Gorgeous Galapagos

Well after finishing my marine conservation work in Puerto Lopez, I headed down the coast to the beautiful laid back beach village of Montañita with Ecuador´s best waves. After a week spent totally chilling out, a 13 hour night bus back to Quito proved an interesting experience and not one I´m keen to repeat. Arriving back in the capital I spent a couple of days checking out the local hotspots including the country´s biggest claim to fame, its location right on the equator. La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) is where Charles-Marie de La Condamine made the measurements in 1736 showing that this was indeed the equatorial line. His measurements proved the that the world is not perfectly round but that it bulges at the equator. However, my main reason for visiting was that I weigh less on the equator! Climbing Volcan Cotopaxi was truly an unforgettable experience and when I reached the snow at 5000m, I was at the highest altitude I have experienced. The country´s second highest peak is an active volcano although no signs of an eruption while we were there thank goodness.
My last stop on this amazing year has been the spectacular Galapagos Islands. Arriving on Isla Baltra I made my way down to Santa Cruz, on the way taking in my first glimpse of the giant tortoises in their natural environment. The beautiful island of Isabella has been my home for the last few weeks, staying with my wonderful host family Adolfo and Perdita. The largest and youngest of the islands (a mere one million years old), it was formed by the merging of six volcanoes, five of which are still active today. A day spent climbing the world´s second largest crater, Sierra Negra, on one of the most volcanically active places on earth, was another highlight of the year with spectacular views of all the other volcanoes at the summit.
The conservation project I am now volunteering with at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre is unique in its bid to safeguard the future of one of the planet´s oldest and most magnificent species, hovering on the point of extinction due to human interference. The Giant Galapagos Turtle population stood at 300,000 in 1537 and is now a mere 7% of the original total. This tortoise is on the endangered species list and a number of other tortoise species on other islands are now extinct. The work I have been involved in includes cleaning and feeding both babies and adults plus caring for the unhatched eggs which are placed in incubators for 120-140 days. I was fortunate enough to witness a baby hatching last week but as they live for at least 150 years will never see him as an adult.
During my spare time here I have seen a plethora of wildlife during some amazing snorkelling sessions with sealions, rays and turtles; white-tip sharks were gathered at the bottom of a crevice of clear water on the Islote Tintoreras. The marine iguanas, flamingos, pelicans, frigate birds and penguins surround me but my favourites have to be the blue-footed boobies whose feet are seriously blue!
So my work here is nearly completed and I am looking forward to returning to Santa Cruz to attempt my Advanced Diving Certificate next week before another couple of weeks relaxing in one of the most beautiful places on earth and then back to real life with a bump.......

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