I could live on a boat, the wobble rocks me and the views excite me. I thought I would be ill with constant moving, and I have been happily surprised that our small fishing yacht the “Golandrina” has served as a lovely home this past week. In a bunk with a small light over head I have been grading midterms and furiously writing academic comments for every student in each of my classes. In between snorkeling with spotted eagle rays, and hikes with marine iguanas I have been spending free time computing grades. This week has been a lovely vacation, moments of pure bliss, warm water, postcard views and incredible food. It is Spring Break here with The Traveling School and we are on a boat, traveling throughout the Galapagos archipelago; classes are on hold but you guessed it, we're still learning! We travel with a crew and our naturalist guide Katy, she is twenty two and is studying to be an environmental engineer, she is from the Galapagos and has served not only as our guide but a great friend and incredible science teacher! If you were ever wondering where the wild things live, we have found the mother-ship. It is here where dinosauresque animals cross your path, interact and smile at you, paying little attention to your presence, never assuming you will hurt them rather curious in your stature. Each day Katy introduces our group to a new island, with different species endemic to either the specific island itself, or the archipelago. We have walked with giant tortoises, Galapagos seals and blue footed boobies, watched the red necks of frigget birds balloon in hopes of attracting their mate, hiked with iguanas, finches, and lava lizards and swam with eagle rays, white tipped sharks, snakes, penguins, puffer fish, parrot fish, and my favorite-green sea turtles. Katy gets excited about mocking birds and lava tunnels, she educates us on mating rituals, adolescent behavior, life spans, eating patterns, relationships with other animals, speed, and how each bit of information on every animal or plant species we encounter ties back into evolution and the specialness of these islands.

The Galapagos Islands where first “discovered” in the 1500s by westerners, buccaneers came here as a pit stop, they would take the giant tortoises for food, just one tortoise can supply food for up to a year, hundreds of thousands were taken mostly between the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Charles Darwin landed in 1835 and stayed here for several weeks studying marine biology and natural selection, it is here where he conjured up evidence for the theory of evolution, although it was not until several years later The Origin of Species was published, outlining Darwin's ground breaking theories. Now 97% of the islands are National Park, with very specific rules: only a certain number of people on an island at any one moment, no collecting of any kind from the islands, only step on marked pathways and, one we learned today, snorkeling and specific beach time can only take place in the morning and after two p.m.

Pause.... It is almost time for bed and a scream from the bow... Dolphins are flying through the ocean in front of our boat! They are glowing in luminescence, their bodies and water imprints/pathways glow in the darkness. As the sky twinkles from the equators view of the Milky Way, a pod of ten or more dolphins race to the front, jumping high into the air at the bow, squealing as if they are trying to communicate with our accompanying whistles When the dolphins cant keep up any more, we are left watching the consistent wave created by the Golandrina's speed, as the white water slashes up to meet our sun burned cheeks, dots of luminescence revolve through the water. Happy Equinox!

I could definitely live on a boat.