G' Day

Volcano Pichincha West of Quito

Hello. I'm heading home today and I'm excited for a lot of things but I feel as if I will miss just as much about Ecuador. For instance the number one thin I will miss are the people, especially the men on the coast that pull their shirts up over their huge bellies in order to cool down. one thing I won't miss is the feeling of insecurity. Being here has let me stand back and see that the police officers in the United States do an amazing job compared to the "police" in Ecuador. Here you can often see police wandering the streets hissing at women and sometimes drinking. where as in the US our police officers are well trained and maintain a respectable presence. I still haven't lost sight of the many downfalls of our police force but i have a new appreciation for their presence.

This past two weeks has been really nice with molly, we weren't together the entire time because she had classes but we went on a few trips to the highlands, markets, and the coast. Those times when I was left on my own while she was in class I was able to meet up and have coffee with an Australian friend from my program who is traveling South America.

Our last trip was to the Ecuador coast to a town called Atacames. here molly's friends host mother had a house on the beach where we hung out for the weekend.

It will be nice to see friends and family once again after five months abroad. I pretty sure I will be heaing to Southern Mexico on a research trip with one of my professors in August so keep an eye out for the possibility of another blog session.
Peace

Empty Space

USFQ GAIAS from Playaman

So my Galapagos journey has come to an end and I now reside in Quito. I'm sitting on the floor of Hotel Walther feeling quite empty due to the fact the people I have come to know so well over the past 4 months are missing from my life. I did not foresee this aspect of my journey but it was relatively difficult to bid farewell. Most people are headed back to the states but a few of us are traveling South America and I actually will have a chance to meet up with them once again within the next two weeks.

so refering to my original plan back on my first post, I am begining the final part of my journey. I will be living here in Quito Ecuador for the next two weeks where I will be spending time with Molly and doing heaps of hiking/walking. overall right now i feel pretty terrible about everyone leaving but it will pass in time as all things do.

Isla Santa Crúz y Otra lugares

Bartolome Beach

So for our “spring break” we were sent to Santa Crúz Island for four days and then a boat cruise for an additional four days. While in Santa Crúz we spent the mornings going on small day trips around the Island. Our first one was up into the highlands where we visited the Giant Tortoises and hiked through the lava tunnels. The lava tunnels were Amazing due to the fact that it gets a lot cooler once you travel underground. Another day trip we went on was to Tortuga Bay, a long Beach with powder sand and mangroves. Here we played frisbee and snorkled with sharks amungst the mangroves. During our afternoons we would visit the Charles Darwin Station where we sat in on lectures concerning the marine biodiversity of the Galapagos Islands. Often in the afternoons we would have even more time available to spend so one day we went to a place called Las Grietas where they have a 15 meter cliff to jump off into a pool of water. The colors were Amazing in this place, especially the blue-green water and the red stone cliffs.

Our Boat tour started in Santa Crúz and traveled to a few surrounding islands which included Rhabida, Bartolome, China hat, and North Seymore. Rhabida was a nice red sanded Beach area with a small hike where we saw a few Galapagos Hawks. Bartolome had a hike to the top of a hill where we were able to view the surrounding parasitic volcanoes and one of the famous Galapagos vistas. China Hat island had an interesting shape which helped relate it to its name. Here the marine life was great to observe, we caught some views of penguins and I was finally able to observe a swimming marine iguana. Following him, I watched as he clung to the rocks underwater and feasted on the Algae bed. North Seymore was one of my favorite islands visited because of the Galapagos avifauna. There were Blue-Footed Boobies, Frigate Birds, Swallow-Tailed Gulls, and some small Doves that had Blue eyes and red feet. The coolest part was that we Landed on the island around 6am so we beat the crowds and were able to view most of the courtship rituals and mating calls. When I say “beat the crowds” I’m refering to the Copious amounts of tourist groups that travel these tourist hotspot areas. It wasn’t until this trip that I witnessed the extent tourisim in the Galapagos. As I mentioned in a previous update, tourism is one of the main economic means for island inhabitants, and since Ecuador is a rather poor country, control and management of the park is a bit shady. The night son the boat were great becuase we were able to take lounge chairs to the top and watch the stars. Our tour guide, who was a fountain of information, surprised us with her complete knowledge of the night sky. She had a GPS star pointer which would tell you the names of constelations, she also had a $70 green laser to point at the stars. Very fun.

Last night was the final political rally before Ecuadorian elections so there were several large rallies throughout the town. At one of the rallies my host father organized a way for my house mate Patrick to play a short acoustic set on stage. The whole town was out that night so there were hundreds of folks there. He played a song in english with a girl from our program and everyone seemed to like it. All of the GAIAS students were ther in full support. Its been really fun becoming a temporary part of this island community.

China Hat Island

A Visitor

Beach In Puerto Villamil

This Past week I had Molly visit me during her spring break. She is currently studying abroad on mainland Ecuador in Quito. She arrived in San Cristobal on the 29th of March and left yesterday. During her stay in the Galapagos I attempted to show her the sights, which struck me as the most amazing; this included a trip to Isabela and Santa Cruz islands to see penguins, flamingos, giant tortoises, marine iguanas, and sea lions. We were able to swim with the sea lions on multiple occasions which is always fun because the younger ones are so playful. Although Molly did get a bit sick from a combination of the altitude change and the water, we managed to have an amazing time together. It was nice to share this experience with someone I know from back home.

A Good Place With Many Things To Offer

Lava Fields of San Cristobal Island

Today was the first field trip with our Marine Biology class. Our professor organized a day trip where we would travel by boat to a series of places along San Cristobal, which were being considered for eco-tourism development. During this trip several national park officials and scientists accompanied us. This project was developed by the people of San Cristobal as a means to distribute visitors throughout the island opposed to confining them to only a few spots. This increase in visitor sites is also appetizing to the locals a way to boost the local economy which is completely based upon tourism and fishing. San Cristobal is the oldest island in the whole archipelago and is one of the least developed. Since being here there has been construction on the main boardwalk of the town to make it prettier to attract more tourist. The most developed island, Santa Cruz, is one of the central islands and the first one to get an airport. With these attributes and many natural attractions, Santa Cruz is one of the more favored of the tourist islands, I think because it attempts to give a more home like feel for the tourists. On the other hand people visit San Cristobal and gain a small town feel and always prefer it as one of their favorite for that reason. So my stance on this whole San Cristobal development is that they shouldn’t work to replicate the feel of Santa Cruz but they should try and preserve the small Ecuadorian town sense, this way they can diversify the Galapagos experience and attract a wider variety of visitors. Well now that I’ve written this little blurb I might as well use it in my report for class.

Our field trip started out with a visit to a nice little site where there were extensive tide pools. These tide pools could possible be used as a basic hands on intertidal marine biology class (for tourists). We walked around the beach for a bit and found that the beach was host to a sea turtle nesting area, which would need to be set as a restricted area for tourists. As a class we went for a snorkeling and identified fish for a class assignment then moved on to the next site. The second area was a coastal mangrove area, which also involved a walk on a volcanic lava field, which was about 200 years old. It was amazing to walk on the lava flows and see the wrinkles in the stone. There were also a few colonizing cactus on the lava flow which were fun to photograph. The mangrove area was interesting and was used as a supplement to our lecture on coastal ecosystems. We wrapped the day up with some more snorkeling in the area then a long sleepy boat ride back to town. I will be posting new pictures to Flickr tonight. Enjoy life.

La Luna

The full moon is up and the tides are at their extremes. This is the second lunar cycle that I have experienced here on the islands and its quite beautiful. I'm hoping to get a few people out tonight for a walk in the moon light and maybe a swim, depending on the tide. It can sometimes be frustrating when trying to stir motivation in people who would rather be video chatting all day. I have come to the realization that they are losing sight of what we have under our toes. Enjoy the moon and enjoy the changing seasons for me.

Que Bueno

Northern Coast of San Cristobal, Punta Pitt

Hola amigos,

The past few weeks have been awful busy for me here on the islands. Consisting mostly of school work and classes. I finished my Introduced and Invasive Plant class about two weeks ago and am already finished with the lecture portion of my Evolution class. Within that two-week time frame we tried celebrating Carnaval, went on a snorkeling trip, and tried my skills at surfing.

So after our plant class we were told that we would be having a four-day break, which included the weekend and Carnaval, which was Monday and Tuesday. Come Friday night everyone in the Evolution class received an email from our professor, which told us that we would be starting classes on Monday and that our classes would be for two hours twice daily. Double session classes for Carnaval….party! Regardless we had a great weekend; we went to a beautiful new beach with lots of marine iguanas to hang out with. Carnaval days were not fun, nor were the following class days. The best part of our Evolution class was the fact that our professor was one of the co-founders of the GAIAS program and so he was very knowledgeable. He was also able to organize an amazing Saturday field trip for the whole program.

Our field trip started out with a boat ride to Kicker Rock, one of the best diving spots in the world, known for the schools of hammerhead sharks. At this spot we were able to go snorkeling to look for some amazing water life. The sad part was that the visibility was terrible and we saw hardly anything. As soon as I had jumped into the water looked down and saw a 4 ft Galapagos shark about 1.5 meters below me, after that I saw algae and plankton. After kicker rock the boat took us to Punta Pitt, which is known for the presence of all three Boobie Species (Blue-footed, Nazca, and Red-footed). The coolest part was that Punta Pitt at the time was actually closed to the public but our professor was able to pull some educational strings to get us access. We preformed a wet landing and then went for a short hike around the area after the hike we went snorkeling at a nearby island called Isla Pitt. The visibility at this location was tenfold better and we were able to see plenty of fish and sea lions. From this location we proceeded to isla lobos where we were able to swim with lots of sea lions.

This past Saturday we went back to Puerto Chino beach and borrowed a surfboard from a friend. The waves we pretty small and we weren’t able to stand up on the board but it was fun to cruise around. We spent the whole day on the beach which involve the setting up of my hammock and a long siesta. After our mid day nap we tried some more surfing the played some Frisbee. 5:30 was the time we told the taxi to come and pick us up at so we went back to the road and waited an additional 45 minutes for our taxi to arrive. We wanted to pay him a little less (10 from 15) but he complained, saying his truck broke down and that he didn’t need to come back and fetch us. We paid him full, not because we believed him but because it is such a small town and we would probably be seeing him again.

I have one week to write an research article on storm petrels of the Galapagos islands and then I will be finished with my evolution class. Until then I suppose I should be quite busy. Love you all.

The Night Sky

Lately I have been gazing at the stars more than I have in the past. After many nights of just staring I decided to learn more constellations, so far I now know Orion, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, and I'm working on Leo who only comes out later in the night when the stars are dimmer. its a very exciting hobby and I can now teach others about what I have found. Right now nothing can beat silence and a clear night.

Island Exploration

El Junco, Fresh Water Crater Lake of San Cristobal

Class is going well, with a total of three weeks time for class the workload can be a bit overwhelming. But the worst part about taking classes on an island is that sometimes it is hard to find the desire to do anything. This Thursday was the start of the Galapagos parties, which is a time where the community pulls together and has a great time together celebrating the birth of Charles Darwin with music and dancing. They start the week of festivities with an island clean up project where everyone goes out to the beaches and streets and cleans up all the litter that has accumulated. As a class we participated in this process and cleaned the beaches all Thursday morning.

Later Thursday afternoon our native and introduced plants class departed on an overnight trip to the island highlands and surrounding areas. One of our destinations on the first day was the only freshwater lake in the Galapagos island chain. This lake maintains its water level through the dry season by collecting condensation and mist water from the passing clouds. The views from the top of the island were amazing. Here we were able to see how big the island actually was, it was pretty large.

We stayed the night near the coast at a small campground where they fed us dinner and gave us a campfire. At the campfire we shared ghost stories and island tales. A few of us have experienced the island pirate ghosts, I have yet to have any encounter with a ghost but I’m sure it will happen seeing as how there are so many here on the island. After the fire we decided to go into the field and soak up the stars where we were able to see a lot more than we regularly could back in town.

After an uncomfortable sleep in our tents we went for a walk down to the Galapaguera and then the beach for lunch and swimming. The Galapaguera is where they protect and breed tortoises, they were large and old. While we were at the refuge it was feeding time so all the tortoises were eating their lunch. After the refuge we hiked our way down to the beach Puerto Chino where the sun was shinning and the sand was powdery and white. The water was very refreshing and the waves were perfect for body surfing. We stayed at the beach for two hours and ate lunch.

After our island exploration we returned to town where the Galapagos parties were in full swing with a music festival on the pier. We danced around for the night and woke up the next day for the next concert on the beach just outside the university doors. The parties will be continuing until Wednesday I believe the Carnival starts on Monday. This is our last week for this session of classes and after carnival we star our next class, which I believe is evolution. Now I must try and reject the beach for a few hours and get some work done. Love

Puerto Chino Beach, San Cristobal

Off and Away

I am burnt. Sun burnt that is. I am finally on the Galapagos Islands and I am loving it. Before I get into anything about the islands, I should wrap up my last days in Quito.

As soon as I returned from Riobamba I immediately tried to contact Molly and was able to be with her for the remainder of my time in Quito. For our Tropical Ecology Exam we all agreed to do a field practical where we would go out on a hike and attempt to describe and explain particular ecological processes. My topic of interest was highland vegitation and the adaptations utilized to withstand the various biotic and abiotic conditions. The hike itself was about 6 kilometers and started at the very to of a mountain, from the top we hiked down. By doing this we were able to observe the changing landscape with respect to the altitudinal gradient of vegetative zones. The temperature was rather cold and the air was moist with fog and clouds. During the hike we were able to see plenty of amazing plants along with some white tail deer. Overall it was a great experience with plenty of wonderful views, in addition to its beauty it was the best final exam I have taken.

So we left Quito early on Sunday morning and arrived on San Cristobal Island around noon. As soon as we arrived at the university campus we were set free to play in the ocean. The campus is across the street from the beach and is extremely accessible. I went swimming in the Pacific Ocean for the first time and the water was great. After a short swim, our host families came to pick us up. My family is extremely nice and provided me with a wonderful room to stay in. The house is set up like a motel where the only door I walk into is my bedroom. The house is located close to campus with some amazing views of the bay; I have no complaints so far. I have gone on a few hikes and have done some snorkeling; on each of these trips I have gotten some great photos of the wild life. We started our classes of Monday and our first module is Introduced and Native Plant Species of the Galapagos Islands. So far this class is great and our professor is very knowledgeable. I will post some more photos of the exam hike and the islands so far. Love you all.

Páramo

After a good rest I am ready to continue the chronicle of my journey.

We left on Sunday morning on a journey to the volcano Cotopaxi. This volcano is huge with a total height of about 19,000 ft; during our hike we were able to get to the outpost (15,000 ft) located at the base of the glacier. Our hike started in a huge highland valley with a leisurely walk, the effects of thin air didn’t really bother me at this time. After the short walk our bus driver came to pick us up and we continued to the upper parking area. It was here that we began our ascent of the volcano. It was only a total of 300 meters elevation gain to the outpost but the lack of oxygen made it that much harder. It was a pretty incredible feeling, not being able to hike at my normal pace. While hiking a group of us came to find that when you pass gas at high altitudes, the scent is dispersed much faster than you would think.

The midway outpost was nice; there were no views as we were stuck in a hail storm cloud. While at the outpost I was able to catch my breath and have a quick power nap. The descent of the mountain was the best part by far. The soil that we were hiking on had the consistency of sand so if you frolic your way down the mountain it feels almost as if you are skiing. I was able to do this most of the way down until I almost planted my face on the ground. After the hike we went to get a huge lunch, which proved to be extremely overfilling. After the lunch everyone on the bus was feeling well below his or her game and so we were a bit late to our next destination.
That night we arrived late to an indigenous community where we were to spend the night. They had a very nice establishment with plenty of beds, nice people, and great food. The night was very cold so we decided to pile into one room so we could harness the power of body heat. This strategy proved to be all too effective because our room became a sauna. That night I did not get much sleep for many reasons: the heat, the loud snoring, lack of space, and the fact that I was having a hard time regulating my breath while sleeping.

The next morning we bid farewell to our hosts and embarked on another hike through the Páramo of the highlands. This hike was beautiful with rolling grasslands and a unique feel. The prize at the end of the hike was this wonderful forest located on the side of the mountain. This forest was special because it was one of the last remaining ecosystems of its type, this was due to the demand for lumber and fire wood. That afternoon we traveled to the city of Riobamba where we were given a tour of the area, and a chance to visit the local university. That night we all agreed to help with the local English students by facilitating a conversation session which was set up like a speed date service. We asked questions, answered questions, and helped them with their vocabulary.

That night we stayed in a hotel with heat and hot water, which was a wonderful thing. On this entire trip I have only been able to take cold showers, with the exception of a single luke warm shower. At the Riobamba hotel I was able to take a steamy hot shower, which was most refreshing. The next morning we packed our things, had a short class period then headed back to Quito. We leave for the Galapagos Islands this Sunday so my time on the mainland is dwindling. My professor told me that there is a large amount of trekking In the Riobamba area so I have decided to return to Riobamba after the program so that I can experience more of the mountains. As of right now I have met the photo limit of my Flickr account so I wont be able to post my photos until the 1st of Febuary.

Rain Forest Exposure

I close my eyes, the noise grows and continues to please the mind. there are songs of all forms, both beautiful and soothing. My mind begins to wander, then it settles into the flow and comes to rest. I wake and open my eyes to see only darkness. my senses are dancing and I am in the rain forest.

The past week and a half have been extremely busy for all of us here at the GAIAS program. Last Monday we traveled to a research station on the Tiputini River, which is completely immersed in tropical rain forest. We returned to Quito on Friday and we were given a days rest so that we could wash some laundry. Early Sunday we left for three days of travel around the Volcano alley south of Quito. Now I suppose I will go in depth about the trip details.

Tiputini Biodiversity Station
Leaving early Monday morning we were in for a full day of travel deep into the Amazon. Our itinerary consisted of a 30 min plane ride to Coca, 2 hour boat ride, 2 hour bus ride, then a final 2 hour boat ride to the station. On top of all that we were forced to wait in the town of Coca for an additional 2 hours. While we were waiting in Coca we decided to have a few beers and play cards. Eventually we were visited by a small group of about five spider monkeys that decided to cause a ruckus by throwing cards and tipping our beers over onto the table. We were able to distract them with some fruit and continue our game. The 2 hour boat ride after Coca was both long and painful as many of us had a few recreational beverages and were forced to hold our bladders.

We made it to the station at dusk and proceeded to consume a delicious prepared dinner. The rain forest during the night is probably the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. After dinner a group of us went down by the river and just listened to the forest symphony, completely content with silence. I was able to do this all four nights that we were at the station. One of the nights we heard what seemed to be a jaguar, which consisted of a loud noise then a series of low growls. I was fascinated with this experience but the other person I was with was very frightened and so we left. On site they had a designated hammock area with a roof and several hammocks I spent a good amount of the nights dozing of listening to the frogs, crickets, monkeys, and other assorted critters.

One of the purposes of this trip was to conduct an experiment for our tropical ecology class, which involved a study of dung beetles. We were looking at species abundance with relation to disturbed areas. In order to count the beetles we set up a series of traps with poo bait, sadly I was chosen to be the dung distributor on the first day. On most days we would go on long walks through the forest with the local guides who were able to point out insects on the underside of leaves, they had such a close relationship with the forest. We hike to a few canopy towers, which took us above the canopy for a better look at tree epiphytes and great views. Several times while in the treetops we were able to see large groups of wooly monkeys, which are fun to watch as they jump tree to tree.

On the second day, after collecting dung beetle data we hopped into a boat and traveled a few kilometers up stream. With life vests on we all jumped into the river for a long float back to the station. The cool part about this experience is that you get to see and hear the forest without the roar of a boat engine. During this float we saw a lot of birds and some of us were fortunate enough to spot a family of giant river otters before they ran into the woods. One of the biggest problems with this float was the fact that there is a type of parasite which will swim into your urethra if you pee in the water, this caused a lot of pain for some because as soon as they jumped into the river they had to pee really bad. We floated for about 2 hours so by the time we got back to the station these people were about to explode with urine.

The last night we spent in Tiputini the guides took us out on a night hike where we were able to see snakes, spiders, frogs, and all kinds of insects. Friday morning we had an early start once again. On Saturday I was able to find a cheap place to get my laundry done. Saturday night I took a cab to the airport in order to welcome Molly to Quito, I wasn’t sure which flight she was on but I had a rough guess of the arrival time. When I got there she was with her new host family and I surprised her with a big hug. It was so good to see her even if it was for a short time. Sunday morning we set out for the Cotopaxi Volcano. I’m tired of typing so I will talk about that trip some time soon. I will post the photos soon.

Quito Impression

I have been getting more and more comfortable in this city, I feel as though I can work with the chaotic flow of Quito life. When I first arrived I was completely out of my element and didn't really know how to handle it all. Now that I have had several days to observe the people and get a deeper feel for the city, I feel settled in. Next week we will be traveling to the Tiputini Research Station located in the amazon river basin. I am most excited about this trip.

Class on Ilalo

Yesterday for class our teacher took us on a hike up one of the local mountains. It was amazing to have an entire class period outside, applying the concepts learned in previous classes. The mountain was called Ilalo and consisted of volcaninc ash bed soils. Our professor taught us about all the exotic and invasive plant species and how They have adapted so well to the Andean highlands. For example there is an invasive grass that was able to take hold when the side of this mountain was cleared for development. Now that the development has halted the invasive early successive species are moving in and occupying vast amounts of soil and covering entire forrest beds. The hike itself consisted mostly of bushwacking as there are not many organized hiking trails, this gave me a taste of what it will be like when I decide to do some trekking on my own time. During this hike I was able to talk with my professor about photography and our shared love for the mountains, we talked alot about Newengland geography and hiking. Overall a great morning for a hike, as soon as we returned to campus we all proceeded to have a team naptime next to the pond. I will attempt to upload the photos soon.

Los Baños

Hello All, These past days have been quite wholesome here in Ecuador. First off, we started classes this past Wednesday. I thought it would be hard to get back into the academic mood but I actually found it to be easy. My professor grew up in Ecuador and is very knowledgeable about the tropics, as he is teaching us Tropical Ecology. So far our classes are filled with in depth discussions and lectures, this Tuesday we will be going on a hike up a local mountain, which can be seen, from our beautiful campus (see photos if posted).
This past weekend a bunch of us from the program decided to take a little vacation and travel to Baños, Ecuador, which is a small tourist town located at the foot of an active volcano. We left early Saturday morning by taking a taxi to the bus terminal. The bus ride was about 3.5 hours but I was able to speak with some of the Ecuadorian locals about how beautiful their country was. We arrived in Baños during the early afternoon and found a hostel at the center of town. Walking down the main street we were spoken to by many tour operators until we found a reasonably priced one, and so we decided to go white water rafting while there was still light. The guides were very high energy and the rapids were huge. After rafting at about 9pm we hitched a ride to the top of one of the mountains for a view of the glowing volcano. Once we arrived at the viewpoint we were engulfed by a thick cloud, where vision was very minimal. Defeated by nature we decided to head down the mountain and fall asleep after the long active day.
The next morning we all decided to wake up before sunrise and visit the hot spring baths for a relaxing view. The baths were located at the foot of a large waterfall where small showers were set up for a taste of both extreme temperatures. The spring was very hot and the waterfall was very cold, both we very refreshing. Once again we were defeated by nature when the clouds blocked any possible sunrise view. After a short nap we all piled onto the bus and headed back to Quito. I would very much like to return to Baños so that I can try out rope jumping and to enjoy the various hikes around the area.
I hope to get some more photos posted soon but the internet is once again quite problematic.

Inro to Quito

I have been here for three days now and I am still in awe as to how beautiful the landscape is. The flowers are in full bloom and the city is full of many forms of art. there are about 27 of us currently staying in a hotel, which is located two blocks from a huge central park where there are gardens fields to walk and play in. Today we commuted to the USFQ campus in Cumbya for our first orientation session, it was a long ride but there is a shuttle bus every day for us to get us to class. I will try to upload my photos but the transfer rate here at the hotel is rather low so any uploading or downloading takes significantly longer.