Off to The Galapagos Islands

Friday 29th September 2006. Quito, Ecuador.

Leaving Quito for the Galapagos I am able to appreciate the beauty of this volcanic landscape. Looking down from our flight is like viewing a lunar landscape. I am so glad to be back on track. Some dreadful things have happened to me, but I am also beginning to recognise how fortunate I am. I have the opportunity to see this continent first hand and today I embark on a journey to one of the worlds natural wonders.

In 1535, the Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomás de Berlanga, discovered this archipelago. Ecuador did not actually annex the islands until 1832.

How can I possibly feel low when God has given me this opportunity. As I sit here waiting to begin leg two of my flight I remain consumed by thoughts of what if the night of August 24th/25th had been different? Yet I know that my focus must be that I have been given a second chance and as such I must embrace it with all I can...Roll on the Galapagos!

We fly into Baltra Island, where the US Air Force built a strategically significant base in 1942 to aid control of the Panama Channel in time of war. We descend through the most beautiful cotton wool clouds and my first sight of the islands is of the brownest landscape I have seen, and boy did we come in at it at an angle.

The first thought I have on landing is that the rest of the world must seem so strange if you were born and spent your formative years in such splendid isolation. My second thought is the realisation that this is the first time in my life that I have visited an archipelago in the Pacific and I am consumed by the realisation of why I am here...your roving reporter is back in business!

On the drive across Baltra to the ferry for Santa Cruz the landscape is beautifully barren and I see silver trees for the first time in my life. They look sprayed for Christmas, and then I come across branches that seem copper and others that are golden in colour. If I tell you that the trees are naturally a purple colour, how do you think they attain these different shades?

On the ferry to Santa Cruz the luggage rides atop the boat (just like on the buses I experienced on the mainland). The water is the bluest I have ever seen.

Santa Cruz is the hub of the archipelago and Puerto Ayora is the principle town, although not the islands capital. The settlement of Puerto Ayora was established only in 1926 due to the location of a fish factory by a Norwegian company.

After being well warned about what you could bring to the island I was amazed that the guy at the airport simply asked me if I was carrying food, flowers etc. I said no and he did not even check. I am also amazed at the amount of vehicles I have seen already between Baltra and Santa Cruz.

To give you an idea of how warm it is here, we cast almost no shadow, the sun is right above us.

From the warmth of the dock we climb up into the transition area with moss covered trees and into the humid area of Santa Cruz (the Scalesei) to Los Gemelos which is a collapsed membrane formed by the sinking of the earths crust. It is not a crater as there is no Volcano underneath. The Scalesei is lush and green and rich in agriculture.

We then arrive in Puerto Ayora.

The first permanent settlers to the islands arrived in Puerto Villamíl on Isabela Island in 1893. Floreana Island though had a penal colony established in 1833, but until the Puerto Villamíl settlement the islands had simply been a base of Fur Seal hunting (which reached its peak in the 1790's and decimated the tortoise populations) and Whaling. A staggering fact is that in the 35 years between 1846 and 1881, 4.5 million gallons of sperm-whale oil was harvested in the Galapagos. By 1848, some 13 years after Charles Darwin visited the islands onboard the Beagle the Floreana tortoise was extinct. Human pressures causing ecological destruction.

This afternoon we hike in Los Gemelos and then head off to view Giant Tortoises which are now in the mating season. The tortoises populate farmland at this time and in the form of true ecological partnership the farmers move their livestock to higher ground leaving the fields free for the tortoises. The economics of ecology are simple here...

Farmers previously would destroy the tortoises who invaded "their lands" (despite the fact that the tortoises had been mating here throughout natural history). To prevent this decimation, the farmers now give over "their land" in this mating season and in return earn an income from the tourists who come by the bus load to see these tortoises in this open air zoo.

My day is complete with a walk through a lava tunnel and then back to the port for dinner and a night sail to Floreana.

Saturday 30th September 2006. Floreana, The Galapagos.

I wake up this morning in an idyllic setting off the coast of Floreana Island. We land at Point Cormorant and view the flamingo's in the lagoon. Taking the island path we come across the most stunning deserted beach where we go paddling with the stingrays, which are all around our feet.

I've been to hell in South America; today I have come to heaven on earth. The deserted beach turns out to be a favourite nesting area for the Green Pacific Turtle which builds both a large and a small hole. The large hole is constructed by the turtles flippers whilst the smaller hole is constructed with the tail. This smaller hole, known as the Chamber, is where the turtle will store its eggs.

It was in 1905-06 that the California Academy of Sciences conducted the first ever comprehensive survey of Galapagos wildlife, yet it took until the 1950's for the creation of the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park. There were environmental efforts during this time such as the 1932 American expedition where scientists transferred 70 land iguanas from Baltra to North Seymour as an experimental population. Yet there were also disasters such as the decision of the Ecuadorian government in 1946 to establish a penal colony on Isabela where the settlers developed the tortoise-oil industry.

The little hills around us here on Floreana are tuff cones. That is to say, they are not rock, they are made of ash.

I watched Sand Pipers and Sea Lions in action today and I even got to see Galapagos Penguins.

The highlight of my trip though was going snorkelling for the first time in my life. This was undertaken in open sea off Floreana Island. The water was very deep and the current very strong, but I was in good hands being supported by Jessica Clabo, a most delightful young lady from Minnesota who is a member of my tour group and who took kindly on the pathetic beached whale that was me.

We saw a White Tipped Reef Shark up very close, shoals of fish, the largest Star Fish imaginable and I got to swim with three very friendly Sea Lions.

In the afternoon we head to Post Office Bay and I carried on the tradition by posting a card home. The most amazing thing was that I collected a card to deliver from Helensburgh; Colquhoun Square to be exact. Helensburgh is my mum's home town and where most of my family live.

We descended deep into a nearby lava tunnel before heading off again in the dingy for our hike up to the Viewpoint of The Baroness.

On the dingy ride we again saw Galapagos Penuins, who are the second smallest penguins in the world. Only the Blue Penguin in New Zealand is smaller...we can check this out when we travel together in the land of the Kiwi. The dingy ride also allowed for viewing of White Tipped Reef Sharks and Sea Lions.

Recognition of the Galapagos importance was strengthened in the 1950's. In 1958 the Congress of Zoology endorsed the proposal to establish a research station which would support Galapagos conservation. After all, in 1954 scientists had declared that Baltra's land iguana population had become extinct, marking one of the fastest known extinctions of a reptile population. The establishment of the Galapagos National Park came in 1959 when the government of Ecuador declared a park area representing 97 percent of the 7,900 square kilometre land area in the archipelago. The following year the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands was formed.

Sunday 1st October 2006. Española Island, The Galapagos.

After breakfast we head on to Española to get up close with Sea Lions, Iguana's, Blue Footed Boobies and the Masked Booby. All around there seem to be Albatrosses who nest close to the cliffs because they are big and heavy and they use the strong winds to assist their take off. The Albatross is the biggest bird in the islands with a wing span of over 2 metres.

We also get to see the undisputed 'King of The Galapagos', the Galapagos Hawk.

As we head to Gardner Bay the boat is circled by Frigatebirds who seem to have followed us on our short trek. The afternoon is then spent snorkelling before we take to land to view more wildlife.

The 1960's represented the beginnings of major conservation work in the archipelago. This was the period when the remaining 14 tortoises on Española were brought to the research station for breeding and repatriation. 1964 marked the opening of the Charles Darwin Research Station located in Puerto Ayora and the following year the Charles Darwin Foundation opened the Reptile Rearing Center with tortoise eggs from Pinzon being brought to Santa Cruz for incubation and the raising of the young in the protection of captivity. By 1966 long-term botanical monitoring had begun and in 1968 the National Park began operating. As for those Pinzon tortoises, repatriation began in 1968.

Monday 2nd October 2006. Santa Fé Island, The Galapagos.

Today is spent hiking on both Santa Fé and Plazas Islands and enjoying nature in what can only be described as an open zoo.

Arguably the most famous event in the Galapagos of the twentieth century happened in 1971 with the discovery of Lonesome George, the last surviving Pinta Island Giant Tortoise. The 70's also marked greater recognition of the importance of the island's with UNESCO naming the archipelago a World Heritage Site in 1978. This was also the year when the National Park removed the last of the introduced goats from Española in an attempt to further conservation.

Tonight we have a cocktail party to say farewell to the rest of the tour group. I will be the only remaining passanger to meet those joing the Galaven II (our boat) tomorrow.

Tuesday 3rd October 2006. Black Turtle Cove, The Galapagos.

I have really enjoyed the Galapagos, and in particular the company of my fellow travellers. People have been so friendly and I have been able to relax free from fear. It is interesting though that I am beginning to feel that a period of over one year travelling is too long. This may be due in part to the assault, yet I was beginning to feel homesick before the attack. It is one thing to vacation and take a holiday from day to day life, it is quite another to be constantly on the move. Life becomes transient with a constant change of faces. I am coming to the realisation that I need stability, i.e. a constant. It may well be a different experience if you have a travelling companion? It may well be a different experience if you are 18 and have not yet known the "anchors" of life?

It seems strange to talk of loneliness when people are all around and yet the loneliest of times can be in the midst of a crowded room.

The new tour group arrive and after lunch we hike at Las Bachas.

In 1982-83 there was a strong El Niño that caused a dramatic fall in the populations of many Galapagos species. Particularly badly hit was the penguin population. The following year (1984) UNESCO declared the Galapagos a Biosphere Reserve. The islands though were to be hit again in 1997-98 by a second strong El Niño which led, in part, to the decision of the Ecuadorian government to enact a special law restricting migration to the Galapagos and bringing into being the Galapagos Marine Reserve (the second largest in the world in 1998). The reserve covers 138,000 square kilometres. 1998 also saw the establishment of environmental education centres on three of the inhabited islands and Project Isabela to restore Santiago, Pinta and Isabela.

Tonight we have a very bumpy ride to Santiago.

Wednesday 4th October 2006. Santiago, The Galapagos.

Today we hike on both Santiago and Bartolomé and enjoy the natural wonders of the archipelago.

I am suffocating myself imagining a past that never was as I journey through the 'what if' senarios that would have prevented the attack on me and the robbery of my sense of self-belief and my security.

Bartolomé is a beautiful island with the softest warm sand. We enjoy some relaxation time before our hike to the lighthouse and one of the most spectacular views in the archipelago.

The day is rounded off with a joyful dingy ride to watch the playful penguins.

It is easy to see why the archipelago has been feted with awards. In 1999 the Charles Darwin Foundation won the UNESCO award for contribution to environmental management and conservation; the same year in which the Galapagos inspection and quarantine programme was initiated. This programme is unique in the world as it is both a quarantine system with the primary goal of conserving biodiversity, whilst operating a secondary goal of protecting human health and agriculture and in so doing it protects a province from the rest of the country. No other such model exists globally.

The dawning of a new millennium brought with it the first comprehensive inventory, assessment and baseline study of the biological resources of the Galapagos Marine Reserve conducted by the Charles Darwin Foundation. In common with threats to marine life around the globe the Participatory Management Board established a five-year fisheries calendar to regulate the harvesting of commercially important marine species and established coastal zoning for the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Thursday 5th October 2006. Santa Cruz Island, The Galapagos.

Today we learnt that in reptiles the male is twice the weight of the female to allow him to take control and mate. A very interesting fact is that the Galapagos Mockingbird is unique amongst mockingbirds globally in that it can only imitate a few calls due to its limited exposure to other birds.

We are again hiking amongst the wildlife and enjoying the wonder of nature. There is no snorkelling today but we take to the water in the dingy to enjoy the coastline and its rich ecology.

On Seymour Island we are exposed to the mating rituals of the Frigatebird and some mating Iguanas.

The importance of the work of the Charles Darwin Foundation was recognised in 2001 with the award of the J.Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize honouring four decades of conservation in the Galapagos. This same year UNESCO extended its World Heritage Site status to the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Despite all the efforts 2001 was also the year in which the entire endemic flora of the Galapagos was added to the Red List of Threatened Species by IUCN. Indeed a Galapagos Plant Specialist Group was also created.

In 2003 the government of Ecuador enacted a Law for Total Control of Introduced Species in Galapagos.

Yet alongside problems come successes. In 2004 the number of tortoises repatriated reached more than 3,000 and the invertebrates reference collection expanded by 83% to include 158,000 specimens of native and introduced species found in the archipelago.

And the awards keep coming. The BBVA Foundation of Spain honoured the Charles Darwin Foundation in 2004 with its Biodiversity Conservation award and the same year the Ecuadorian government presented the foundation with the Commander of the Order of Honorato Vasquez award for the Charles Darwin Foundation's contributions to the fields of science and environmental education.

Santiago was declared free of feral pigs and Pinta free of feral goats in 2001. Such eradication work is vital because from the earliest days humans have presented the greatest threat to the archipelago's ecosystem with the introduction of non-native and often invasive species and the over-use of resources.

The Charles Darwin Foundation exists to produce direct conservation through its scientific departments in vertebrate ecology and monitoring, terrestrial invertebrates, botany and marine research and conservation. The focus of its applied scientific work is concentrated in two areas: native and endemic species and the introduced invasive species.

Study is undertaken on the biodiversity impact of climatological phenomena such as the El Niño, and the impacts of human activity on the ecosystems complexity, stability and connectivity within the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The work in studies ranging from those on the Cactus Finch to climate change is increasingly of growing international significance.

The greatest threat to the islands still remains the human population. Over 30,000 people live on the four inhabited islands and around 100,000 visitors flock to the the archipelago every year. It was humans after all who brought in their wake the feral pigeons, feral cats, donkeys and goats which threaten highland vegetation, Galapagos Rails and other native species.

The eradication of introduced and often invasive species is aimed at the recovery of endemic and native species of wildlife, flora and fauna.

Baseline research cataloguing and tracking populations of Galapagos species is aimed at a sustainable future based around protecting and restoring native species.

Invasive species remain the greatest single threat to the biodiversity of the Galapagos. Introduced plants such as the rapid spreading blackberry, introduced animals such as the feral goat and invasive species such as the fire ant and dengue mosquito all threaten the eco-system. We need to remember that introduced plants crowd out native species and compete for the scarce soil and water resources of the islands.

Research thus needs to examine not only how healthy populations interact and use the ecosystem resources, but it must focus on the impacts of parasites, diseases, predation, climatic events and other natural occurrences.

The Galapagos presents a unique array of native and endemic species.

On land, differences in the age and height of the volcanically formed islands allow exploration of the effects of climatic and positional variations on species range, distribution and behavioual characteristics. In the sea the convergence of warm and cold currents creates a unique field laboratory for examination of the impacts of climatic conditions and underwater structure on both cold-water and tropical marine ecosystems.

Today the Galapagos retains 95% of its original biodiversity. The Charles Darwin Foundation provides scholarships for Galapagos natives and Ecuadorian nationals to develop their expertise in research and environmental education alongside scholars from around the globe. Such work is vital to understanding the complexities of ecology, society, culture and economy in the islands. The key to the future must be stewardship.

Discovery is always ongoing. In 2004 terrestrial invertebrate specialists conducting research on the biology and ecology of the archipelago's invertebrate fauna discovered 10 new species. These discoveries were made in conjunction with Project Isabela allowing access to the highly inaccessible areas of Santiago and Isabela where certain species previously thought extinct were to be re-discovered.

Friday 6th October 2006. Santa Cruz Island, The Galapagos.

This morning we head for the Charles Darwin Research Centre the highlight of the visit being to see Lonesome George before we head to Baltra and our flight back to Quito.

Flying back to Quito over a thick blanket of cloud I appreciate natures wonder as I view the backbone of the Andes peaking through the clouds to greet me. It is especially spectacular when I see a mountain top shrouded in snow welcoming me along my journey.

Tonight I dine once again at Siam in Quito and at last I am beginning to feel back on track. I dine with Colin, Natasha and Janice who joined my tour Tuesday and who have been great company. Hitting the tiles, I feel like the old Glover is returning!

Saturday 7th October 2006. Quito, Ecuador.

The Galapogas and Education.

Stewardship is the key to the future preservation of the archipelago. The Charles Darwin Foundation has a broad educational programme devised for the islands that includes the sponsoring of Ecuadorian (particularly Galapoganian) students through scholarships in the completion of related undergraduate studies. This programme allows for the mentoring and training of undergraduates in conservation, science and education.
The foundation also hosts national and international students and professional volunteers in the day-to-day functioning of the research station.

Beyond these traditional academic routes though the foundation plays a leading role in the Galapagos community. Through its grants programme it supports initiatives working with farmers on integrated pest control; it collaborates with fishermen's wives in finding economically viable alternative employment; it designs capacity-building workshops to offer the skills, knowledge and expertise to care for the environment to the local population; and it cooperates in the training of Galapagos quarantine inspectors to name just a few areas of the foundations operations.

All of this is coupled with the traditional educational routes of field trips; learning days; specialist staff going into local schools to teach science lessons; hands-on workshops; brochures; and 'environmental' camps.

The Charles Darwin Foundation's mission is "to provide knowledge and support to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity of the Galapagos Archipelago through scientific research and complementary actions"; I am grateful to the Charles Darwin Research Station for giving me an insight into how they deliver on this mission.

I have really enjoyed my time in the Galapagos and I am so pleased to be back on track with the project delivering on the aims I set out to achieve. It has been a roller coaster of a ride, but it has been a journey round myself in which I have learnt a great deal. I believe that you never stop learning and I look forward to the lessons this project holds for us all.

More information on the Galapagos Islands can be accessed in the Facts Box section of the project website under Ecuador.

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It was a joy to open my e-mail today and find a mention from Wez and Rob the greatest captins of St.Nicks that ever lived.

To put you in the picture, Wez and Rob were my House Captain and Vice House Captain last year in St Nicolas House, my empire of 5 years.


Dear Will
Me and Rob just want to say hey and find out how you are? We hope
eveything is going ok for you and you are enjoying yourself?
Me and Rob are haven so much fun at Uni, we have made friends with a
great group of people and are also really happy with our courses. The night
life in Chichester is not great but we have a lot of good nights out in
Brighton. You must come join use when you get back, it will be great to hear
all the stories.
Best Wishes
Wez and Rob the greatest captins of St.Nicks that ever lived.

One of the greatest joys of being a teacher is your students. I am so proud of all my former students and it is always a joy to hear from them, particularly at the moment.

Oh, and yes...I am looking forward to that night out in Brighton (which is after all my adopted hometown!).

As I sit here tonight having my last Quito meal at La Crêperie I watch the street life unfold infront of me. Straight across the road a young man is peddling passports (and with them misery). He has about five and he is striking a deal with the bouncer of the restaurant opposite. One passport appears to be American and another is European.

I am wondering what he is thinking?

These goods are obviously the booty of muggings if not assaults. Does he know the misery and heartache such muggings cause? Indeed, does he care?

I cannot believe my eyes as the trade is being conducted in full view of two policemen. As I watch the trade I am somehow immune to the episode. I know the misery such activity causes and yet I am powerless to act against the proceeds of this crime...Am I complying through my ignorance of the wrong being played out in front of my eyes? or am I just realistic enough to know that there is nothing I can do. The muggings have obviously happened and I cannot alter that, and if the police won't act what can I do?