Jen Goes to the Galapagos!

This cruise is amazing.  We got back last night, and hung out on the deck for a little while.  By the time we got to bed, I was exhausted and went straight to sleep.  We woke up today at 7, had an amazing breakfast, and left at 8.  We went to this unbelievable beach.  The sand was so fine it slipped through your fingers.  We hung out for about 2 hours.  We saw some hawks, and lots of sea lions.  It was really nice to hang out.  A bunch, if not all of us went swimming.  We got back on the dingy and went on the boat.  Of course, there was a snack waiting for us… and juice!  They are treating us too well.  Oh! The towels were folded for us in really fun designs.  They put eyes on our towels.  Mine was a dog, Kristina’s was a monster.  So. Cool.  Okay, so after our snack, we went back out to go snorkeling.  It was really nice. We didn’t see anything crazy, but its still an amazing thing to do.  I got to see a sea lion underwater- it was so graceful. Opposed to on ground where it is cute, but very awkward.  We saw some marine turtles, and lots and lots of fish.  I wish we learned more about marine animal behavior, but I can ask Carlos tomorrow at breakfast.  Lunch- like every meal- was amazing.  I napped for a little bit outside (most rejuvenating nap of my life) and soon it was time to go out again.  We went hiking.  Where do I begin.  As soon as we stepped onto the island there were sea lions, iguanas, and crabs, with frigate birds, hawks, and boobies flying above.  There were animals everywhere.  We had two personal tour guides to explain their behavior to us, so we were never bored.  The female lava lizards heads turn red when they are mating, and the marine iguanas also turn some beautiful colors.  We learned about how they displayed aggression., and how they sneezed to expel salt.  We saw a day-old sea lion with the umbilical cord still attached.  It was adorable.  We went to this cliff where I could have stayed for hours.  The rocks formed a sort of pool, and watching water flow in and out was so soothing.  We had to keep walking, though.  We went to another cliff.  Below us, the rocks formed into sort of a crevasse, and when there was a wave, water shot out of it like at Yellowstone.  Except it happened every 10 seconds. It was beautiful.  My favorite part was watching all of the Nazca Boobies, and having Carlos being my personal tour guide to talk about them!  To do all of this research, then watch a colony of them behave the way I studied was amazing.  We saw mothers with their egg, or eggs, and even saw some Nazca-sex.  It was disappointing.  But Espanola as a whole was unbelievable.  Untouched.  Much more like what the Galapagos is expected to be like.  Justyna, Kristina and myself kind of lagged behind towards the end, but everyone else was rushing to leave.  Granted, it got hot, but you have to ignore that when experiencing something so amazing.  Eventually we left.  Snacks were waiting for us.  We watched the sunset and some people jumped off the boat (after quite some convincing).  I also gave a “worm tutorial”. Dinner was delicious.  I had to do my presentation after dinner.  It was perfect timing because we had just seen Nazcas in action.  Carlos had a lot to say.  We really don’t understand obligate siblicide in terms of evolution, but he helped shed light on some theories.  After the presentations, we went back on the deck and just chatted.  It was really nice.  Elias and I layed in lounge chairs and talked about anything and everything.  Now, I’m off to bed.  We are doing this thing with post cards tomorrow.  Apparently you bring one to mail, and talk one to hand deliver.  It’s a very cool idea.  Also, soccer!  Whoo hoo!