23/11/2008 (end of week 16).
Welcome to my 10th blog post from the Galápagos Islands. I apologise (again) for the length of time between recent posts.
Did you know that Marine Iguanas shrink during times of hardship? To find out by how much, please read on… :)
A week in QuitoAlright, so in my last blog you may remember I had a decision to make regarding staying on in Galápagos for another 6 months working as a consultant at the Charles Darwin Research Station?
Well, I’m still there. The contract was signed at the very last minute (20 minutes past 5 on my last Friday) and instead of flying out to mainland Ecuador (and
some travel before heading home to NZ) on Monday the 3rd of November as had been originally planned, I flew out to Quito on the Sunday for a week while the paperwork required for me to work on Galápagos was sorted out. The fact I needed to leave for the mainland wasn’t known until the day before I signed.
A week in Quito provided me a great opportunity to take some Spanish lessons and I had managed to provisionally organise these on Friday during the day and confirmation was my last task of an eventful day. I’m very glad my guide book recommended the great school I ended up at – Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) Spanish School.
Quito, which is at 2,850m and only 20km from the Equator, is Ecuador’s capital and situated in a 70km narrow corridor within t
he Andes mountains, surrounded by high peaks and snowcapped mountains. Because of its proximity to the Equator, the climate is similar to springtime in England. On arrival, I was picked up at the airport by my Spanish teacher, Sylvia, and her daughter Paola. They
took me straight to my host family, Magdalena & Eduardo, and I got a quick tour of the area courtesy of Lara, another Spanish student staying with them who would leave the next day. I was reminded of what other people had told me regarding safety in Quito during our walk through the neighbourhood and found the quickest way to get to the school - only 15 minutes away from my temporary home.
The following 8 days of 5 hour a day Spanish lessons (combined with sightseeing) were great. Sylvia was an exceptional teacher and I got a lot out of the whole experience. I would highly
recommend combining a homestay with lessons i
f you ever learn another language, especially if it also involves getting the chance to have a look around – a chance to get to see some of the sights within a learning context.
Old Quito is definitely the more interesting part of the city, with its narrow cobbled streets housing churches, parks, museums and other colonial buildings, but also turned out to be the riskiest to travel in - as I found out after having my camera stolen while on a crowded Trolebus heading back from an afternoon of having a look
around there. I thought the inside zipped pocket of my jacket would be a safe haven for my camera, but I have to admit I admire the skill of the pickpocket that managed to take the camera within the 10 minutes of the bus ride that was the most crowded. People jostling for space masked the effort and the moment I got off the bus I felt the camera’s absence.
Thankfully, Sylvia leant me her camera for further excursions while I firstly scoped the local black market shops for my camera, before finally committing to buying a replacement camera just before I left back for Galápagos. The presidential palace
was revisited to get some replacement photos and further trips included a night time visit of Old Quito, which is beautifully lit at night, an evening concert of traditional music and dance from the Otavalo area, a visit to the important traditional market town of Saquisili near to the snowcapped Cotopaxi volcano, and a trip out to the Equator (Mitad del Mundo) where I balanced an egg on top of the head of a nail (I have a certificate to prove it).
TransitionBack in Galápagos I spent some time finishing off some of the outstanding tasks from the time I was a volunteer and needed time to prepare for the start of the work contract. The basic premise for the new work will be creating a conceptual plan for the integration of the scientific databases held at the station and to come up with some initial software solutions in aid of this. I will also continue to keep working on some of the ongoing tasks I started as a volunteer.
Anna, a new volunteer from Italy, will be helping with some of the more technical aspects and has
already started on specific requirements for the collections databases. The next few weeks especially will be very busy as I 'interrogate' those people in the know before they head off on their holidays.
I have found myself an apartment in town after 3 months staying at the station and although the use of a clean kitchen and having my own space is great, I do miss waking up to the sound of the ocean. Instead I wake up to the whimpering of the landlord’s dog and the occasional cries of the baby next door. It may just be temporary - other places will become available as volunteers leave leading up to Christmas. Now that the reality of my not going back to
New Zealand to see my partner and her 3 year old has set in, the place also feels a little empty.
I hadn’t anticipated spending Christmas in Puerto Ayora, but I will be away surveying sea turtles for 10 day
s up until the 24th of December, so I guess that’s where I’ll be. I’ll hopefully get a chance to slip away on a short cruise before then to visit some of the outer islands including Española, where the Waved Albatross will be until the end of December.
This weekend the plan is to go to Bartolome Island, but this trip has fallen through before. Fingers crossed it goes through.
Please keep coming back to see further updates – they will occur!
Till the next installment …
Pete
Oh yeah, Marine Iguanas apparently shrink by up to 20% during lean times!
Welcome to my 10th blog post from the Galápagos Islands. I apologise (again) for the length of time between recent posts.
some travel before heading home to NZ) on Monday the 3rd of November as had been originally planned, I flew out to Quito on the Sunday for a week while the paperwork required for me to work on Galápagos was sorted out. The fact I needed to leave for the mainland wasn’t known until the day before I signed.
he Andes mountains, surrounded by high peaks and snowcapped mountains. Because of its proximity to the Equator, the climate is similar to springtime in England. On arrival, I was picked up at the airport by my Spanish teacher, Sylvia, and her daughter Paola. They 
took me straight to my host family, Magdalena & Eduardo, and I got a quick tour of the area courtesy of Lara, another Spanish student staying with them who would leave the next day. I was reminded of what other people had told me regarding safety in Quito during our walk through the neighbourhood and found the quickest way to get to the school - only 15 minutes away from my temporary home.
recommend combining a homestay with lessons i
f you ever learn another language, especially if it also involves getting the chance to have a look around – a chance to get to see some of the sights within a learning context.
around there. I thought the inside zipped pocket of my jacket would be a safe haven for my camera, but I have to admit I admire the skill of the pickpocket that managed to take the camera within the 10 minutes of the bus ride that was the most crowded. People jostling for space masked the effort and the moment I got off the bus I felt the camera’s absence.
Thankfully, Sylvia leant me her camera for further excursions while I firstly scoped the local black market shops for my camera, before finally committing to buying a replacement camera just before I left back for Galápagos. The presidential palace
was revisited to get some replacement photos and further trips included a night time visit of Old Quito, which is beautifully lit at night, an evening concert of traditional music and dance from the Otavalo area, a visit to the important traditional market town of Saquisili near to the snowcapped Cotopaxi volcano, and a trip out to the Equator (Mitad del Mundo) where I balanced an egg on top of the head of a nail (I have a certificate to prove it).
already started on specific requirements for the collections databases. The next few weeks especially will be very busy as I 'interrogate' those people in the know before they head off on their holidays.
New Zealand to see my partner and her 3 year old has set in, the place also feels a little empty.
s up until the 24th of December, so I guess that’s where I’ll be. I’ll hopefully get a chance to slip away on a short cruise before then to visit some of the outer islands including Española, where the Waved Albatross will be until the end of December.