Paisley Reflections

Animals

Seeing new animals and learning about them from locals in the Galápagos was a truly amazing and once in a lifetime experience. One of the most well known Galápagonian animals is the marine iguana. Throughout my ten-day stay in the islands, I saw at least 100 of these reptiles—even more if I count the lizards. The large iguana I saw ranged in sizes: 1-3 ft in length, and 2-12 inches in height. Our official guide, Nick, explained how female iguanas reproduce and lay their eggs. Mothers usually lay 4-7 eggs and those eggs hatch in about 100 days then run to the closest rocks for camouflage by instinct so they don’t get eaten by large predators like birds.

     We also saw a whole lot of sea lions during our visit. They liked the pier that was near our hotel, so we got to see a lot up close. Some even laid on the benches there!

     Pink, tall flamingos were another thing we got to see while in the Galápagos. There were some wild ones on National Park grounds just eating and cleaning themselves. We even got to see one fly! Did you know that their wings are black underneath? I sure didnʻt! Since flamingos are in the Honolulu Zoo, I wasnʻt as excited to see them compared to my excitement when seeing the other animals, but it was really awesome seeing one do something other then stand all weird. The guide told us that the flamingos have a filter within their beak that allows them to filter through the mud in the sediment to eat their prey, and the more pink a flamingo is, the more healthy it is!

     We also saw Galápagos penguins and the famous endemic Galápagos Blue-Footed Booby. It was awesome seeing a penguin in its natural habitat! The booby was also really cool to see because of its strangely colored feet. Some people say that the coloration of their feet are a result of a certain fish they have in their diet, but thatʻs not confirmed.

     We also saw forest birds, like warblers and finches, and sea birds, like ʻiwa, noio, pelicans, and herons. We also saw a lot of tortoises. Some were in the middle of the road. We also got to go to a tortoise breeding center (Centro de Visitantes) and see little baby tortoises! At the center, we learned that the tortoises can weigh up to 300 kg and can live up to 100 years or longer. On a different day, we learned that their shells never stop growing and that you can distinguish the tortoises between male and female by their body shape. Females are 2/3 - 1/4 the size of a male, and they have short, pointy tails. The males, on the other hand, have long tails and are usually much bigger than the females unless there is a large age gap.

- Paisley Richards

Kalama Reflections

Plants

The plants in Galápagos are very unique. All of the plants in the archipelago have adapted to its low rain yet high humid climate. A couple prominent plants in Galápagos are cactus, mangrove, scalecia, miconia, and coffee. During this trip I learned about a couple of cool differences between the plants of Hawaiʻi and the plants of the Galápagos. If you have ever heard of miconia in Hawaiʻi, you would know that it is extremely invasive in upland forests because it grows fast, close, and easily overtakes native plants. Lots of effort goes into eradicating miconia in Hawaiʻi. Suprisingly, miconia is native to Galápagos - and it’s an important part of the ecosystem there. In Galápagos, efforts are put into restoring miconia because it is endangered. Another interesting species that is found in both Galápagos and Hawaiʻi is mangrove. For anyone that has been through seventh grade here, you have probably spent hours at Paepae ʻO Heʻeia removing mangrove from the fishpond because it holds so much sediment and creates a poor environment for fishes. By contrast, the Galápagos, mangrove is celebrated as well as protected because it grows along the coasts creating a friendly ecosystem for baby fish to live in with beautiful clear water. If there is one lesson that I have learned while researching plants in the Galápagos islands, it is that a plant that may be considered invasive in one place can be considered crucial in another, and that plants will do good as long as they are growing where they belong.

- Kalama Abad

Kamualiʻi Reflections

Hōkūleʻa

One of our main kuleana on this trip was to welcome Hōkūleʻa into the Galápagos. We offered oli to aloha the crew who just arrived from Panama. The crew allowed us to board the waʻa and asked us to help move the paepae or boom and raise the ʻopeʻa or spar. The crew sailing to Rapanui will have to sail into the wind, so removing the paepae and changing the type of sail will help to make the trip much safer. Another part of our kuleana was to help Pacific Voyaging Crew educate local students about Hōkūleʻa and Mālama Honua. We visited schools Tomás de Berlanga and Galo Plaza Lasso to briefly share the Kūkuluokalani and Hōkūleʻa Haʻa. We were moved by these experiences of sharing our aloha for the waʻa and for our home. Some of the best times were hanging with the PVS crew and learning directly about voyaging and navigation. On the last day, we visited Hōkūleʻa again for a final protocol giving the crew and waʻa mana for their voyage to Rapa Nui.  - Kamualiʻi Estrada

Kamalu Reflections

Our Trip

¡Hola! We just got back from the Galápagos! We traveled with Kamehameha Schools and the Marine Scholars from Castle High School and their teachers from Pacific American Foundation, Smithsonian Institute, and Hawaiʻi Institute for Marine Biology. The purpose of our trip was to greet Hōkūleʻa and support their mission of Mālama Honua. We also toured the islands with our science teachers and saw the famous examples of evolution and learned about ecology and conservation.  

     The Galápagos is a volcanic archipelago made up of five main islands and several smaller ones. No one had successfully inhabited the islands, due to the lack of water and harsh environment, but there were signs of pre-Incan activity. It was accidentally discovered by the Spaniard, Tomás de Berlanga in 1535, who said its harsh conditions were the “closest thing to hell,” and it became a part of Ecuador in 1832. There are no indigenous people who settled in the Galapagos and the current residents have only been on the island for four to five generations. Even though their history with their islands is a short one, they are very connected to their ʻāina. Countless efforts have been put in place with the purpose of protecting their island home, like the Galapagos 2050 initiative with the goal to restore large parts of the land with endemic plants.

     We spent most of our time on Santa Cruz island where we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station and learned about the history and conservation efforts in the Galapagos. We also spent time touring different islands, where we learned about underwater marine habitats, forest restoration, and programs designed to protect animals like tortoises, finches, and iguanas.  - Kamalu Abad

 

And still continues!!

Our plane had troubles with the flaps and we have been diverted to San Francisco. We should be getting into a new plane. We do not yet know the departure time, but it has been estimated between 2 and 3 hours, putting us back into Honolulu around 8:00pm.

The Adventure Continues

We have safely arrived in Houston and cleared customs, yeah!!  Now our flight has been delayed at least three hours, so we are hunkered down at the airport.

On our way home!

 Another big MAHALO to Jaime, our bus driver!

Similarities and Differences

We went to Las Ninfas, a mangrove forest, to check it out and explore the significance of mangroves in the near-shore marine ecosystem of Galápagos.  It si very different from Hawaii, mangroves provide an essential habitat for juvenile fish development, nesting birds, as well as pulling nutrients out of the water, to help prevent eutrophication.  Notice how clear the water is, the numerous amounts of fish and other marine life, and the sandy bottom.  This is a stark contrast to turbid (murky) waters in the mangrove forests of Hawaiʻi.  The red mangrove in Hawaiʻi, has roots and leaves that grow much denser, they also produce organic sediments at a much higher rate.  Those factors combined with a lack of flushing contribute to very low dissolved oxygen concentrations and poor water quality.  The the same species in Galápagos (shown in some of the photos below) have a less dense canopy and root structure system (probably because there are less nutrient rich streams flowing into them).  Consequently, more light can get through to allow for photosynthesis to occur, increasing dissolved oxygen.   Galápagos has a greater tidal range, flushing sediments out of the mangrove forest and also contributing to greater oxygen.  Another major difference is that the fish species in Galápagos have co-evolved with the mangroves, while our endemic species have yet to populate even the cleanest mangrove root systems.  Do notice how well signed the area is, educating tourists and locals alike.

Sunday was spent on Isabela.  We took a speed boat, as an entire group, on a very smooth downwind run at 20kts.  On Isabela we looked at a population of endemic greater flamingos, we visited a tortoise nursery and went snorkeling.  Part of the group was able to snorkel in a mangrove forest where lots of juvenile (1/2” long) mamo, shrimp, and sea lions.  They later joined the rest of the group in another area to snorkel with marine iguana (they kept bumping into Mr. Kamalu), penguin, honu, octopus, brittle stars, sea stars, blennies, gobies, parrot fish, damselfish,  wrasses, flagtail, nudibranch, urchins galore, and others.  Our guides then took us to a spot where it appeared as if four penguins were worshiping a blue-footed boobie and its mate.  We were also fortunate enough to witness three manta rays flying underwater in formation.

Monday- Students spent two hours of the morning at Escuela Galo Plaza Lasso, a public middle school in Puerto Ayora.  Here students shared Hawaiian Culture, explained the mission of Mālama Honua, and made new friends, all while not being able to speak a common language.   Galapagueño and Hawaiian students were forced to communicate in other, more creative ways, with tremendous success.   We all left the school feeling charged up after such an enlightening experience. 

It was wonderful to return to Hokulea and for the students to pass along their mana to the waʻa and her crew was indeed very powerful.  Students had the chance to send off Hõkūleʻa in a proper fashion and wish all aboard fair winds and following seas.  They also gained a better understanding of how the crew needs to work with each other, depend and rely on each other and to listen to the needs of Hōkūleʻa so she can be cared for and tuned enabling her to dance in harmony with the sea.  In many ways metaphoric to how we need to treat our planet. He waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa.

Project Presentations!!

And huge MAHALO to Alejandra, thank you for opening Galápagos to us!!