Baylor in Galápagos 2023

  Hey everyone it’s only Cole today, Diego isn’t feeling too well. Today we spent more time on the ocean than we did on land. We started the day early traveling from Santa Cruz to Isabela island, which took two and half hours. This boat ride was much better than the last one because no one felt sick. Once we landed on Isabela, we ate some breakfast and then started our excursions. We took another boat ride to underwater caves on Isabela and went snorkeling and hiking. We got to see black tip sharks, massive pacific sea turtles, white tip sharks, penguins, and BLUE FOOTED BOOBIES! While there weren’t that many penguins, they were definitely the highlight of the excursion. After snorkeling and hiking on top of the sea tunnels, we came back to the hotel. While most of us passed out, some of us walked down the beach strand and visited the local shops. We ended the day at a restaurant on the beach called El Faro, which served us delicious local food. We’re excited for our next excursion tom

Many groups of islands, such as Hawaii and Maldives, form long chains of islands springing up one after another. Other groups of islands, such as the Galápagos Islands, create a cluster of islands, forming no distinct line. So, why are the Galápagos in a seemingly random cluster, and not in a neat, little line?  Groups of islands are most often created by volcanic activity--volcanoes erupting underwater and creating masses of land rising from the ocean's floor. Most communities of islands are created from one hot-spot. For example, Hawaii only needed one hot-spot create its long chain of islands. However, this seems nonsensical. How can one volcanic hot-spot lead to the formation of several islands?  This seemingly impossible feat is accomplished by the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. These plates make up the Earth's outer surface and are constantly--but very slowly--moving. As the plates crawl over a volcanic hot spot, the eruptions bursting through the Earth'

 Hey guys, Tyler and Marielle are back with another blog post! Today, we will discuss our recent excursions in Santa Cruz. Yesterday, we started off our day with a visit to El Trapiche, a local sugarcane and chocolate plantation. The owner of the farm, Don Adriano, who was taught by his grandparents about sugarcane and cacao cultivation at a young age, gave us an immersive experience to show how sugarcane and cacao are cultivated, harvested, and produced. We were able to try freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice, as well as other delicious products the plantation had to offer, which included coffee beans, Trapuchino (a sweet cacao treat), and, of course, freshly brewed coffee with sugar from the farm. Our group enjoyed learning more about Ecuador's agricultural history and found it particularly interesting how the island of Santa Cruz has a better ability to sustain itself in the case of export issues and problems from the mainland, due to the presence of plantations like El Trapiche, i

     Galapagos has many endemic animals such as Sea Lions and Tortoises, but some species we haven’t talked about yet are the iguanas of Galapagos.  Currently, there are four species of iguanas in the Archipelago: the most prominent of them is the Marine Iguana , found on Isabela, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, and Fernandina Islands; the Pale Land Iguana , restricted to Santa Fe Island; the Yellow Land Iguana  distributed on Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, South Plaza, Santiago, and Baltra Islands; and the Pink Iguana , a species discovered just a few years ago that inhabits only Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island.  So far we have only seen the Marine Iguanas, which are incredible at camouflaging themselves against the black volcanic rocks that litter the coast of the Galápagos Islands. Can you find the marine Iguana that is camouflaged in the picture of the sea lion? These creatures are very interesting. Marine iguanas are the only reptile species that dives under water to lo

While we love to focus our blogs on all of the fun excursions and activities that we have experienced here in Ecuador, the main reason for our study abroad is research. We have mentioned days filled with research, and I'm sure that many of you parents and grandparents have heard the program described as a health research opportunity. However,  I'm not sure that we have specifically described the purpose of our surveys. Dr. M is specifically interested in the idea of One Health, a subtopic of global health that emphasizes the interactions between humans, animals, and the environment. Specifically, he focuses his research on the anthroponotic transmission of infectious diseases. In simple terms, he is looking at how humans can give diseases to non-human animals. Much of his research has been focused on primates in Asia, but this trip is focused on the animals in the Galápagos, such as sea lions, tortoises, and iguanas. So why is this research so important? There is a distinct lac

Hey guys, Marielle and Tyler here!   Today, let’s talk turtles.  The Galapagos Giant Tortoise is renowned for its massive size and longevity. We are sure some of you may have heard of the passing of Lonesome George back in 2012. He was the last surviving Pinta island tortoise. For Galapagos natives, he is a symbol of their desire to protect and conserve wildlife and nature. In fact, they have his body located here on Santa Cruz! Now, let’s get into some fun facts!  The average lifespan of these infamous land vertebrates is around 150-175 years. Tortoises are also considered pollinators because they don’t fully digest food, rather they excrete it from their bodies to their surrounding environment.  The female tortoise does not always need a mate for reproduction. As they contain an internal sperm stores in the event of having no mate.  Lastly, the Galapagos tortoise has two different kinds of shells tailored to different environments. The saddleback shell is for drier climates and allow

                                        Everyone was up early this morning for our ferry ride at 7 am. We packed into the boat, waved goodbye to the sea lions of San Cristobal, and started our 2 hour ride to Santa Cruz. It was brutal. Some of us are not accustomed to these crazy sea waves. Diego barfed off the boat. The fish ate a tasty breakfast because of him. We finally hit land, after what seemed like 12 hours. We stepped foot on the island, and immediately started exploring. We saw tortoises, of all ages, in the Charles Darwin Research Station. Even got to see a replica of the very famous tortoise, Lonesome George. He was the last of his kind. Many scientist search for a mate for him for 40 years, but none were found. We were gifted free time until dinner. Some of us explored, others napped. Cole and I stopped at some stores to get souvenirs for our family. We saw a lot of cool art, and ended the day with some awesome food.  A couple of obvious differences between this island, San

Today was our last day on the beautiful island of San Cristobal. We spent the day exploring, snorkeling and relaxing on the beach of La Lobería. We are excited to see Santa Cruz and what else the Galápagos has to offer, but we are very sad to leave this incredible place. Because we are so sentimental, we decided to dedicate this blog to some of the moments/places that were meaningful to us from the past week.  1. The breakfast at our hotel The hotel we are staying at, The Royal Galápagos, goes all out for breakfast every morning. We are given coffee, freshly squeezed juice, fruit, toast, and eggs every morning. Since we are so busy everyday, getting such a good breakfast has been crucial to keeping us all functioning. In addition to the breakfast, the hotel itself deserves recognition because it is absolutely beautiful!  2. Café San Cristobal This quickly became one of our favorite spots to go. This café has everything: wifi, food, coffee, and--most importantly--lava cake. On the first

Dear tourist, vacationers, travelers…. whatever you identify as,  This is a letter from Marielle and Tyler. Trips and excursions can be fun and full of adventures. Although the world may seem in the palm of your hand, it is important to respect nature, wildlife, and the cultures you are surrounded by. Touching and interacting with animals and plants may feel like a deeper connection with nature, or even seem harmless - but, it is important to be mindful of their natural environment. We as humans can transmit diseases and other viruses that can be harmful or even fatal to their well-being. Being here in the Galapagos has taught us all of these things. We have even witnessed the lack of proper etiquette between tourists and wildlife. During our stroll through the tortoise sanctuary today, a large group of outlanders were being disrespectful of the tortoises. People were touching them, sitting on them, being loud, and overall, making the tortoises uncomfortable. Having no regard for their

We're switching up the blog again, but instead of Blue-footed Boobies were talking about the Galapagos Sea Lions. These funny animals have a huge personality and are endemic to the Galapagos islands (vocab word from the last post, can you remember what it means?). You can find these animals all over San Cristobal: at the sandy beaches, the rocky beaches, the piers, the streets, we even saw one jump into a fisherman's boat! Every morning we get to wake up to the screams and screeches of the baby sea lions asking for milk from their mothers.  These wonderful animals have such friendly personalities, but this can put the sea lions, and humans, in a vulnerable position. Sea lions have become so accustomed to the presence of humans that they are not afraid of getting close to them. Some tourists will attempt to touch these animals, and even put their babies on them. This can lead to transmission of diseases, or to a sea lion bite. Ouch! They may look cute, but they do not appreciate

Dr. M wanted us to switch up the blog, so today's post is dedicated to the one and only blue-footed boobies. One of our favorite animals to see here in the Galápagos are the boobies. They are native to the islands, but not endemic. This means you can also find these birds throughout the Gulf of California, down to Peru. However, some of the species on the island are endemic, meaning they are only found on the islands. Yesterday, when we visited Isla Lobos, we saw so many blue-footed boobies and their babies. The chicks are super fluffy and white. We were surprised to see that the babies did not yet have their blue feet. Our tour guide informed us that their feet will turn blue once they can fish on their own and eat a consistent diet of fish. This change is coincident with their sexual maturity. We even saw a dad boobie sitting on an egg, keeping it warm (see if you can find it in the picture!) This morning as we were taking surveys, we were mesmerized by the boobies as they dove i