The Galapagos and Garbage?!

Backing up a little to our entrance into the Galapagos.  I, as I believe most, had the idea that all areas inhabited or not within the Galapagos would be clean, beautiful, and pretty close to perfect.  Although this is the case in a lot of the National Park many areas where people are living are plagued by waste.  It appears as though tourists are more educated and have more respect for the fragility and beauty of the islands than those who live there.  For instance on our 2nd day on San Cristobal we saw discarded beer bottles along the waterfront promenade and a baby sea lion walked right through them.  It was a heart wrenching site.  In addition local men seated near a restaurant where we ate one day opened beer after beer and threw the bottle caps into the street, extremely sad.  I can't stand seeing people litter, and in a place as pristine and unique as the Galapagos, this disgusts me even more.

While in San Cristobal, we had a decent amount of rain.  These rain storms really showed the extent of the garbage and the impact on the adjacent coast and wildlife.  As the storm systems in the islands are not equipped to treat stormwater before runoff meets the ocean, any and all waste that is on the streets and sidewalks finds it way into the storm structures into the pipes, and consequently right into the ocean.  It is extremely sad to see sea lions, turtle and crabs wading around through muddied water filled with debris.  As sea lions are incredibly playful, when they see things floating in the water they automatically assume it is a toy. This can prove harmful when this item is a paintbrush that has fallen off of a boat, or as in the picture below a colorful shopping bag that has become stuck around the sea lions neck.

Shopping Bag Stuck around Sea Lion

On our dive trip the crew told us they had a 'surprise' for us one day.  This turned out to be an hour stop for us on the nastiest beach near the Coast Guard station while the boat refueled.  We arrived to the beach via two dinghy's and the people in the first dinghy literally pulled a sea lion free from a giant plastic sheet that was floating in the water.  There were several sea lions on the beach and a couple in the water, so despite the fact that there was as much garbage floating in the water as you would find in a Wal-Mart dumpster we were all about snorkeling with the sea lions (possible source of ear infection?).  You can get an idea of the garbage from the pictures below, but to see it in person is truly sad.

Sea Lion in Garbage Laden Water

                         

Sea Lion and Garbage on the Beach

                         
In closing, if more, or better yet all, of the local people could be better educated of the fragility of the ecosystem they live amidst the security of this pristine place would be much better off.

Back to the 'Grind'

Hola chicas y chicos. It has been awhile, and the trip has been amazing thus far.  Upon arrival in the Galapagos we had two nights in San Cristobal, the aforementioned (amazing) live aboard to Darwin, Wolf, and Bartolomei Islands, one night in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, 3 nights on gorgeous and quiet Isabella Island, and 1 last day and night on Santa Cruz. Tomorrow we take a taxi to the small port on the north side of Santa Cruz before boarding a small ferry to cross the Itabaca Channel to Baltra Island board the bus and fly to Quito. Needless to say we have been covering some ground and used almost every mode of public transport available. I have been mentally compiling a couple of blog posts and hope to share them with you soon.  Tomorrow as we move from literally sea level to 2 miles above sea level I will have some downtime to acclimatize!  Until then I will leave with a couple of photos of friends we have made along the way.

A Couple of Our Seal Friends
San Cristobal Island

Frigate Bird Hitching a Ride
Aboard the Humboldt

Friendly Neighborhood Green Sea Turtle
Isabella Island

'Pals'
Pair of Tortuga Bay Marine Iguanas
Santa Cruz Island

Miami-Version 2.0-Parkin' n Divin'

South Pointe Park Promenade

I found myself with a little bit of time this evening and since it was an excellent day, I decided I had to share.  Today was a balanced diet of relaxation, design inspiration, and underwater exploration.  We met up with a friend for dinner last night from the days when we lived in Miami.  It was a nice evening of catching up and good food.  He highly recommended visiting South Pointe Park at the very southern end of Miami Beach.  We were able to leave a little early this morning and check this place out prior to our dives.  I believe this place just jumped up on my list of favorite places in South Beach.  It-is-gorgeous.  I did a bit of research and found out that it is product of Hargreaves and Associates, and their expertise is evident in the all of the details throughout the park.  There are unique views to the port and the city in the distance, the waterfront promenade is gorgeous and complete with handicap accessible ramps to enable closer access to the water for all users.  Although most of Florida is quite flat there is significant berming within the park to allow activity at different elevations in the park, and the berms themselves serve to separate different use areas.  The park is even outfitted with a playground, sprayground, wood pier and sundeck accessible by a long winding walk, or concrete and earthen stairs.  The park is really something to see.  If I lived in South Beach, I would run here on a daily basis.  Check out the few pics I have posted below of the park.  I have also included a few of our underwater pics from our 2 dives today.  It was great to be underwater and test out all of our new gear prior to the Galapagos...NEXT WEEK!

ADA Accesible Walk
The berm separates another walk and the playground.

A flippin' Sundeck.

View to the Ocean from the Berm

Open Green Space

Promenade-Miami in the Distance

Now for a few dive pics!

Fan Coral on the Sunken Barge

I'm On My Level

Leo-Guardian of the Memorial Garden

Wifey at Neptune Memorial Reef
www.neptunesociety.com/memorial-reef
We will probably be back...