R + D | South America

The problem with blogging while traveling is that we never feel like updating our blog… but we´re trying. Photos are really annoying and slow to upload, so please be patient with us… more photos to come.

So. Entonces. We are now in the Galápagos Islands, in the town of Puerto Ayora. On the mainland, we struggled with the altitude of towns like Quito and Otavalo. Here, we are struggling with the constant motion of the sea. God bless Gravol (which, interestingly, is just as important for land-sickness as it is for sea-sickness… as I type this I feel like I am swaying slowly from side to side. oy).

 The past few days were spent visiting vastly different islands, from desolate black lava flows (from 100 year-old eruptions) with no life save 1 or 2 lava cactuses and many scurrying lava lizards, to an island where every square foot is covered with birds. Hilarious ones. Red-footed boobies (not to be confused with the red-necked and red-nosed boobies from Canada), masked boobies, blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, tropicbirds, etc, etc. Baby birds, juvenile birds and adult birds. Mating pairs, doting parents who trade egg-sitting duties every few hours, single birds, and of course white bird shit everywhere. Jackson Pollock couldn´t have asked for better splatters of white paint against the black lava cliffs.

 The marine turtles and iguanas, crabs, and Darwin finches have also been a highlight (photos to follow, when we have time to suffer through the slow internet connection).

These islands bring out the real tensions of tourism and traveling. 80,000 visitors per year coming through tiny islands with fragile ecosystems falling over each other to get perfect photos of the most photographed animals in the world. That being said, much of the immense amount of money generated by the industry goes directly to conservation efforts. The guided trips are very strictly regulated, and on each island there is a clear path from which tourists are not allowed to stray.

We return to the mainland on Monday, after another 4 days of stressing our vestibular systems. Adios, land lovers. Hasta luego.