Many of us were appalled at the idea of spitting into our snorkel goggles to prevent fogging, but those thoughts evaporated once we entered the azure waters of Concha de Perla, our first diving spot of the day. We were immediately greeted by the expectedly : dashing damselfish, coral-eating parrotfish, colorful staghorn coral, and even a giant adult green sea turtle, snacking on algae! Until this point, we had not explored the Galapagos aquatic environment, so diving into this new world completed our understanding of les Islas Enchantas’ ecosystems.
The next diving spot, Los Tintoreras, began with a quick tour of the lava rock-mangrove location, where we were incredibly fortunate to spot, concurrently, in one frame, endangered Galapagos Penguins, Blue-footed Boobies, a pelican, a marine iguana, another turtle, and an eagle ray. Many of these species were unafraid of our presence, which allowed us to be of close proximity, due to the respect maintained between humans and animals through the protected land and enforced distance between animals. Following that unprecedented moment, our national park tour guides brought us to a marine iguana nesting site. We saw female individuals actively creating nests alongside two sea lions lounging lazily on benches. It was good to see how effective the boundaries were in protecting the iguanas during one of their most vulnerable periods.
Immediately after, we jumped into the water yet again, though this time separated into two groups. One of our main objectives was to contribute to a monitoring app developed and run by our two ECOS guides, Mika and Yasu. They are monitoring population trends through citizen science in order to determine how to further protect marine species around the archipelago. Keeping our eyes out, both groups combined, we saw eight turtles, six rays, countless new species of fish and invertebrates, and also a Tiger Eel. Unfortunately no sharks today, but we have full confidence in seeing one tomorrow.
Ending our day at the beach, we reflected on our short, two-day journey on Isabela. We created a poem using specific memorable moments from the past week, and personally, I felt like it accurately represented our amazing trip. Watching the sunset, we enjoyed our last night here by jumping in the ocean, playing on slack lines with locals, and practicing hand stands on the shore. As the bugs came out we shared our last meal at Isabela and prepped ourselves for the early morning (6 am) boat ride tomorrow morning.
Prior to this trip, our only engagement of the Galapagos came in the form of videos and literature. Everything rested in our ability to imagine something so distant from our school and homes. However, there’s a saying in Chinese: A journey of ten-thousand miles is worth more than the reading of ten-thousand scrolls. And frankly, what we encountered on Isabela has taught us more than any textbook ever will.
Hasta luego Isabela.
