Exploring Isabela Island

We often get asked by potential volunteers "What is there do to in Isabela Island? Are there free activities? Are there tours? When is there time to explore?" The answers are: There's lots to do! There are free activities as well as tours! And we want to make sure you that as a volunteer you're able to experience the beauty of Isabela in your free time (afternoons and weekends).

Our incredible social media volunteers have put together a list of things to do in Isabela! Read on to learn more about their time exploring Isbabela Island. Thanks to Nicole, Rolph and Michelle for their input and photos!

Have questions? Contact us and we'd love to answer any questions you may have!

Free Activities:

Concha de Perla:

After taking Saturday to relax and walk around town, we decided to go snorkeling on Sunday. The best spot to snorkel in town is a small, sheltered lagoon called Concha de Perla, and is located next to the pier, about a 15 minute walk from IOI headquarters. It is free to get there and IOI has some extra snorkel equipment for the volunteers to borrow. Be careful walking down the path because you might find your way blocked by a sleeping sea lion or a stray iguana! 

I had been snorkeling there once before starting with IOI, and had been lucky enough to spot several beautiful eagle rays, dark colored rays with white spots. The second time I went (the first for the other volunteers), we got even luckier. We went at low tide, when the water is supposed to be much calmer and clearer. We spotted more eagle rays, a turtle, a sea lion, some iguanas, and, best of all, 5-6 tiny Galapagos penguins! The penguins were super fast, darting around and catching fish. They seemed quite unphased by the groups of people oggling them, and we got to watch them up close for almost an hour. One member of our group wasn’t a super confident swimmer, but at low tide the water was calm and shallow, and with her flippers and snorkel she didn’t have any difficulty. So far, this has been my favorite day on Isabela!

The Giant Tortoise Breeding Center:
Centro de Crianza Arnaldo Tupiza

We have a volunteer program at the tortoise center! Want to learn more? Visit our website: https://www.ioi.ngo/tortoise-center

Run and maintained by Galapagos National Park, the tortoise center is about a 30 minute walk from IOI headquarters.

In November 2019, IOI, Galapagos Park rangers, and Galapagos conservancy specialists, participated in a repatriation of 309 giant tortoises! This means that 309 giant juvenile tortoises were repatriated to their natural habitat in the south of the island of Isabela! This program of captive breeding and subsequent repatriation of tortoises is one of the most successful in Galapagos, and several populations of different species of tortoises have recovered. 

The tortoise center is in a sunny area with limited shade, so wear sunscreen and bring plenty of water! Visit our website for more information on our tortoise center volunteer program: https://www.ioi.ngo/tortoise-center. And check out the blog post from January with the inside scoop on volunteering at the center: https://www.ioi.ngo/blog/allageswelcome

Laguna Salinas:
”Flamingo LakE”

For an easy walk and great bird watching, you can head to Laguna Salinas, accessible in town down a road near Isabela Grill. There are various salt and brackish lagoons all over Southern Isabela where you can see a variety of coastal and sea birds. There are many brackish lagoons allowing Southern Isabela to be known for the largest concentration of flamingos in Galapagos!

Beaches:

There are beautiful beaches right in town, only a couple minutes walk from the main square! These are long, white sand beaches with beautiful blue waters. On most beaches you can find lots of crabs and iguanas on the rocks and you can (almost always) be guaranteed a beautiful sunset. Don’t expect to find a seat on the bench as the sea lions have usually snagged them!

El Muro de las Lágrimas: 
The Wall of Tears

We rented bikes for this excursion. The trail is 5km long and starts just past the trail to the Giant Tortoise Center. In total, the wall is about 6.5 km from IOI. I listed this as a free activity as it is possible to walk/run the trail, but it is somewhat long and hilly, so I would highly recommend renting a bicycle. The bicycles are generally $3 an hour or $15 per day, so they are still quite budget-friendly. Our trip took about 3.5 hours (although we made several lengthy stops along the way), so we paid $10.50. It is a fairly long ride with a lot of hills, so be sure to bring lots of water and try to go in the morning or late afternoon, when the heat is less intense. We left at about 3pm. It was still somewhat hot when we started but the weather cooled down pretty quickly and was a very pleasant ride after the first 45 minutes or so. There is also an option to take a taxi to the head of the trail to at least chop off the first 1.5km.

The wall rises from the middle of barren wilderness, near the base of a mountain. It was built from 1946-1959 by prisoners in the Isabela Penal colony as a means of keeping them busy. Many died during the harsh labor conditions surrounding the wall’s construction before the colony was eventually shut down for inhumane treatment of prisoners. The wall now stands in tribute to those who lost their lives to build it. 

Behind the wall there is a trail up the mountain to a lookout point at the top. There is another lookout just before the last stretch of the bike trail which offers similar views of Isabela.

Tours:

NOTE: All of these activities must be done with an organized tour agency as they are part of the Galapagos National Park. Prices below are based on Natural Selection tour company, near IOI, and tours can be arranged once in Isabela.

Las Tintoreras:

Price: $40
Approx. time: 3 hrs

Our first day in Isabela, we took a boat out to Las Tintoreras. This tour can also be done by kayak. Las tintoreras are a series of islets just south of Puerto Villamil. It is about a 10-15 minute boat ride to get there. We spotted a penguin on our way there! We did a short hike around the islet. We spotted several turtles and a couple of golden rays from the land, and we saw two turtles mating! The snorkeling was beautiful, with crystal clear water. We saw lots of turtles and starfish, as well as a couple of swimming marine iguanas. I also spotted a large, alien-looking yellow striped lobster, and one member of our group saw a shark!

Sierra Negra volcano:

Price: $40
Approx. time: 5 hrs

Sierra Negra, the Second Largest Crater in the World! One of five active volcanoes on the island of Isabela, Sierra Negra, is one of the oldest of the island and the largest in the Archipelago. It was about a five hour hike round trip, with a bit of an incline on the way up. We first hiked up to Sierra Negra to view the large, lava-filled crater at the top. Beyond Sierra Negra, the landscape grows more space-like with black reddish lava rock spread out in every direction, dotted with cacti. Volcan chico is smaller but more colorful, and just past it is a beautiful lookout over Isabela, from which you can spot Fernandina and Elizabeth Bay. I would recommend bringing sturdy hiking shoes, sunscreen, and LOTS of water for this tour, as the hike is fairly long and the heat may make you dehydrate quickly, maybe bring a layer as well since the area can be a bit cool and misty.

Los Tuneles:

Price: $110
Approx. time: 5 hrs

Our Los Tuneles tour was incredible. Los Tuneles are a series of lava rock tunnels about a 1 hour boat ride to the west of Puerto Villamil. We went on a short hike around and spotted lots of blue-footed boobies, and even a couple of their babies! The snorkeling here was also superb. We saw some white-tip sharks asleep in the caves formed by the tunnels, as well as rays, tiny seahorses, and several turtles, one of which was almost as big as I was! 

This was my favorite tour on Isabela and I would highly recommend it.

Tortuga Island Diving:

Price: $170
Approx time: 4 hrs

I went scuba diving on Tortuga Island with Isla Bella dive center. Both of our guides were friendly and experienced and went over the briefing in great detail. All of the equipment was functional and safe. I had found it hard to believe when the woman working at the dive shop told me I had a 90% chance of spotting a hammerhead on the dive, but we were not disappointed. We spotted 4-5 hammerheads, several giant manta rays, white-tip sharks, schools of barracuda, and lots of turtles! It was a drift dive so we were able to just relax and watch the wildlife as we drifted by. In between dives they gave us sandwiches and took us around the island to see the frigate birds, which were in their mating season, with the male frigate birds having huge inflated red chests. It was overall an incredible experience and a must-do for divers!

We hope this was helpful for potential and future volunteers! There are lots of other things to do in Isabela and on other islands, so make sure to only use this as a guideline and do research before you visit us.

Make sure to check out all of our volunteer opportunities in Galapagos: https://www.ioi.ngo/volunteer-galapagos and contact us with questions or to sign up for our newsletter!

Trekking to the Turtles

IOI volunteers join Galapagos National Park rangers and local community members on an exciting adventure to learn about sea turtle nest monitoring.
By Nicole Owens

Arriving to Barahona beach

IOI volunteers accompanied park rangers of Galapagos National Park, who traveled  from Santa Cruz Island, as well as some passionate local community members on a three day camping trip to learn about sea turtle nest monitoring.

The goal was to learn about green sea turtle nesting and how to gather useful information on their nesting habits to aid in conservation research. The green sea turtles are one of four species of turtle found in Galapagos.

Green sea turtles are endangered due to threats of habitat loss, predation and destruction of habitat due to introduced species (dogs, wild pigs etc), pollution and rising water temperatures. Over the past few decades, less and less of these marine animals have been arriving to nest on Galapagos shores, and national park researchers are hoping to identify the causes. In order to do so, they need more information. This information can be obtained by monitoring the turtles to obtain data such as the sea temperature, the location of the nest, the size of the turtle and the number of eggs laid.

Learning about turtle tracks, nests, and behavior

The volunteers and national park rangers embarked on a short boat ride to Barahona beach, a popular spot for turtle nesting, a few hours west from the town of Puerto Villamil. They brought lots of supplies to last all three days and set up camp just beyond the mangroves at the top of the beach.

The first afternoon, the park rangers took us on a walk down the beach, pointing out turtle tracks and helping us to identify whether the large pits in the ground were actual nests (usually with a large pile of fresh sand at the back to cover the eggs, and tracks coming and going in two different places), or just a body pit, a large hole dug by the turtle and then abandoned before nesting. They explained that the turtles usually leave a body pit if they decide the site is not suitable for nesting, generally due to the presence of vegetation, the temperature of the ground, or the density of the sand (too loose or too hard packed). The turtles can dig several body pits in one night, or loop around the beach and return to the ocean without digging anything at all. 

A park ranger from Galapagos National Park measuring the turtle after she’s laid her eggs

Turtles generally nest in the evening, so we went on late night and early morning walks (from about 10pm-12:30am and 5:30am-8am) to try to spot the tracks while they were fresh.  We wore dark clothes and used only red lights to avoid scaring the turtles, as they are unable to see the color red. We braved a steady rainfall and chilly winds the first night, but were rewarded with three separate turtle sightings. However, only one of them actually nested. We laid down at the edge of the nest, after the turtle had finished laying, to see into the cavity where the eggs were laid and counted all 83 of them! Then, park rangers measured the turtle and marked the nest with a stake. The rangers clipped a tag onto a less sensitive skin flap on the front flippers for tracking in the future. We returned to our tents drenched and covered with sand, but very excited by everything we’d gotten to see.

A park ranger gathering the bags of trash collected

The next morning, we woke before sunrise to go in search of more tracks. We spent the afternoon playing in the ocean and recovering on some much needed sleep. We spotted all kinds of marine animals, such as rays, turtles, pelicans, iguanas, and even an octopus! Later in the afternoon, we took a walk down the beach as a group to collect the plastic bottles and other garbage that had washed up on the shores of Barahona. We filled up at least seven large trash bags, and even found a refrigerator door! We went on a final monitoring walk that evening, before waking up bright and early to pack up camp and head home.

It was a very exciting trip and we learned a lot of new information about sea turtles, their behavior and their nesting. We hope to help maintain plentiful nesting sites on Barahona and the other Galapagos’ shores in the future, in order to allow these graceful marine animals to continue to play their vital role in the Galapagos and other marine ecosystems. 

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Volunteering with IOI in Galapagos: All ages welcome!

By: Michelle Warble

Volunteering with IOI in Galapagos: All ages welcome!

I was apprehensive about the IOI Galapagos volunteer program when I signed up. I knew I wanted to go somewhere and do my small part to make the world better than I found it. However, I thought that most of the people I would be volunteering with would be teenagers. As someone in their 40s, I didn’t know if I would be able to connect at all with anyone. I’m happy to say that I was very wrong. There are volunteers here from all parts of the world and of all ages. Love of travel and wanting to volunteer give us all common ground. I think the youngest volunteer to work in the program was 18 and the oldest was in their 70s. There are several different areas of volunteering. Here is more information on 3 of the 6 programs we offer in Galapagos. Stay tuned for more information on our other 3 programs!

Giant Tortoise Center

Activity Level: Medium to Difficult (walking, lifting, outdoor cleaning). Work can always be tailored to individual needs.

Dress Code: Long sleeves on feeding days, modest casual on other days (no spaghetti straps or short shorts).

More information: The tortoise center has the maximum level of activity. Each day, you walk 2 miles to the center and then spend the morning feeding the tortoises or cleaning their pens. You must be able to walk 7 km (4 miles) per day and be physically active for 4-5 hours. Most of your work will be in the shade, but some of the walking trail will be in the sun. Hours of work are to depart at 7:15 a.m. (it is a 30 minute walk) on feeding days, and 8 a.m. on non-feeding days. These volunteers typically arrive back to Isabela at 12:30 p.m. For the tortoise center, you walk on a path that takes you by ponds sometimes filled with pink flamingos, ducks and iguanas. Most of this path is shaded by mangrove trees.

Helpful hints: On feeding days, wear long sleeves that can get dirty and may be stained from the food. Other days, short-sleeved shirts are ok. You will be interacting with tourists, so make sure to dress in a somewhat modest fashion (no tank tops or spaghetti straps). Sleeveless tops are ok.

A nesting turtle returning to the ocean after laying eggs.

Turtle Nest Monitoring

Activity Level: Medium (only walking, no lifting)

Dress Code: Modest Casual

More information: Turtle nest monitoring isn’t as strenuous as the tortoise center, but does require walking 18 km (11 miles) per day, sometimes in the morning sun. This is also sometimes at high tide, where you are walking in very wet sand. It also requires a different schedule with an early morning shift (usually 6 a.m.) and a night shift that can start any time from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Helpful Hints: Dinner is something to plan ahead of time, since the hours differ from the other volunteers. You will be walking in the water at times, so plan to wear shorts or quick-dry trousers. You will also need a full water bottle for the watch, since it is very humid and you might be sweating a lot. For the turtle monitoring, you walk along the beach with the sounds of the ocean waves and sea birds. In the morning, you can watch the sun rise and at night, you can see the stars of the Milky Way.

Social Media

Activity Level: Low to Difficult-As much or little as you would like! The activity level can be relatively low, so this would be a good choice for someone who is looking for volunteer work that is not as physical.

Dress Code: Casual (No short shorts or spaghetti strap tops) The social media team spends their days walking around the area, taking photos, writing blogs, interviewing community members and other volunteers, and attending local events!

Helpful hints: As a social media volunteer, you can do any or all of the above to document the experience. In addition, you are encouraged to participate in other activities to document the experience. This can range from culinary adventures to fun after volunteering activities - like snorkeling, hiking or bike riding!

We hope this inside scoop on our programs (from the eyes of a volunteer) are helpful and we look forward to sharing more! Please be sure to reach out with any questions or hesitations you may have. We'd love your help in Galapagos!

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Jamie Preira, Reflections on Cuba

Growing up in Miami, Florida I was constantly surrounded by Cuban culture – the coffee, the music, the language, and the people. Cuba has always felt like a fairytale place that I would only hear stories about or see pictures of – it was this fascinating yet “forbidden” place in my mind. IOI broke down that barrier and helped me go on a trip that’s felt out of reach my entire life; doing something I love doing – SCUBA DIVING! All of this while volunteering for a wonderful cause – restoring coral reefs!

Having lived in Colorado for 7 years now, my biggest fear heading into this trip was the language barrier and that I was traveling alone. Not to mention I felt a little rusty with my diving skills. Being forced to overcome my fears, because that was my new reality, those fears actually became the most empowering parts of my trip. Everyone I met in Cuba was always willing to help in any situation and everyone was very patient with my Spanish. The community of Cocodrilo was especially patient, kind, and friendly. My fear of traveling alone was quickly overcome by all of the new friends I was making in Cocodrilo. Reinaldo (aka Nene - the dive master and IOI representative for the project in Cocodrilo) was an amazingly patient and kind dive instructor. My fears of being rusty at diving were also quickly overcome the second we got into the water.

Getting to Cocodrilo is definitely an adventure and if you go into that with that mindset, you will enjoy the experience so much more. Knowing that the small airports, possible airplane delays and long bumpy car ride will take you to one of the most beautiful and unique places on earth is the right mindset to have. I spent a few days before my travels to Cocodrilo in Havana and Vinales and I enjoyed experiencing Cuba in this way before heading to Cocodrilo. The best part about traveling with IOI on this adventure was how supported I felt. It can be daunting thinking about arranging car rides in a foreign place, getting to the airport, traveling around an unfamiliar country in general, and dealing with delays in another language. But with IOI, I was taken to the airport by Enrique when it was time to fly to Gerona, and then received the same phenomenal service when I was arriving and departing from Gerona. It made my travels so much easier knowing that I was always going to have someone waiting for me on the other end of a plane ride.

The Havana terminal for domestic flights is smaller than for international flights and does not have much to it - there is a place to grab snacks and water, but I would recommend doing that before you arrive at the airport. The plane ride itself was short and sweet. The Gerona airport is quaint - you walk off the plane and into a small room with one baggage carousel. Once I got my bags, I left that room, found Reinaldo (a different Reinaldo from the dive master) and we were on our way to Cocodrilo! It’s about a 2.5 - 3 hour drive on a very interesting “road.” My excitement had me uninterested in the amount of time it was taking or the bumpy nature of the ride but rather taking in my surroundings and the cool, salty air. We stopped after about 30-45 minutes in the car to head to the local immigration office where I had to show my passport and my slip of paper authorizing me to head into this part of la Isla. I felt, and still feel, so lucky to have been granted access to this remote part of Cuba that most Cubans don’t even know about!

Dinner was waiting for me when Reinaldo and I arrived at “Villa Arrecife” and I quickly learned that I was going to be very well accommodated. Between having a comfortable room in a beautiful house and eating SO WELL for every meal, I was able to completely immerse myself in the experience of being in Cocodrilo.

The town of Cocodrilo is small. Really small. My favorite part of it being so small was not only interacting with locals, but really getting to know the people of the Cocodrilo. I made some great friends that I know I will maintain contact with for the rest of my life. Everyone I met was genuine, helpful, friendly, and outgoing. Living in a small town means lots of time together, sitting on the porch, walking to the beach, or watching/participating in a pick up soccer game. You get to spend lots of genuine time together - not looking at cell phones or distracted by computers - it’s magical! One of my favorite parts on the weekend was heading to the "circulo" to listen to music and talk to locals, folks from Gerona, and others from La Fey. Making sure you’ve got everything you’d need is going to be key before you head to Cocodrilo. Being in a small town means there’s not much to buy besides chips, soda, rum, and other things like this. I highly recommend following the IOI packing list and not skipping over anything!

An average day consisted of a morning dive volunteering and free time in the afternoon. Diving with Reinaldo (Nene) is a great experience. He’s patient, slow moving, and very communicative which makes it easy to feel comfortable in the water regardless of how much time has passed since your last dive.  My 3 weeks volunteering consisted of completing fish counts, conducting trash pick-ups, hunting lionfish or cleaning the PVC pipes underwater where the corals were growing. Afternoons were free time and self-driven. There’s great snorkeling and exploring around Cocodrilo. If you interested in exploring more, going snorkeling or doing more than that, there’s usually someone there who’d be happy to go with you - all you have to do is ask! I was in Cocodrilo for 3 weeks and I was never bored, and I read more books than I have in 3 years! Cocodrilo is the perfect place for disconnecting from technology and the fast-pace nature of your life. It’s a great place to reconnect to nature, recreate those genuine people to people interactions and focus on yourself!

I had such an incredible, life changing experience on my trip with IOI to Cocodrilo. Pre-Trip communication was clear and my pre-trip questions were quickly responded to. I felt extremely prepared and well informed for my trip. During my trip I felt well taken care of and supported by the IOI Cuba staff. The volunteer opportunities were very accurately advertised and the diving and snorkeling around Cocodrilo were breathtaking. The house (Villa Arrecife) is very comfortable, the community is nice, safe, and engaging. The food was amazing - delicious, filling, and healthy! It felt so empowering to be a part of this program and to be able to help. There is so much to do and so much to see in this small town! I cannot wait to be involved in another program and return back to Cocodrilo!

Study Abroad in Galapagos

Kathryn Metzker
1/10/18

After studying abroad no fewer than eight times between high school and grad school, you could say I am a big fan.  Language programs, college courses, student exchange, volunteer teaching, learning traditional Ghanaian wood carving, I couldn’t get enough.  Each type of trip was a completely different experience, but all offered me the chance to get out of my natural habitat, out of my comfort zone, and immerse myself in a new place and culture.  Years later when I started teaching study abroad programs, I found it even more rewarding than my experience in standard classroom-teaching because students are so much more excited to learn on study abroad.  They are ready for a life-changing experience, ready to broaden their minds and challenge their beliefs.  While there are difficult days when students are hot, mosquito-bitten, and completely sick of eating rice and beans, I see them rise to the occasion to make the most of their experience.  I learned that lesson first-hand in college, studying abroad in the Galapagos through the University of Miami and IOI: when you have planned, saved up money, and had to take 2 planes, a ferry, 3 buses, and a boat to get to where you are going, you are committed. 

In the Galapagos, I lived with a wonderful host family and explored the islands, studying biology, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.  There, I developed skills in adaptability, enthusiasm for cultural immersion, and building strong relationships which I still maintain today.  My strongest memory from that trip was a bike excursion I took during my first week on Isabela Island.  One morning I went up to the highlands on the side of the volcano with two other IOI students, Jimmy and Joel, to conduct interviews for a class in Political Ecology.  We were learning about where people got their drinking water on the island, looking at personal catchment systems and larger bottle distributors.  We had biked to our interview site from Joel’s host family’s farm and intended to bike back to the farm for lunch and then down the mountain back to town.  However, after biking for a few hours, we realized we had gotten lost.  Turning down random paths between jungle and farmland, we looked for familiar landmarks.  A big tree, next to some vines, a barbed wire fence, and a few boards of wood that perhaps at one time were a bench… And if you know the highlands, you know that is not a promising landmark – it describes pretty much the entire mountainside.  Still, as avid cyclists, we were enjoying our detour until Jimmy’s front tire popped.  Well now we could not even just bike straight back to town. 

Walking our bikes through the lush, steep hills was beautiful, if difficult work.  We sent Joel ahead on his bike to look for the farm, and lucky we did because Joel found his most of his host family loaded up in the truck and about to leave.  That load was full, but his host dad assured us he would be back in about an hour for us.  Learning about “Galapagos time,” we spent not an hour, but the rest of the afternoon and evening helping the rest of the family plant cassava, playing card games, and having a rollicking good time.  While nothing went according to plan, we adapted to our situation and opened ourselves to have a more fun and rewarding day than we could have expected.  An adventure, started for the sake of homework, finished with making great friends.  After years away from the island we still keep in touch.  Now that I am headed back to Isabela as IOI’s new Assistant Director for Education and Outreach Programs in Galapagos, I have already emailed my local bicycling friends and planned our next adventure!

This program allowed me to get to know amazing Galapagueños, adventurous travelers, and to get to know myself.  Through UM and IOI’s model for teaching, I found that hands-on experience and learning from local friends and teachers helped me develop and learn more than I could have in a classroom setting.  I saw my friend Erika, who had never left the US before our semester abroad and who spoke no Spanish make so many local friends over her time there by developing her talent to communicate without speaking the same language and also committing to learn Spanish.  Each of my travels has shaped my philosophy and practice of learning and adapting to other cultures. Meeting the incredible team at IOI inspired me by showing me that it is possible, and in fact crucial, for an organization to interweave conservation, community development, and international exchange.

Learning

Reflecting back on what I have learnt on Isabela conjures up a whole host of things, a list which is endless - I think it is safe to say that every single person I have met on this island has influenced or taught me something.

A tourist passing through taught me a new card game, Nick and Felipe showed me how to fillet a fish, and cook an incredible tuna pasta, locals have helped me with my Spanish, showed me how to salsa, surf and so much more. But, these are all things I can demonstrate I have learnt, I came to the Galapagos prepared to learn about the wildlifeand culture but during the process perhaps most importantly I have learnt a lot about myself, reflecting back on the person I was when I came I can see that my mental approach to life has changed. I have been able to relax and become spontaneous, going with the flow and not afraid when things go wrong. Like the endemic wildlife of the Galapagos I have adapted from the bustling streets of london to the peaceful methodical island life of Isabela. 

Before they left I asked some of the Spring 2017 UMiami students what they had learnt. Steph who came to Isabela with some Spanish told me that she now understands so much more Spanish and sometimes doesn't even need to think about it. The other big thing she said she’d learnt is to embrace the culture, to relax if something isn't as you expect, there a big culture different here and the island is like one big family, community is definitely an important word on Isabela. From the moment you arrive you get swept into the community, and you know everyone embraces you as part of the family. There are lots of differences but thats what makes the Galapagos so special, you learn to love it and everything that makes the island individual. 

During my time on Isabela I learnt that being adaptable and easy-going is going to help make the whole experience more enriching. It is likely that 90% of the things you do on this island will be different from your life at home, so rather than finding issues with it make it your advantage, embrace the fact that the experience your living is completely unique to you.

It is a great opportunity to get a first hand account of a different culture - no matter how often you travel, no matter how many countries you’ve visited on vacation there is nothing like living and interacting with locals on a daily basis. I learnt to see the unseen by listening to the locals and getting them to take you to the less visited tourist sites and hiking the additional pathway to Volcan Chico with the guide to ensure you see as much as you can, rather than letting the fatigue set in and wait for the group to return from that part of the hike.  I learnt so much more about the Galapagos that I would have done by visiting and sticking to a guidebook, I learnt this by talking to people, listening to their advice and making the most of every opportunity.  I fly home next week with a wealth of enriched knowledge from my trip, knowledge off the famous Galapagos Iguanas, or how tortoise conservation is bring back the species or no matter what the language barrier is try to communicate with the locals they know what there talking about for they live it everyday. 

Alongside this I am going to take home knowledge about myself, who I am, how i’ve changed and how my Isabela experience has taught me to be a better version of myself. I hope that all future volunteers have an experience as inspiring and life changing as mine as it is something I will never forget. 

As I have said goodbye to people on the trip it became a tradition to ask there highs and lows (although the lows were very limited and often included not getting into the island life as soon as they arrived, or not taking full advantage on day one - these are things we couldn't have changed). 

The high’s seemed to be endless and it came down to a week by week highlight so that everything could be included. My first night here I sat on the beach with Kiki watching the sunset planning everything we wanted to do whilst we were here, time has flown past and last week I sat on the beach with her and as the sunset set on her last night on Isabela. We reflected on the highlights of our and trip and it dawned on us that we have done everything we set out to do and so much more. When I asked her what she was taking away from the trip she couldn't choose is it the passion for life that the locals exude or the exotic widlife? Working with the giant tortoises? Or simply living in the Galapagos? Our island experience has been unbelievable, we both came here looking for something different to our lives at home and we found it and so much more we could never have imagined. The paradise of the Galapagos captured our hearts and is something I know I will never forget. 

Georgia B

PUNTO MORENO

Every time I travel to a new place in the Galapagos, I go with the anticipation of seeing a new animal that I have not yet spotted or getting a better view of one of the unique animals I’ve already had the chance to interact with. Students who have studied abroad in the Galapagos before me always raved about the trip that they took to Punto Moreno on the west side of Isabela so I decided that it was a trip I had to go on. Even though it was a two and a half hour boat ride over to the west side of Isabela, my group and I didn’t mind because we had heard that there was a good chance to see whales and dolphins. We saw lots of dorsal fins on the way over, likely belonging to dolphins, but we never got a good look at anything to figure out what it was. Nonetheless, we took it as a sign that we were in for a great day.

                                 
Once we arrived at Punto Moreno, we immediately saw endemic flightless cormorants, which only live on the west side of Isabela. The water was only about 20ºC so it was frigid when I first jumped in to snorkel, but the chance to see the flightless cormorants up close for the first time kept me going. I watched as the flightless cormorants stood on rocks near the water with their disproportionately small wings held out, trying to dry off. Most of the cormorants that we saw in this first spot were juveniles; they were a dark brown color rather than black and did not have piercing blue eyes like the adults. At one point, two of them got into a fight, seemingly because one got too close to the other’s rocks. They waddled towards each other, opened their beaks, and started to thrust their wide-open beak in between their opponent’s. It was absolutely comical to watch because the flightless cormorant is not particularly coordinated on land and it was such a strange way to show aggression. After about two minutes, the intruder admitted defeat and went back to his initial rock, a little bit further from the water.

After the water got too cold for us to handle any longer, we got back into the boats and went to a new bay where we found Galapagos penguins. There was a group of about 25 penguins swimming along, and I was so excited that the cold water didn’t matter anymore – I just jumped back in and joined them. As someone who has worked with penguins in an aquarium before, I was thrilled to get to see them hunting in the wild. I was awestruck as they glided through the water easily hunting the small baitfish that were all schooled together. We soon came across a rock that was separated from the rest of the island and deemed it “the most Galapagos rock there ever was” because there were three endemic species sitting on it: 1 flightless cormorant, 4 Galapagos penguins, and 2 marine iguanas. There were also 3 Galapagos green sea turtles swimming around it.

After lunch, it was time to start heading home and fish along the way. Even though I hadn’t seen any of the really big Galapagos animals I was hoping to, it had still been a wonderful day. On our way back, the boat suddenly stopped and Stallen, our boat hand, ran to the front to look in the water – he had seen a whale shark! I quickly joined him on the front of the boat and got a quick glimpse of her as she dove down and disappeared from sight. I didn’t get to swim with her, but I was satisfied – I had gotten a glimpse of a whale shark and no longer needed to refer to it as “that mythical beast” in order not to jinx myself and decrease my chances of seeing one.

A half hour later while we fished, I was once again hanging out on the front of the boat and saw something appear at the surface. It initially looked like the carapace of a sea turtle, and I pointed it out to Steph who was sitting next to me, but neither of us thought much of it. Suddenly it was back again, but this time it didn’t look like a turtle, it looked more like a fin of a manta ray swimming at an odd angle. Stallen came to see what we were doing and we asked what it was – the whale shark was back! We ran back to the main part of the boat and grabbed our snorkel gear, determined not to miss our chance to swim with the whale shark again. I catapulted my body off of the boat and swam in her direction as quickly as I could. I caught up to her in time to swim together for about 20 seconds and then she dove down again and disappeared from sight. Back on the boat, we were all freaking out because we were so excited – Shannon was hysterically crying, Katie was squealing, and all I could say was “Oh my god”. Once we all finally calmed down and started fishing again, the whale shark was back, but this time she was closer to the boat! We all leaped back into the water and watched as she slowly swam by. She swam right under the boat and we were able to watch all 35 feet of her pass and noticed that she was definitely a female and appeared to be pregnant. Her tail was taller than I am and her gills were about five feet large. I kept up at her pace, swimming alongside her, a little more than 6 feet away, as she fed on the abundant plankton. After staying near our group for five minutes, she once again dove down and we lost sight of her.

After catching six yellowfin tuna, it was time to head home for real, but it turned out our day of excitement still wasn’t over. On our way, we saw spouts of water being hurled into the air, apparently from a blowhole. A couple minutes later, we finally saw the whale – it had a small dorsal fin and even though we were far away, we could tell it was huge. Later we used pictures of its dorsal fin to determine that we had caught a glimpse of a right whale. As I watched the horizon on the lookout for the whale, I watched as three mobula rays breached, one after the other. Soon after, there was a flock of blue-footed boobies dive-bombing the water to feed on a school of fish.

After we got back from Punto Moreno, I realized that my Galapagos animals bucket list has been completed. I’ve swam with or seen all of the Galapagos’ unique flora and fauna including an orca, sea lions, green sea turtles, marine iguanas, scalloped hammerheads, giant manta rays, common dolphins, and dozens of species of fish. My time in the Galapagos is quickly coming to an end, and even though I don’t want to leave Isabela, I still consider myself lucky: lucky to have had the opportunity to spend three months here, lucky to have met so many incredible people, lucky to have seen so many incredible creatures, and most importantly lucky that a place like the Galapagos still exists. I envy the simple way of life that is maintained in Isabela, where people live harmoniously with the incredible natural world around them. Isabela, Puerto Villamil, and IOI have become my second home. From the moment I leave, I know that I will constantly be on the lookout for an opportunity that will take me back to this extraordinary and unique place.

Megan P

An Interview with Ben Hall

Ben is a student from the University of Miami, he has spent three months living with a host family and living on Isabela as part of his study abroad program. Ben has spent a lot of his free time on the island surfing at El Faro (the surf beach), and has for his Service Learning Project he has been conducting evening walks along one of the beaches looking for signs of sea turtle nesting. Ben was lucky enough to witness a sea turtle heading up the beach to begin nesting. 

What do you do in your free time/weekends on Isabela? 

I paid to rent a surfboard for my last two months here, so on my free time and every Saturday I make sure to go out to the surf beach and surf as much as I can.  On Sundays, I go on trips with my host family where we have picnics and play soccer at local beaches, such as Playa del Amor or El Estero.

What Interested you in the Galapagos? And the Study abroad program?

The Galapagos are famous for being the inspiration for modern evolutionary biology, so as a biologist I have always been interested in coming here and seeing all of the famed wildlife.  When I was still in high school, I found out the University of Miami had a study abroad program to come here, so I knew I had to attend Miami and take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

How did you become involved with IOI? 

University of Miami and IOI Study Abroad Program

How long are you going to be part of this program? 

3 months 

What are your goals? Why are you participating?

My goals for coming to the Galapagos were to see all of the unique animals and to see the same unique patterns that inspired Darwin's theory of evolution.

How are you liking the experience? 

Living in the Galapagos has been an incredible experience.  Even though the islands seem small, there is an endless number of things to see.  There are so many large creatures in the Galapagos, and unlike other places in the world, you see them all the time! Living in the Galapagos for multiple months has also allowed me to learn about the island culture and puts my life back in the States in a whole new perspective.

Would you recommend this to other travellers? 

Absolutely.  The Galapagos Islands are like nothing else in the world and you will not regret coming in any way.

For people coming after you is there any advice you’d tell them?

Be ready to eat lots of fish, and overall less calories in general than what is considered normal in the States.  Invest in some jam at a local store, and then always have lots of fresh bread from a panaderia on hand.

The one thing you wished you’d pack.

Lots and lots of CLIF bars.  I brought 12, but they disappeared fast.

One thing you regret bringing. 

Not really anything.  I've used basically everything that I packed, and stuff I haven't used is mostly medication just in case I get sick.

Highlight of your trip?

Probably the most amazing part of my time in the Galapagos was when I got to swim with giant manta rays on my way to Los Tuneles.  Our boat captain spotted one from the surface, so we slowed our boat down to get a closer look.  Once we noticed that there was more than one in the water, the captain told us we could quickly put our gear on and swim with them.  When I first jumped in, the one we were following was pretty far away, so I only saw its outline and thought that was it.  However, when I looked back to the boat, the deckhand was pointing me in another direction.  Sure enough, I turned around and clearly saw a giant manta about 20 feet away! As I kept swimming around, I saw 3 or 4 more giant mantas, and one swam straight at me.  It was an incredible, unforgettable experience.

Georgia B

Interview with Dylan

Dylan Rozansky - @drozansky9068

Dylan is a University of Miami student who is visiting the Galapagos as his study abroad program. During his time on Isabela he has worked at the Tortoise Conservation Centre - as part of his Service Learning Project, this has involved cleaning corrals, and assisting various jobs around the centre so that it remains in great condition for the tortoises and is a great experience for visitors of the centre. 

What do you do in your free time/weekends on Isabela

I enjoy going to the beach, going snorkelling, surfing, and spending time with my host family.

What Interested you in the Galapagos And the Study abroad program

I was drawn by the amazing wildlife here that are not found anywhere else in the world

I picked this study abroad program because I had friends that went on it in the past and absolutely loved it. The number of trips the students get to take is amazing and I knew that I would love every single one of them. The third reason was I hadn’t been to South America before and I really wanted to come.

How did you become involved with IOI

University of Miami and IOI Study Abroad Program

How long are you going to be part of this program

months

What are your goals Why are you participating

My biggest goal coming here was to improve my Spanish because I have taken Spanish for the past 4ish years and I have never had the chance to use it outside of the classroom. I was really excited by the idea of using Spanish as my primary means of communication with people around me. Since I got here, I also really enjoyed learning how to surf because I never had the chance when I was younger and I want to get even better at it. Another goal was improving my free diving skills because we free dive in a lot of our classes and I wanted to be able to spend more time underwater and be able to dive deeper. I feel that I have managed to achieve all of these goals in the three months I have been participating in the IOI Study Abroad program and I plan to continue improving my Spanish once I have left Isabela and continue on my travels around South America. 

How are you liking the experience

I absolutely love Isabela! The people here are so nice and it is a big change from life in the US. The field trips have been amazing and we have gotten to see some things that I thought I would only ever see in books – like manta rays, marine iguanas, Galapagos penguins, and hammerhead sharks. I know that I will come back to the Galapagos in the future!!

Would you recommend this to other travelers

Yes! It is a great way to see the Galapagos and makes you feel like you have found a second home!

For people coming after you is there any advice you’d tell them

Come with an open mind and be willing to step outside your comfort zone because it will make your experience that much better

The one thing you wished you’d pack.

I really wish I brought my hammock from home as it is one of the best ways to spend an afternoon or see the sunset.

One thing you regret bringing. 

I regret bringing so many long sleeves because you just don’t need them down here!

 Highlight of your trip

The highlight of my trip was seeing two giant manta rays at Tortuga, it was the coolest thing I have ever seen! I couldn’t believe how big they were!

Community Service Reflections

Rachel Weinstein – Spring semester 2017

As my semester in the Galapagos comes to a close, I have three months of memories and accomplishments to reflect on. One of the many accomplishments I will be able to look back on is the community service I did in Puerto Villamil, collecting trash from the beach and trails within Galapagos National Park. It may not be the most glamorous community service project, and many people would never understand why I would ever want to do it, but there’s no project I would trade it for.  I remember one morning in which I was too sick to do my community service and when I saw the other student return I was surprisingly upset that I couldn’t have gone. That was the moment when I realized how much this community service had impacted me. 

Every day when we go out to the beach we fill two full sized trash bags. Now take that mental image (if possible) and multiply that by 16 days. The trash really adds up quickly and I’m very proud of the difference we’ve made. Every piece of plastic, or bottle, or melted balloon picked up is another creature saved and makes this small town that much more beautiful. I feel like I’ve made a huge impact and I truly hope that students and locals are encouraged to continue to clean the beaches in the future because it is both rewarding and necessary. 

Cleaning up trash has also changed the way I see the Galapagos. When I first came to the Galapagos I felt like it was a pristine environment and it was just inherently better than the United States when it came to garbage disposal and pollution. Then I started cleaning the beaches and although my attention was drawn to the fact that pollution is a problem, the beaches are much cleaner than the United States. Not too much later, I had reached a point where my eyes would naturally focus on litter and I realized there is garbage absolutely everywhere. Even when hiking to the top of a volcano or looking at rocks in the middle of nowhere, there is always garbage. Especially around town, there is almost as much trash as there is lava rock lying in the streets. The longer I’ve been here the more I’ve come to realize that wherever there are people, there will be a footprint of litter, and the Galapagos is no exception. It is especially disheartening to be aware of the fact that a lot of the garbage in the streets is the result of stray cats and dogs, and that the issue is more complex than just human laziness. 

As I prepare to leave Isabela, I have to say goodbye to the soft sandy beaches and maze-like mangroves I’ve come to know like the back of my hand and get ready to embrace Miami. For this upcoming summer, I’ve decided I’m going to continue to go to the beaches twice a week to pick up trash. I may not be able to help this community any longer but I now have an obligation to help my own community and keep the beaches clean all over the world. I’m also hoping that I can inspire friends to come with me and become as passionate about picking up trash as I have. I am part of organizations that require community service hours and I really think getting these organizations involved can make a tremendous difference.

On a slightly different note, I’ve come to realize not every pollutant on the beach is really trash. Over the course of the semester I’ve found plenty of interesting items that I plan to keep. Some of these items include: a very useful keychain holder, small decorative knick knacks, and a whole lot of sea glass. I am a strong proponent that making use of the garbage I find is much better than letting it waste away in a landfill and I’m truly excited to keep collecting in Miami and find more hidden treasures.