalks… really a burden. The school is amazing. It is like a resort. It is a salmon-y color, right in tune with the other brightly colored buildings of the town. The best part is that it is literally on the beach. We had a 10-minute break during class where we got to run outside and jump in the water. It was amazing. But that was today, back to yesterday. We had an orientation at USFQ, and Sarah told us everything we would be, and could be doing. Surfing, Salsa-ing, and Kayaking were all included. I cannot be more excited. We finally met Carlos, our professor, who was so nice. He took us on a walking tour to the reserve museum, and then the top of this amazing mountain, we there was a lookout tower. Along the way, he stopped to inform us about all of the different wildlife and animals we were passing. He knows so much about everything! He grew up on the Galapagos, and truly understands just how much it changed. He lent us his binoculars to see the birds at the lookout tower. They were really beautiful. They sat on a perch overlooking the water. I wanted to stay longer to catch the sunset, but Carlos kept moving. Instead, we moved to this unbelievable beach. Like the rest of the Galapagos, it was covered in sea lions. There, we got to watch the sunset. I can’t even being to describe it. Everything about that moment was perfect. Words couldn’t even start to do it justice.
Next, we went back to the hotel, where Sarah met us to take us to dinner. We insisted that Carlos came, too. Dinner was good, and I got to sit next to Carlos. It was really interesting hearing about his life and his perspective of tourism in the Galapagos. I am looking forward to having him as a professor.
After dinner, Justyna and Evelyn and I walked around the pier for a little bit. We came back to the hotel, unwound, and a few of us went to a café to hang out and talk for a little bit. Even at night there were sea lions scattered around the boardwalk.
Nightlife is really interesting here. The locals are always active, notably the teenagers who were skateboarding down the street. Today at the beach, we made jokes with some of the children there that barely spoke English. We all barked at the sea lions together. Okay, so after the café, I hit the sheets and was out cold. This morning, I woke up refreshed and got out a little early to read on the beach in front off the school. We ate breakfast at USFQ, and had our first class. The first hour was just an orientation, and then we got a 10-minute break (beach time!). We were assigned topics for our research paper, and then we learned about the climate. After lunch, we went back to the beach. Elias and Kristina and I sculpted Darwin in the sand. It was actually not bad. We went to lunch, and now I’m at the hotel. Class starts in a little bit, but Megan and I plan on cleaning up the trail. The trash was disconcerting. Oh, and John just got back from the hospital. The hospitals here are bad news, they thought be might have H1N1, but I can’t imagine he does. Either way, he’s resting now. He’s taking it like a trooper. I know he doesn’t feel as well as he is pretending.
