Sunday and Monday on Santa Cruz Island

Sunday, November 27:

Rough seas last night and I could not sleep.  Then, up early to get off boat before census lock-down begins.  We were sequestered at a hotel all day until 5:00 for the census.  During this time we had two lectures – one from Galapagos ICE by Emily Poso and one from Roland Geyer of the Bren School at UCSB.  Galapagos ICE stands for Immerse, Connect, Evolve.  It is an organization that looks at the human side of sustainability.  They work with the local schools, medical establishments, and others to provide supplies and education.  Dr. Geyer spoke about the importance of pollution prevention over pollution control.  Then we had some free time to work on our blogs or do whatever.   That night I saw an incredible shooting star.  It had two big flare ups and then fizzled out. 

Monday, November 28:

Today we visited the Gala Plaza school in Puerto Ayorda, on Santa Cruz island.  Every Monday morning all of the students get together to sing the national anthem.  The students and teachers were very welcoming to us.  Everywhere we went students wanted to see our pictures and talk to us.  They loved having their pictures taken, also.  We had been working with our Galapagos teacher friends on a lesson to present so today we got to teach our lesson.  It was really fun!  The students were very enthusiastic and I have some great video of their ideas to share with Bullis students.  There is a dentist at the school who sees 8 to 9 students each day.  The dentist is a volunteer, who after completing medical (or dental) school, must volunteer for one year in a school.  In the afternoon we did a service project at a school in the highlands.  There we planted native plants to decorate and stabilize the school’s entrance and the new soccer field.