Did you get the letter I wrote but never sent?

*Old post that a wrote but never posted…**

Update time! Ok so its been a while since my last update so I will try to recap the best I can.

The week after the amazing snorkel trip I received a care package form home. Nestled in with the slim jims, easy Mac and American chocolate was a copy of “the Kite Runner” before too long, I was sucked into the compelling plot and I did nothing but sit and read for hours at a time only pulling my nose out of the book for bathroom breaks and meal times. On the third day I was nearly done with the book and was reading the last few chapters on the board walk The first bench I tried was to near the sea lions at low tide so it was loud and stinky. So with out losing my concentration I moved to the bench across the street! I finished the book 45 minutes later and when to grab my purse to leave only to realize that it was gone! A slow cold realization creped up on me that I must have left it on the other bench when I moved. I raced across the street and unfortunately the course was not there. Credit cards, my drivers license, my Ecuadorian ID, and my house keys where all lost. It was shocking at first but now I realize that it could have been a lot worse. Cards have been canceled, Keys have been replaced, things are getting back to normal. Looks like I got another travelers right of passage.

Ok, so the class from hell is long over and so is any sign if the tonsillitis that I had. The end of Evolutionary Analysis and the beginning of Spring break was celebrated by Pirate themed Booze cruise organized by our group. It was great fun, a few people had a bit “to much fun” towards the end of the ride, but other then that it was good times. I got home late/early and was quite content to pour myself into bed and sleep away the next day. However, I was awoken The end of the Booze cruise meant the begging of spring break of us. For most people spring break draws visions of topical beaches, big parties and lots of exposed skin. However, where do you go when you have been living in a popular spring break destination for the past month?! We dodged lost looking tourists and laid out on the beach soaking up the sun shine! It was nice to do nothing for a while, A few of the students went to Santa Cruse early, I stayed back on San Cristobal. On Saturday, I did a bit of running around tiring to get everything I needed for the impending week in Santa cruse. Saturday night I went out to Iguana Rock and did not quite dance off the tequila shots before going home. When I did arrive back to the house I realized that I did not have my keys and we locked out of the house. I attempted to sleep in the back of the house by the kitchen door until my host mom unlocked it at 6 am. I was able to sleep in my own bed for and hour before I had to be up and ready for a 2 hour boat ride to Santa Cruise. I don’t think there is a worse feeling then exhaustion and a hangover on a rocking boat. I took a motion sickness pill before boarding so I was able to keep everything down but just felt gross. Lesson learned- don’t drink before island hoping!

Santa Cruse is the most touristy of the islands, and also consequently the most wealthy. It was like the Disney version of Galapagos, the sea lions seemed to have been replaced by expensive souvenir shops. It was good to get off the island (and away from my crazy family) but I was a bit un impressed with Santa Cruise as a whole. However we did get to do a few interesting snorkel trips, at one site we saw a large white tipped shark, that was cool. I enjoy snorkeling, there really is a completely unseen world under the sea…and it is beautiful. We had classes in the Charles Darwin research station home of Lonely George “the rarest animal on earth.” This opened up some interesting discussions about raising animals in captivity and weather or not it is an appropriate or sustainable practice. While we where there, we saw presentations from the researches there and learned a little about their projects. There are many problems with attempting to blend a national park, a tourism industry and an artisan fishery into on very small cluster of islands. As beautiful as this place is, it’s far from perfect. One of the nice things about Santa Cruise was that it has been getting regular shipments of food and supplies form the main land. There where lots of fresh fruits and meats as well as chips, candy and paper goods. We had major meals provided but the school and with the exception of breakfast, the food was really good! They seemed to be having some electrical issues on the island. That was fine by me, it was nice to have a break from the bright lights and noise for a little. Twice while we where there the power cut out. Both times, it was at night, so I found a bench by the peer and watched the stars until the power came back on (about an hour later.) I saw 4 shooting stars and made up my own constellations, because I don’t know how to find the real ones.

The boat ride back to San Cristobal was made far more exciting by a sighting of a large school of bottle nosed dolphins. Danny spotted then jumping in the distance and as we got closer, the dolphins came right up to the boat to investigate. With in minuses we where surrounded by a school of 50-75!. They came so close that one point I could have reached out and touched them. It was truly amazing, they are so fast they swam next to the boat easily keeping pace with our chugging engine. It was fascinating to hear their excited clicks and squeals and see them glide just under the waters surface. As we left their territory one by one the dolphins departed like aquatic military planes breaking formation. As I watched them leap from the water with the setting sun in the background, I thought to my self, “So long, and thanks for the fish!”