Galapagos Ship Cruise Day 1

Today we left on the M/V Santa Cruz; I was very nervous because I have not typically done well on boats. However, I have done well despite my body constantly shifting in my seat. The ship is rather large, its passenger capacity is 90, and Toyota teachers make up about 45 (including 9 Galapagonan teachers and admin).

We went around the island of San Cristobal today and went snorkeling near the Witch's Mound (named for the shape of the hill, but it doesn't look anything like a witch's hat - it's really like a large hill).

We swam with sting rays, sea ions, an abundant amount of fish such as clown fish, parrot fish, and puffer fish. Marine iguanas could also easily be found warming on the black volcanic rock.

Tonight we broke out into small groups with a Galapagonan teacher to develop an environmental awareness lesson/activity/lab. My group includes Karen Cruse of Ohio, Thomas Flanagan of Illinois, Kathleen Ireland of Hawaii, and Vilma Camacho Cherres of San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands. Thomas translated between the States teachers and Vilma (obviously my Spanish is lacking a bit). After just a few minutes, we were able to harrow down our students' needs to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Like I said, we just started, but we have already created an international, collaborative, inquiry lab addressing the 3 R's. OH! My team rocks! Look out NSTA, because this turning into a proposal for next year's national conference!