Photo Update

Stages of a developing Galapagos turtle from inside the egg up to 3 months.

Derek and I in a turtle shell. We know this one died of natural causes because it was complete. There were some missing the bottom part meaning they were killed to be eaten. The lady who had them told me that her father, a 93 year old local from Santa Cruz, used to eat them before it became illegal.

Rock formations made within the Love Tunnels in Santa Cruz. The tunnels are part of a series of lava tubes created during the formation of the island. The lady who owned the land told us that her father first discovered the caverns in 1948 when a cow that belonged to him fell through.

A cool heart braid that Yulika´s aunt made me!

Derek going up the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse at the top of Las Peñas.

Derek standing next to a portion of the Muro de las Lagrimas on Isabella. Think of how heavy these rocks were that they caused so many deaths.

Full scale wall photograph.

Women dressed in 1900 Guayaquil clothing.

Recreated scene of 1900 Guayaquil homes along el Malecon.

Houses and restaurant in Las Peñas.

Las Peñas from below. We walked all the way up.

Missing the U.S.A.

I never thought this would happen, but this has been the first week in which we have actually missed home. Not that the islands have become less beautiful or less unique, it's just that this week has been a difficult one for the progress of the project. Not that it's in trouble or anything but we haven't been able to go to either Floreana or San Cristobal yet. The ride back from Isabella was particularly brutal. With the arrival of winter, the seas around the islands are becoming rougher. The boat was tossed around like a toy and almost everyone on board was on the verge of sea sickness. Even though we didn't get sick we were bounced up and down so much we arrived very sore and took the rest of the day to recuperate. That was the first time we decided to put off the Floreana tour. We figured we would give both our bodies and the weather a little time to improve. Unfortunately, the very next day we both got a minor case of food poisoning. From what, we can't really say, but it was definitely not pleasant and made it so that we were very careful for the next two days. We had to stop eating as much as we had been, which was hard within itself, but also we obviously couldn't leave our room that much either. Mostly, I sat at home reading the sources that the Charles Darwin Foundation had given me about their successful efforts in the eradication of invasive species, while Derek glued himself to the T.V. to watch the French open. Occasionally I would read a chapter of Percy Jackson out loud too.

One morning around 6am my cell phone rang so I picked it up. It was a lady asking for Yulika. I said no sorry this is not Yulika's phone. She asked me who I was so I hung up. She called five minutes later asking for Yulika again, this time I immediately hung up. She called back immediately twice, at which point I turned the phone off. Two things about this worried me. One, how does someone from here have my telephone number and why did they think that it belonged to Yulika? Either way, it was too early to care and I went back to sleep. The following afternoon I was feeling much better so I went and spent time with Yulika and her mom while they were home on their lunch break. When I went to check on Derek he reminded me that the phone was off and that I should probably turn it on. When I did there were four text messages. Considering the only person that texts me in this Island is Yulika that's a lot. I open the first unknown number and read a horrifying message basically calling me a whore and to stay away from married men. This is never a nice thing to read especially when you have no idea why you're getting these messages. Thinking about the morning’s mysterious caller I decided to tell Yulika and her mom. They were shocked and furious, and with good reason. So her mom gets on her own cell phone and asks me for the number that had text me; the lady had called from more than one. She calls the first and is answered by the woman’s friend who apologizes saying she had just lent her phone to her friend. At the end of the conversation she very snidely suggested that Ivonne would do well to know who her daughter is dating. Considering the number was from Isabella and Yulika lives in Santa Cruz and is married the lady was promptly put in place by a very angry Ivonne. Then, Ivonne hung up and called the other phone from which the lady had called me. A man answered this time and when Ivonne explained the situation he turned out to be the tour guide that we had for the Isabella bay tour! We had given him our number so that he could try to hook us up with another tour. He apologized saying that his wife was a crazy jealous woman and that she must have thought the number was a mistress of his. She must have asked who he had given a tour to and someone probably said Ivonne Guerra's daughter Yulika since I had been referred by them to the Hostel we were staying at. All in all it was a pretty ridiculous experience. That said it did give me some insight on the culture and what it would be like to live in such a small community like the one in Isabella. Obviously the lack of extracurricular activities forces them so look for other types of entertainment.

On a lighter note, we've been getting to know Santa Cruz better. I’ve been walking around photographing my familiars and the way that people construct houses here. They use local tree bark as support columns. The houses are constructed in a very open manner which is pretty much the opposite of American homes. Often windows don’t even have glass just screen to keep the bugs out. All the roofs are made of corrugated metal. Most interesting to me is how some rooms will include one or two clear panels of roofing to allow for natural sunlight for the room during the day. The sun here is so bright that it acts even better than a ceiling light! While this is nice sometimes, it does present problems. Although all of the walls are concrete they are all connected to each other and have screened windows near the ceiling for ventilation. In the morning this could make it hard to sleep, especially because everyone starts their day around 6:30 am here.

Yesterday, as we were taking a taxi up to the post office I started up a conversation with the driver. He was a nice old man from Quito. I had started it by asking how many schools there were on Santa Cruz because I saw so many children with different uniforms. He said that there are six primaries and six secondaries. Primary here in Ecuador is like Elementary school, Secondary is both middle school and high school in one. I was really surprised by how many there were for such a small island. He then went on to tell me how when he had first arrived to live here there were only four schools period. I asked him how long ago that had been and he told me 1986. He said the big population boom came in the 90’s when people started to realize that people in the Galapagos’s got paid more, something that is still true today. This is due to the high cost of living because of import costs.

Today, were supposed to go to the ministry and the library to get some old photographs of how things used to be. Tomorrow we would like to go to the Lava Tubes. Hopefully nothing else gets in our way.

Photographs later!

-Cristi

Isla Isabella

I'm back from Isla Isabella! Wednesday afternoon at 2pm we left on a two hour ferry ride to Isabella. It is the largest of the Galapagos islands but it is also one of the least populated. Before leaving, Ivonne, Yulika's mom told us she had a friend that lived there and that she would call him to arrange for our stay at his parents Hostel. I was told to ask for Don Kiko when I arrived and that's exactly what I did. Luckily he happened to be at the dock waiting for his own son to arrive so he greeted us himself and took us to his Hostel Villamil. Don Kiko was very nice and offered us two rooms, one with no air conditioning for $12 each a night and the other with AC for $15. I said that I would prefer the one with AC and asked if breakfast was included for the $15. I guess Don Kiko and his wife took pity on me thinking I thought $15 was too steep and knocked it down to $13 so that I would have money to eat breakfast. Being the frugal traveller I am this was already turning out to be a good visit. From there, our stay in Isabella only got better. It turns out our host Don Kiko was not only a nice man but a very interesting one at that. Upon some conversation I told him about my project and the interest I have in the locals and their history. The very next morning Don Kiko and his wife called me over to give me a pamphlet outlining the history of the Galapagos settlers. It was a wonderful book that went through Isabella, Floreana, Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Baltra. I read it once to myself and then again translating it page by page to Derek. The stories of the islands' colonization were each interesting and special in their own way. Floreanas for example even involved an evil Baroness Wagner with three lovers who was determined to exploit the island by building a hotel for millionairs. Her plans were cut short by the mysterious deaths of her and two of her lovers.

When reading about Isabella I couldn't help but notice the name of Antonio Gil the first man to establish a permanent colony on the Island. At first I couldn't decide why the name was so familiar but then I noticed Don Kiko's business card which said his real name Enrique Gil Ochoa. That afternoon, I asked his wife if he shared any relationship to the iconic figure and sure enough he did. Don Kiko turned out to be the grandson of Antonio Gil and she herself was the grandaughter of Don Pedro Jaramillo another of the important people I had seen in the pamphlet.

The island itself was amazing. Only one small town exists on the southern part of the island. It's called Puerto Villamil and is home to about 2,000 people. The rest of the island belongs to the National Park and is free of development. It is without a doubt the most pure place I've ever been to. It's beaches are pristine and there is always something to do. Don Kiko's sons are all involved in the tourism business so we got lucky yet again when we were offered two free tours. One of the inland areas and one of the bay. The inland tour showed us the local flamingos, a tortoise hatchery where we got to see a month old tortoise and 120 year old ones mating, and finally to El Muro de las Lagrimas a huge wall made of large, heavy volcanic rocks. Prisoners of the former penal colonies that existed on the island prior to 1959. As a form of penitance they were forced to build the wall. Many of them died from exhaustion or were shot for not working hard enough. Its name, The Wall of Tears, spawns from this terrible history.

During my stay I met many people and asked them about their own history with the island. Most people responded that they had lived there all their lives. Our guide for the bay tour had been born and raised on Isabella after his parents migrated from Guayaquil. He split his time between being a tour guide and working as a fisherman. I asked him about what kinds of fish he hunted and how he did it. As it turns out he was primarily a spearfisherman who hunted Bacalao, or Cod fish.Needless to say, he is Derek's new idol.

Later, walking down the beach I sat down on a little bench next to an elderly couple. As I started to talk to them I found out they have been living in Isabella for 13 years. She was Ecuadorian from Manavi and he was italian. They had lived in Quito for many years but moved to Isabella after visting on vacation and falling in love. It's a feeling Derek and I are starting to know so well. It's almost impossible not to fall in love with a place that makes you feel so close to nature. The islands inhabitants all seem extremely happy living in an existense that focuses only on the necessary. Leaving behind the superficial we deal with everyday. If there's one thing that the locals here have in common is that they all love the Galapagos and its lifestyle. Many of them are reluctant to leave the islands for fear of being corrupted or harmed by the outside world. They never refer to Ecuador or South America by name but instead as "Continent".

Isabella was a natural paradise full of wonderful people and history. We also got to see the penguins which are the second smallest in the world after the New Zealand penguins. They are according to Derek who swam close to one not as cute looking the closer you get. We also got a rare look at Golden Mantarays!

My computer finally died after four beautiful years of service =( so please excuse my late posts but understand I´m doing the best I can with what I have.

-Cristi

First Three days in the Galapagos

Well, I'm in the Galapagos! It's even better than I thought it would be! I arrived here on Sunday afternoon where Yulika met us at the airport. One we got all of our bags together, we got on a complementary bus that took us to a dock where we went aboard a ferry that would take us to Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz. On the ferry, Yulika told me that the old lady sitting next to us was one of Puerto Ayoras first inhabitants. After getting off the ferry we boarded yet another bus that would take us into town. The whole ride, Yulika, who is something of a Galapagos historian, told me of the different inhabitants of the islands. She talked about the abandoned buildings we saw in Baltra, the island where we landed, the remains of an old town built to cater to an American naval base built during WWII. It even had its own casino called The Rock! I asked her about her own history and found out she has lived here since she was a year old! She was born in Quito but her mom moved her and her two older brothers to the Galapagos when she got a job with the Charles Darwin Foundation where she still works today. Yulika also started working for the foundation about 2 months ago. Derek and I are staying in Yulika's house. She lives only with her mom in a small house in Puerto Ayora. They were kind enough to fix up a spare room they had for us to stay in.

So far, living with locals has given us a first hand look at the local culture. They have been so nice and accomodating. Everyday we meet them for lunch at their favorite local restaurants. Today we ate at the Hotel Castro. Yesterday we went on a tour of the bay. First we stopped at La Loberia, which is a spot where sea lions congregate. In spanish sea lions are called Lobos Marinos which is where the word Loberia comes from.





Then, we went to Las Grietas which is a huge gorge with water at the bottom. The locals like to swim there and dive from the cliffs. The minute I stopped paying attention Derek went up and decided to jump himself. I was really scared for him but the guide assured me as long as he did not hit the rocks he would be fine.











Next, we went to El Canal del Amor (The love Canal) where we finally saw the famous Blue Footed Boobies!


Lastly, we went on a short hike and saw the Iguanas Marinas that are only found in the Galapagos.

After such an eventful Monday we decided to take Tuesday a little slower and visit the local beach. Little did we know that would be a mission of its own. We went to Tortuga Bay which is a beautiful beach frequented by surfers both local and from around the world. Our host assured us that it was only a short walk from the middle of town, however this walk turned into an hour long hike over a mountain. By the time we reached the beach we were exhausted!

Still, the evening spent there was way worth it. We saw hundreds more iguanas and countless different types of birds. Not to mention swimming in crystal clear water.

Today, at two we leave on a boat to Isla Isabella where we will stay until Saturday morning. I am really excited because it has a rich history of the Archipelagos inhabitants. I have decided to focus my project on the invasive species that are humans. This is due to not only how interesting their history is here in the Galapagos, but also because access to the Islands with the most invasive species problems are prohibited to tourists.

Till next time,

Cristi

The last few days in Guayaquil

Hey! Sorry for the lack of updates but Guayaquil has had me busier than I would have ever imagined. These last two days I have been doing all of the tourist things. On Thursday Derek and I went to El Malecón 2000 where we walked through the whole thing and stopped to eat. It was really nice and the whole area has improved significantly since the last time I was here, they even have an IMAX. Still, we couldn't help but notice how much better it would look were the water cleaner. The Malecón as I mentioned before is a boardwalk and the river that it overlooks is called the Guayas river. It is an important river in South America because it is the only one that does not flow in to the Atlantic Ocean. It's also included within the Ecuadorian flag. The appearance of the water is brown and murky with some trash along the banks. I've been looking up some information on the state of the river and found one Ecuadorian source claiming that although the river does contain pollutants such as oil, the concentrations are below levels considered harmful to aquatic life. The company Soluciones Ambientales Totales (SAMBITO) led by Ecuadorian environmentalist José Guarderas, "achieved a 20 percent reduction in water consumption in farming processes, substantially reducing contamination in the Guayas River and mitigating bad odors that were affecting neighboring communities through the utilization of environmentally-friendly technologies.” Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool that there are people that want to make it better here.

After walking down the Malecón we went up Las Peñas and that was amazing. My aunts husband who drove us there told us that the neighborhood is one of Guyaquils oldest. Just a few years ago it was one of the most dangerous and poor parts of the city but the government decided to rehabilitate it. They gave the residents a lot of paint and invested money in improving the entire area. Today it is one of the nicest tourist attractions in the city. You go up a long flight of stairs exactly 444, I know that because they're labeled! The houses are bright and wonderful and at the very top there is a church and a light house. We went up and the view was amazing we saw the whole city from up there. Also at the top is a huge panoramic photograph of what the Malecon, which the Penas look down upon used to look in the 1880's. It was crazy to see how many less buildings there were. Aside from just along the river bank, the rest was all natural forest.

Yesterday, we took a day trip to El Parque Historico de Guayaquil. It was awesome! It's pretty much like the Jr. Museum in Tallahassee. They have several indigenous animals like the Tapiar and the Harpy eagle which can grow up to a meter tall! The park also has a reconstruction of the Guayaquil river front as it was in 1900. This includes actual buildings that have been moved and reassembled inside the park. They also have people that dress up in period costume. It was a really fun place, we learned a lot about Guayaquil's history. For example, Guayaquils economic boom was due to it's farming and exportation of cacao (cocoa beans). Ecuador is still the worlds fourth largest exporter of cacao, but number one in quality!

Tomorrow we leave to the Galapagos, Guayaquil has been nice but we're ready for a Galapagos adventure!

-Cristi

P.S. It was great to meet the Miami wedding party at the Historic Park! Hope the rest of your visit is great!

Day 1: Guayaquil

I'm updating quickly as I'm about to go out with my cousin Romina to the opening of some Karaoke bar. Today was nice we mostly hung out with some of my relatives and watched The Lovely Bones with my cousins. We are currently staying in Guayaquil, we will be here until this Sunday when we head to the Galapagos. Tomorrow were doing all the tourist traps which I'm actually pretty excited about. We're visiting El Malecón 2000 which is a boardwalk and then going to Las Peñas which is a colorful collection of houses on a mountain side next to the Malecón.

Las Peñas

El Malecón 2000

Hopefully I get great photographs of both.

Till next time,

Cristi

I can't believe I leave tomorrow... today

It is currently 12:40 am on May 11th 2010. Just a few months ago I was putting together the proposal for my Galapagos project just hoping that it would be worthy of an amazing summer. The idea was simple yet ambitious, to document through my photographs the effects of invasive species on the Galapagos archipelago. At the time, I was enrolled in an Art and Ecology class taught by the amazing Linda Hall whose class was the inspiration for the project. As soon as I came up with the concept for my project I asked Linda to help me with my proposal and got it in just in time. By some miracle the wonderful faculty at Florida State's Undergraduate Research Office gave me the Mentored Research and Creative Endeavors Award (MRCE) and now here I am unable to sleep with anticipation.

A few days ago I created this blog to keep my family, friends, and mentors updated on my projects developments. I purchased a camcorder to include footage of my adventures and possibly even interviews of locals. I will be living with the Cedeña family for three weeks and hopefully learning a lot about how the islands locals interact with the islands ecology.

Well, I'm exhausted and really should go to sleep but I'll try and think up more things in the morning to update with before I leave.

-Cristi