Jan 16, 2006

Log by Heidi Berkenbosch

Life here on the ship is pretty cruisy, but I think I’m about the only person who can say that. We aren’t mapping my project area until the wee hours of January 19. I’m trying to motivate myself to get other homework done, but it’s hard to stay inside the computer lab when it is Galapagos outside. And usually a little time spent staring at the water is well paid off- the highlight of my day yesterday was seeing a ray catapult its 4 ft wingspan about 6 ft. out of the water…3 times in a row! I didn’t know rays did that. I also saw 2 reefs sharks and apparently there was a hammerhead apperance at one point. Yesterday we got some R&R at Urvina Bay . I managed to fall into the water for an extended period of time before we headed out on a 2 km walk. There is greenery about 100 ft. inland from the shore but after that it is brown, brown, brown. As Jon H. put it, “if this weren’t a really special national park, I would call this the edge of hell.” (or something like that). It is, however, a wasteland that land iguanas like, and we saw 3 males and 1 female if I remember correctly. They don’t hang around in groups like the marine iguanas were doing at Porto Ayora, each one we saw was by itself. We skirted around the edges of the green zone eventually coming to the geological highlight of Urvina Bay . In 1954 a large earthquake uplifted Urvina Bay so that corals (and fish!) that used to be underwater were now part of the beach. The corals are still there toppled over amongst the trees. I was surprised at how much vegetation has grown in this seemingly desert place in the past 50 years. We came out to the waterline to get a close up of flightless cormorants drying their shrunken wings, marine iguanas both swimming through the water and lazing on the rocks, ever-present but never boring blue-footed boobies, and numerous sea turtles. There were 4 or 5 turtles in this one place surrounded by high boulders. We could stand on top of the boulders and be looking straight down at them as they slowly glided past. There was just enough time to cool off in beach waters before heading back to the ship. A fabulous to spend my watch (12-4)!