Spring Break: Galápagos Style

The best week of spring semester: SPRING BREAK! Since traveling from the Galápagos is such a hassle, the majority of kids studying here go island hopping to the different islands in the Galápagos Archipelago for spring

Heine's take Galápagos
Heine’s take Galápagos

break. Lucky for me, my family got to visit and I was able to show them around my home of San Cristóbal before we set out on an island hopping cruise.

Although this island is beautiful, it is very small, and getting to leave and see some new scenery was a nice break. And I got to do it with my favorite people! Our cruise traveled to 5 different islands, starting at San Cristóbal and then moving to Española, Floreana, Santa Fe, and ending in Santa Cruz.  Each day, we usually spent the morning hiking around whatever island we were at, and the afternoons snorkeling, kayaking, hanging out on the beach, or hiking some more. However, the absolute best part of the whole week, was that our boat had air conditioning in the rooms and no bugs!! Two luxuries that I do not have at home here.

Snorkeling at Floreana
Snorkeling at Floreana
Nasca Boobies on Santa Fe!
Nasca Boobies on Santa Fe!
Galápagos Hawk (that are apparently not seen often) on Española Island!
Not a bad view to see every night!
Not a bad view to see every night!

One of the coolest things about the Galápagos is that each island has its own wildlife and special things that it is known for.  On San Cristóbal, we saw giant tortoises, Española was home to blue and red marine iguanas, Floreana has the only population of flamingos in the whole archipelago, Santa Fe has yellow iguanas, and Santa Cruz has Penguins! The islands are such a unique place, and it was so cool to explore more of it this last week.

I am now back on San Cristóbal and starting module 4 (of 5!!), which is crazy. I only have 6 weeks left here, and the time is flying by! Starting now, I am no longer taking Marine-based classes, and this module is Global Climate Change: People, Politics, and the Environment. I’m very excited to be studying something new for the next couple weeks, and to make the most of my last month here!