Days 58 -61: Scuba, Kicker Rock, and 21st Birthdays

Friday, October 17, 2008

Today was Sonia's 21st birthday and also my scuba diving day. That meant we had more than 3 hours of class in the morning so that my group could dive in the afternoon. Class was really long and tiring, and we ended up not finished because Carlos was too tired to teach anymore and he was starting to think in Spanish. Before lunch, I went to the post office to pick up my package that finally arrived! Actually, it arrived quite punctually... I was super excited to finally recieve my waterproof camera case :)

After lunch, it was scuba diving time. We got all geared up and headed to the boat - these two dives would be off of a boat instead of the dock. I was wearing two suits - one shorty and one full-length wetsuit - and by the time I had all my gear on I was so hot and claustrophobic I thought I might pass out if I didn't get in the water soon. Luckily, as soon as I got in I was perfectly fine. Tom and I were buddies for this dive - Katie was with Chicho, Emily with Victor, and Danielle with Vanessa. We started our descent and I had no troubles equalizing at all! We went down 60 feet underwater - 18 meters. It was truly amazing to be breathing that far below the surface. Down there, we did a few exercises which all went quite swimmingly (hehe), and then swam around to view the sealife. We saw a couple rays, sea cucumbers, sea stars, fish, and lots and lots of sea urchins. It was really cool. When we had started our ascent, I didn't realize it and all the sudden I started floating to the surface. As you ascend, air expands and I had air trapped in my wet suits b/c they were a bit big on me; Victor simply pulled at the neck of my wet suit and a huge bubble of air came out and I sank back down. We had a safety stop for 3 minutes at 5 meters below the surface, and then came to the surface.

On the boat we joined Katie - she went up right after our descent because she had been having a really stressful week and had too much anxiety. After de-gearing, we took the boat back to the loading dock where we waited for a truck to come pick up the empty oxygen tanks, and to take a break between our dives in order for the nitrogen to get out of our system. Vanessa and I jumped out of the boat and swam to shore to rest for a while - but swimming with no flippers and 2 wet suits on is really difficult! I felt like I was going no where and I was extremely buoyant. She and I were being silly and made sea lion noises while flopping around in the water.

By the time we headed out for our second dive, the wreck dive, it was already much colder because the sun was going down, and we had lost body heat already. Katie didn't go on this one - so it was just me and Tom, Danielle and Vanessa, Emily and Victor, and Chicho. The wreck dive is only about 15 meters down - about 40 years ago a cargo ship hit the reef that sits outside the bay in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, and sunk. It took a few days to sink so they were able to save most everything on board, and no one was injured, but because of the massive size of the ship it's skeleton still lays on the bottom of the ocean, not too far off shore. The water was much colder here, and there was a strong current. We had to do another couple exercises on this dive: removing our mask, and buddy breathing. Although I struggled breathing a bit when my mask was removed, I still did it successfully! We saw a sea turtle, along with lots and lots of fish and other stuff around the wreck. Sea life really seems to gravitate toward wrecks - hiding in the cracks and crevasses. We had to surface because we had all used most of our oxygen due to the strong current and heavy exertion. Luckily no one really ran out of air - just almost.

Back on land, we unloaded our gear and I headed home to shower quickly before dinner. Dinner was fine - not my favorite restaurant at all. We all decided it was dessert-thirty after dinner, and went to get nutella crepes. Yum! Then Rachel, Steph O, and I walked around looking for hawaiian themed clothes we could buy since tonight was the Hawaiian party at Bar Arrecife. With little to no luck, we headed back to our houses to change, and then met up shortly after nine to go over there. Steph D, Annie, and Shawna were all M.I.A., so Sonia, Joe, Sam, Lindsey, Rachel, and I started the party off by ourselves. Finally more and more people showed up until it was crazy-crowded and there was dancing and partying and drinking as well. Sonia got a true 21st birthday even though we weren't in the states (don't worry for those of you who are worrying - no one got too drunk and no one got sick). Around 2 am I headed home because I was exhausted - that was about the time that everyone else left too. I hit my bed when I got home and slept like a rock until about 7:30 the next morning...

Saturday, October 18, 2008

I had breakfast with my mom early this morning because I had to leave fairly early for a class field-trip. I was famished because of all the dancing and activity that had gone on last night, so I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of food. Then I got all my stuff together and headed out to meet up with my class on the pier. Today we had a trip to Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido) and Isla Lobos. Around 9 am we headed out, and first went to Isla Lobos. We couldn't go on the land - but we were able to snorkel in crystal-clear water. It was really neat because the sea lions there are really playful and friendly, and they swam with us and tugged on our flippers. I also got really close to some sea turtles, and was able to document it all with my new waterproof camera case! Steph said she had never seen so many fish in her life - I was in agreement - it was amazing how many different types of fish there are, and in just one small area! I got out of the water after about 45 minutes because I was really cold (the shorty I had rented from Victor was too big and water was running right through it). The current was also really strong, so I was a bit tired by the time I made it back to the boat. I was able to warm up and dry off a bit before everyone else made it back to the boat and we departed for our next destination: Leon Dormido.

Kicker Rock, more commonly known by the locals as Leon Dormido, is one of the famous icons of the Galapagos Islands. It is a huge "rock" comprised of volcanic ash that was compressed over the years, and has been split in 2 by erosion over time. The channel is filled with marine life, and that is where we got to snorkel. The water was even colder here because it was so much farther away from the island, and it was much deeper as well. There we were lucky because we got to see White-tipped sharks, Galapagos sharks, and spotted eagle rays. Not only did we see those animals, but we also saw huge barnacles, tons of fish, coral, sea stars, and other colorful organisms. We had to swim against the current through the channel, so it was kinda difficult, but totally worth it. I couldn't stay in long - again - because I was so cold. Everyone else stayed in about 30 minutes longer than Sam, Carlos, and I because we were too cold.

Once we had everyone back on board, we motored over to Puerto Grande - a secluded beach on San Cristobal - for lunch. Surprise, surprise, it was chicken and rice and beans! Dont' get me wrong, I love chicken, rice, and beans, but I am getting a little sick of it seeing as we get it almost every day... After lunch, we walked around a little bit, then eventually got back on the boat to go back home. I rode on the front with Carlos, Steph, and Lindsey. Forrest sat on the top. It was such a nice time, with the sun starting to go down and the wind whipping through our hair. It was one of those moments in life where you have time to just stop and think about things, and realize how amazing life actually is. Even though it was getting cold, I enjoyed every minute of it, with my feet hanging off the side, getting splashed with sea water.

Back in port I returned my flippers and shorty to Victor. I haven't spent many days on boats before, so walking around town I felt like everything was still moving - it was the weirdest sensation! I got soft-serve with some people, warmed up in the sun (it finally came out AFTER our trip was over), and then went home to shower before dinner. Tonight's dinner was a BBQ at David's house. Around 7pm I met up with some girls and we went to get a glass of wine before dinner. At 8 pm we headed back to David's, where everyone just hungout and talked until about 10pm when we finally ate. Silly Ecuadorian time...

Dinner was pretty great - afterwards I went to the pier and talked with Rachel for a while, then went home to get some shut-eye. I was exhausted from the previous 2 days on minimial sleep, and I readily fell into a deep sleep until about 7am the next morning.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

I had shrimp and fried plantains for breakfast today - a bit odd as a breakfast food, but still good. My host dad came home right before I was leaving to go to school to study, so I got to see him momentarily before he left for another week. He told me he got to scuba dive with a baby whale shark that was only about 3 meters long! That is really exciting because just seeing whale sharks in general is really lucky, let alone seeing a baby one. I told him about my day of snorkeling, and then left to go to school. It was by far one of the prettiest days we have had so far, so naturally I couldn't stay away from the beach. I headed out there with Sam, and we were later joined by Shawna, Lisa, Stephanie, Danny, and others. The tide was really really far out - the farthest I have seen thus far - which meant we couldn't get out past the rocks to swim. I did quite a bit of studying, and around 12pm we went into town to get lunch. The only place open was Casa Blanca, so Rachel and I split a cheeseburger, and we each got gigantic mora batitdos. It turned out to be a rather pleasant lunch with all of us laughing so hard we were crying.

We said our goodbyes to Sam and Lindsey for the week - they were headed back to La Galapaguera to volunteer more - and then ventured back to school and Playaman. I went to the beach with Rachel and Shawna - there were others out there too - and studied for my exam tomorrow. Around 2pm we got hot and decided to go for a swim. The waves were ridiculous - Shawna S, Lisa, and I decided to go out for a swim to play in the waves. We were getting pummeled by waves about 10 ft high, going up with the swells and falling back down the other side. Having a wave that big crash on your head while you are about 20 meters off shore is the weirdest sensation because you kinda just float along the top of the wave, but in the white water... We decided we wanted to get some exercise to go for a swim, so we headed straight out to a sailboat that was anchored in the bay.

It took us about 30 minutes to get there - and when we finally did we saw that they had a U.S. flag on their ship. The lady started talking to us and asked if we wanted to rest on board for a while, so we said sure and climbed on up. Turns out Mark and Nancy from Washington, have been sailing on this boat since June of 2005! I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this - it almost doesn't seem possible. They have been all over, and just arrived in the Galapagos a couple days ago after a 31-day sail from southern Chile. We chatted with them for about 15 minutes until we decided we should probably head in because it appeared (from very far away) that our friends whom we had left on the beach were getting worried. We dove back in the water and started the swim back. Luckily the waves were pushing us towards shore more than pulling us out, so it only took about 15 minutes to swim back. (45 minutes of swimming in swells = a pretty good workout). When we finally arrived back on shore several of the navy kids informed me (in Spanish) that they had been watching us the whole time and if anything had happened to us they would have swum out to save us. The thing about the navy is, they are gigantic slimeballs, so having them offer to save us wasn't really an exciting prospect...

After resting for a bit and downing a gatorade (I had a lot of salt in my mouth from swallowing so much, and choking on some as well), I got some more studying done. Just as I was about to go in, Jonathan, Danielle, Gabriel, Caroline, and Matthew showed up. I ended up talking with them for a while - Jonathan had just gotten back in town from work and is here for a couple days, so I wanted to hear about his past week. Caroline and Matthew were trying to teach Gabriel english, but that wasn't working so well because the beach was the busiest I have ever seen it today.

Eventually I excused myself to go study, did some homework and studying, went home to shower, and went to dinner with Annie, Shawna, and Rachel. Tom and Danielle came a little bit later and joined us, and we stuffed ourselves silly with delicious delicious food. Then it was back to school for more studying. Danielle and I studied together for a while, took a break to sing some Disney songs, studied some more, and went home to finally sleep.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Today officially marks my 2-months away from home point, and is also my half-way point of my trip. It's sad to think it's almost half over! I am having the time of my life down here and I am trying to savor every moment. I could not have picked a better study abroad program than this one and thinking about how I had second thoughts about coming now seems silly. I have made some amazing new friends, learned tons about the culture, seen millions of things, and experienced more diversity than I could have dreamed of in a thousand years.

I woke up early today to get to school and do some more studying for my exam. It was a pleasnt morning, a little cloudy and overcast, but still a nice day. I had a delicious breakfast, prepared well for my exam, and then took my exam and I'm pretty sure I did really well. It seemed very fair and I think I answered all of the questions correctly, so hopefully my grade reflects how I felt about it! Lunch was back at Sula Sula again, and the chicken was thankfully delicious today. It can be hit or miss, and today was a hit. Now I am just hanging out, catching up on some reading for class, and then eventually going back to class for a couple hours before dinner. I am hoping to get a good swim in today - but the tide is really far out right now and I can't get past the rocks. Plus, the waves are so big there are actually people surfing at Playaman, which is the first time people have done that since I have been here. I have heard that since we are getting closer to November, the temperatures are warming up and the waves are getting bigger. I am excited because I absolutely love waves, and hopefully I will get to try some surfing at Puerto Chino this weekend!