Snorkling and Training Day II

            We had a meeting with the park to finalize the permits, so we couldn’t go to our field site that morning. Instead, we took the opportunity to go snorkling near the field station. The tide was very low, and while there was some very cool stuff, we couldn’t get many pictures. Col found an octopus and called me over to see it, but of course, in the time it took to call me, the octopus went under a rock and could not be found again. We saw some damselfish who are very territorial, puffers, sand blennies, and other fun little things. If we go often enough, we will be able to see eagle rays, small sharks, and other cool macro fauna. I’ll be in the water again!

                                              Joost says hello

                                                  Col gives it two thumbs up

                                                         Attempt at artsy shot

                                               
                                               Can you find the blenny/goby?

            Since we had a bit of time, Joost made crepes for lunch (yum!). It took a couple of tries to master the pan and the heat, but we had a delicious lunch of sweet and savoury crepes.

                                              Joost making his mom's secret recipe for crepes

             Our rooms are quite nice. We’ve got an extra bed in our room, but we have a little kitchenette of a two burner gas stove, and some pots and one pan. When we went to the store our first evening here, I had noticed there were no good knives in the kitchen. I usually travel with my own knife to the field, but I didn’t bring one this time. However, I had brought a sharpener, so I found a steel knife for four dollars. It was like a butter knife when I got it, but with the sharpener, it could sort of cut a tomato and could cut zucchini no problem (and was much better than what we were provided)

The time off allowed me to take some more pictures of some of the iconic Galápagos Island animals including the marine iguana and the coolest looking crab.

                                                                   Yellow warbler

                                              Salty lightfoot crab, or Galapagos crab

                                                                       Marine iguana

                                                                          Carpenter bee

            That afternoon, we headed back into the field for some more training. I’m getting better about handling the birds. We learned, after a couple of close calls, that anyone who accidentally releases a bird (intentional or otherwise) before all data are collected have to buy the entire team ice cream the next time they are in town. Since I was getting better at handling the birds, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be accidently letting any birds go anytime soon.

That evening, we headed to Kioskos in town. It’s an open air street with restos lining both sides serving street food, but with table service. I had the carne asada (beef) with rice and beans and it was quite delicious. We’ll definitely be coming back!