Field Report: The Galapagos

Ocean First   Jul 05, 2022

It has been an amazing two weeks so far. I came here to study the ecosystem biology of the islands and have learned a lot already. This is a truly remarkable place in terms of its unique endemic species (animals found here and no where else). I have had the chance to see and photograph quite a few of them, including the Galapagos penguin, the marine iguanas, giant tortoises, an extremely rare bird called the Galapagos rail, and of course Darwin's famous finches. On top of that, the marine life is exquisite! I've seen sea turtles and rays on every dive, along with giant schools of barracuda. A couple of days ago I dived Gordon rocks. During the dive the sunlight seemed to disappear, we looked up to see a massive school of hammerhead sharks. Gordon is famous for this and people travel all over the world to see it. I was extremely lucky to have witnessed it.

I am going to be sad to leave this amazing place, the islands are truly a magical place.