Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tsunami Alarm
You have probably all heard about the earthquake in Chile. Just a quick note to say all is well here. I was woken up at 5:30 this morning and told we needed to move to higher ground. The details were a bit vague but we all started heading up hill and eventually found out what had happened, and that the wave (if it was coming) was expected here between 8 and 9am. Luckily, because this is a volcanic island you can gain elevation without going very far. Apparently this hasn´t happened here before, but the town was really quite efficient at evacuating everyone quickly. In the end, we were not hit here. At 10am we were allowed back to Port, and it`s business as usual. Thoughts and prayers with those in Chile.
Friday, February 26, 2010
A cold shower is my favorite part of the day
The Galapagos in the tourist brochures is a paradise. The highlands, on the other hand, are less of a paradise. I have never been tree planting before, but from the stories I´ve heard I think life at the Jatun Sacha station is similar. Similar in that it´s uncomfortable all the time (hot, sticky, surrounded by bugs). Different in that instead of getting paid, we´re actually paying to be here (to be fair, I´m sure we don´t work nearly as hard as tree planters). I´m actually glad to be cutting mora (very invasive blackberry bushes), and planting trees...it´s like a tax for visiting, since increased tourism is putting a major strain on this unique ecosystem. It´s nice to be able to have somewhat of a positive impact on the island (and relieve a little bit of my guilt). I´m also glad I don´t have to do it longer than four weeks.
We have had an incredible amount of rain in the last week, which has caused a bit of damage, most notably:
1. So much water flowing down the river breaks the connections in the water pipes and cuts off our water supply.
2. Mudslides, downed trees, and major erosion makes the road to the station impassable (it´s not a good road to begin with). After a rain storm we go out and fix it (I use the term ´fix´ loosely, it would be more accurate to say ´we make it barely passable´) and then we get another hard rain during the night that washes out the road again. This morning we had to walk half an hour to meet the taxis.
Our station manager, Cesar, has never seen so much water in the eight years he has been here.
So, life at the station is an adventure - challenging and rewarding. But don´t get me wrong, the coastal region of the Galapagos is a paradise. Beautiful beaches...sea lions everywhere! I´ve also seen blue footed boobies, frigate birds, marine iguanas, lava lizards, and giant tortoises, but the best part is the snorkeling. Huge sea turtles, and loads of colourful tropical fish. Sting rays and sharks are also quite common but I have not seen them yet. A group of us are taking another extended weekend and travelling to Isabela (4 hours by boat). It´s the largest island, not very heavily populated, and seems to be most people´s favorite one to visit.
We have had an incredible amount of rain in the last week, which has caused a bit of damage, most notably:
1. So much water flowing down the river breaks the connections in the water pipes and cuts off our water supply.
2. Mudslides, downed trees, and major erosion makes the road to the station impassable (it´s not a good road to begin with). After a rain storm we go out and fix it (I use the term ´fix´ loosely, it would be more accurate to say ´we make it barely passable´) and then we get another hard rain during the night that washes out the road again. This morning we had to walk half an hour to meet the taxis.
Our station manager, Cesar, has never seen so much water in the eight years he has been here.
So, life at the station is an adventure - challenging and rewarding. But don´t get me wrong, the coastal region of the Galapagos is a paradise. Beautiful beaches...sea lions everywhere! I´ve also seen blue footed boobies, frigate birds, marine iguanas, lava lizards, and giant tortoises, but the best part is the snorkeling. Huge sea turtles, and loads of colourful tropical fish. Sting rays and sharks are also quite common but I have not seen them yet. A group of us are taking another extended weekend and travelling to Isabela (4 hours by boat). It´s the largest island, not very heavily populated, and seems to be most people´s favorite one to visit.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A few more from San Cristobal and Santa Cruz
Sea lions, pelicans, lava lizards, tortoises, marine iguanas...
Photos! Bear Tracking...
Our last camping trip at the base of Volcan Cotacachi.
We don´t see the bears, but we see lots of evidence of them. This is Armando (biologist) and Alberto examining scractches on the tree.
An Andean Bear! (at the zoo). Few bears + a large area of wilderness + a fear of people + a keen sense of smell means you´re very unlikely to see a bear in the wild.
Hike to Piñan
Alberto (project staff) with the radio, listening for bears
The Bear House
Friday, February 12, 2010
Life is always better on the beach
In my first 7 days on the Galapagos, I will do exactly half a day of work - can´t complain about that.
Day 1 (Wednesday) was orientation. I arrived at the station with 4 other new volunteers. There are a total of 19 volunteers at the station right now, representing at least 8 different countries. Some have been here just a few days and some 4 or 5 weeks. It´s a much bigger group than at the Bear House, and people arrive and leave at various times so it has a very different feel. There are 2 volunteer houses and a separate kitchen. The facilities are rustic, made from a combination of bamboo and concrete. We have running water and electricity (usually), plenty of hammocks, and a good supply of bananas, papaya, pineapple, coffee, and a few other fruits and vegetables growing at the project site. The bugs are as bad as they said, at least in terms of numbers - there are thousands and they swarm. But for me the bites don´t itch like Manitoba mosquitoes or black flies.
Day 2 (Thursday) we worked in the morning.
The work includes:
- general station maintenance (there are plans to build a clay oven to bake things like bread and pizza)
- maintenance in the nursery (so far that means cleaning out overgrown plant beds)
- bird observation (to be able to record which birds are hanging around and whether they´re using native or introduced vegetation)
- cutting down and burning banana tree leaves that are infected with a fungus (Cesar, our station manager, estimates that if the problem isn´t controlled, in 10-15 years there won´t be any more banana trees here)
We did not work in the afternoon in honor of the beginning of Carnaval - a giant festival the week before Lent. In the spirit of Carnaval we had a giant water/flour/mud fight. I don´t know why, but people celebrate by throwing water at each other.
Every Friday, instead of working we do a hike to learn about the island. Today was not so much a hike, but got taxis into Port and went to the interpretation centre, followed by the beach. There are a lot of interesting things I should report from the interp. centre but not everyone seemed as interested as I was, so I rushed through it to not keep everyone waiting. I will go back sometime when I can take my time. The beaches are fantastic. Beaches (like mountains) have a way of making all worries and negative thoughts disappear (not that I had a lot of those to begin with). The sea lions are everywhere, and are very playful swimming around you in the water.
Saturday and Sunday we normally have off, and this week we will get Monday and Tuesday off as well to celebrate Carnaval. Most volunteers stay in Port for the weekend - there are no bugs, it´s usually sunny, and there are lots of beaches to enjoy. Me and a few other volunteers are taking advantage of the long weekend and taking a ferry to Santa Cruz (another island) tomorrow, coming back Tuesday.
I´m sure the following 3 weeks will involve a lot of hard work, but for now I´m enjoying the free time - there´s lots to explore!
Day 1 (Wednesday) was orientation. I arrived at the station with 4 other new volunteers. There are a total of 19 volunteers at the station right now, representing at least 8 different countries. Some have been here just a few days and some 4 or 5 weeks. It´s a much bigger group than at the Bear House, and people arrive and leave at various times so it has a very different feel. There are 2 volunteer houses and a separate kitchen. The facilities are rustic, made from a combination of bamboo and concrete. We have running water and electricity (usually), plenty of hammocks, and a good supply of bananas, papaya, pineapple, coffee, and a few other fruits and vegetables growing at the project site. The bugs are as bad as they said, at least in terms of numbers - there are thousands and they swarm. But for me the bites don´t itch like Manitoba mosquitoes or black flies.
Day 2 (Thursday) we worked in the morning.
The work includes:
- general station maintenance (there are plans to build a clay oven to bake things like bread and pizza)
- maintenance in the nursery (so far that means cleaning out overgrown plant beds)
- bird observation (to be able to record which birds are hanging around and whether they´re using native or introduced vegetation)
- cutting down and burning banana tree leaves that are infected with a fungus (Cesar, our station manager, estimates that if the problem isn´t controlled, in 10-15 years there won´t be any more banana trees here)
We did not work in the afternoon in honor of the beginning of Carnaval - a giant festival the week before Lent. In the spirit of Carnaval we had a giant water/flour/mud fight. I don´t know why, but people celebrate by throwing water at each other.
Every Friday, instead of working we do a hike to learn about the island. Today was not so much a hike, but got taxis into Port and went to the interpretation centre, followed by the beach. There are a lot of interesting things I should report from the interp. centre but not everyone seemed as interested as I was, so I rushed through it to not keep everyone waiting. I will go back sometime when I can take my time. The beaches are fantastic. Beaches (like mountains) have a way of making all worries and negative thoughts disappear (not that I had a lot of those to begin with). The sea lions are everywhere, and are very playful swimming around you in the water.
Saturday and Sunday we normally have off, and this week we will get Monday and Tuesday off as well to celebrate Carnaval. Most volunteers stay in Port for the weekend - there are no bugs, it´s usually sunny, and there are lots of beaches to enjoy. Me and a few other volunteers are taking advantage of the long weekend and taking a ferry to Santa Cruz (another island) tomorrow, coming back Tuesday.
I´m sure the following 3 weeks will involve a lot of hard work, but for now I´m enjoying the free time - there´s lots to explore!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
To The Galapagos!
I´ve been in Quito on my own for 5 days, and while it´s been nice to have my own space and have time to myself, I have missed the company of my fellow volunteers. Yesterday I had a nice dinner and visit with some relatives that live here in Quito, and another couple visiting from home. It was great to connect with them. Quito is a fine city as far as cities go, but I´m not a big fan of cities. I´ve wandered around a lot, seen the cathedrals, the parks, the shops, etc. but I´m really looking forward to leaving the city and getting started on my next project.
Tomorrow morning I fly to San Cristobal, where I plan to stay for the next month. I am eagerly anticipating spending time on the beaches (on weekends, most likely after hard weeks of chopping down invasive blackberry bushes with a machete) and observing the wildlife that I´ve heard so much about. I am less excited about the heat and the mosquitos, but from what I hear, it will be worth it. (So far the bugs have been nothing compared to Manitoba mosquitos and NW Ontario black flies but I´ve been warned excessively about mosquitos on the Galapagos...so we´ll see). I´m not sure when I´ll next have internet access, but I will post when I can.
Tomorrow morning I fly to San Cristobal, where I plan to stay for the next month. I am eagerly anticipating spending time on the beaches (on weekends, most likely after hard weeks of chopping down invasive blackberry bushes with a machete) and observing the wildlife that I´ve heard so much about. I am less excited about the heat and the mosquitos, but from what I hear, it will be worth it. (So far the bugs have been nothing compared to Manitoba mosquitos and NW Ontario black flies but I´ve been warned excessively about mosquitos on the Galapagos...so we´ll see). I´m not sure when I´ll next have internet access, but I will post when I can.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Jungle Tourism
I'm told I need to provide more news. So here is my attempt at a longer update:
After having successfully avoided most tourist traps [besides the Otavalo market] for a month, I have spent the last 3 days in Tena being a proper tourist. Tena is a small city in the northern Orient, 4 or 5 hours by bus from Quito.
Day 1: A self-guided walk through a little interprative park, showcasing lots of unique plants and animals from the Amazon Rainforest.
Day 2: A jungle tour, climbing waterfalls and swimming in a lagoon...really beautiful! There was a snake right beside the path, which we all managed to walk right by until the last guy noticed it. Our guide then told us it was venemous and very dangerous and quickly beat it over the head with a stick. I don't know what kind it was but apparently a lot of people have been killed by it.
Day 3: White water rafting. Yesterday we were told the rafting was a bit boring now because of a drought. Then it rained a lot overnight and today the river was really high...lots of water moving very fast! We travelled down river about 25 km which normally takes 2-3 hours, but today took us not more than 1 hour. After being told not to worry, that no one ever falls out...2 of the 3 rafts flipped! But everyone made it out unscathed.
Other highlights: Trips to the market to buy all the crazy kinds of fruit we don't recognize [and some we do] and making a giant fruit salad [anyone who knows how much I love fruit will understand why this is a highlight]; finding someone to repair my shoe for $1 [which ripped down both sides on the second day and I have been faithfully duct taping and re-duct taping; daily trips to the ice cream shop; and plenty of hammock + book time.
Tomorrow: We take a bus back to Quito and I have a few days of me-time before the Galapagos. The jungle is cool, but I think I prefer the slightly cooler weather in the mountains [up till now we've been craving hot showers, and now have an good supply of hot water but we're struggling to make the showers cold to escape the heat!] I also don't mind the absence of venemous snakes at higher altitude.
I hope you are all enjoying life in your part of the world!
Until next time,
S.
After having successfully avoided most tourist traps [besides the Otavalo market] for a month, I have spent the last 3 days in Tena being a proper tourist. Tena is a small city in the northern Orient, 4 or 5 hours by bus from Quito.
Day 1: A self-guided walk through a little interprative park, showcasing lots of unique plants and animals from the Amazon Rainforest.
Day 2: A jungle tour, climbing waterfalls and swimming in a lagoon...really beautiful! There was a snake right beside the path, which we all managed to walk right by until the last guy noticed it. Our guide then told us it was venemous and very dangerous and quickly beat it over the head with a stick. I don't know what kind it was but apparently a lot of people have been killed by it.
Day 3: White water rafting. Yesterday we were told the rafting was a bit boring now because of a drought. Then it rained a lot overnight and today the river was really high...lots of water moving very fast! We travelled down river about 25 km which normally takes 2-3 hours, but today took us not more than 1 hour. After being told not to worry, that no one ever falls out...2 of the 3 rafts flipped! But everyone made it out unscathed.
Other highlights: Trips to the market to buy all the crazy kinds of fruit we don't recognize [and some we do] and making a giant fruit salad [anyone who knows how much I love fruit will understand why this is a highlight]; finding someone to repair my shoe for $1 [which ripped down both sides on the second day and I have been faithfully duct taping and re-duct taping; daily trips to the ice cream shop; and plenty of hammock + book time.
Tomorrow: We take a bus back to Quito and I have a few days of me-time before the Galapagos. The jungle is cool, but I think I prefer the slightly cooler weather in the mountains [up till now we've been craving hot showers, and now have an good supply of hot water but we're struggling to make the showers cold to escape the heat!] I also don't mind the absence of venemous snakes at higher altitude.
I hope you are all enjoying life in your part of the world!
Until next time,
S.
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