Greg's Ecuadorian Adventure

You know how sometimes we build up the idea of something to the point where we get afraid that the actual experience will be a letdown? That's how I initially felt about the Galápagos Islands. Origin of Darwin's mechanism of Natural Selection for the Theory of Evolution. Home of the largest land tortoises, which used to get carried away ( eggs, too ) by sailors as a food/water/vitamin C source and harvested for their oil to fuel Quito's street lamps. If you want to see some of what I do for my students and learn something in the process, check out my Nature of Science video introducing the mechanism of natural selection.. But I was finally going to the Galápagos Islands! This was a long time in the making; I’ve been saving this trip for four years. You would have thought that this was going to be one of the first places I’d visit. Naturally I had several goals for this trip, including: spend at least two weeks there as to take advantage of as much as possible ( Dar...

As I work on finishing editing the hours of video footage, sorting through the hundreds of photos and writing my upcoming entries about my recent travels, I figured this would be a nice opportunity to dump all sorts of "other" information about going to the Galápagos Islands. Yes, I finally made it to the Galápagos! I knew this would be an expensive adventure but it wasn't quite clear just how so until I arrived. I was aware of several of the major expenses but there turned out to be some "hidden costs" as I hopped from island to island. A disclaimer first — I was having problems with my debit card from  Produbanco  before my departure to the archipelago. My PIN mysteriously changed while I was in North America and, after five unsuccessful attempts withdrawing money after my return to Ecuador, I was blocked from my account. Those of you who’ve held accounts with this  BANK  know the experience. Since the services desks are only open like Ten-to-Four from Mo...

In the past few years, I've really grown fond of doing mountain biking tours when I travel. It's a different way to familiarize yourself with a new place. It's also a fun way to build activity into a trip, rather than simply walking or even riding a tour bus from one location to the next.  I've been in Ecuador for four years and I still haven't been to Cotopaxi, the world's highest active volcano. Three years ago, it started waking up with spewing ash and threatening an eruption. In the end, the volcano simply went back to rest. At work, we practiced drills of responding to its eruption and had to maintain a "survival kit" in the event that we would have to remain for an indeterminable amount of time. Water and food. A buff to help filter ash from the air rather than inhaling it. Blankets and warm clothing in case the temperature would drop, or have to sleep at the school. Nothing like practicing a tornado drill to say the least.  Y...

"When mother cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth." Things Fall Apart , Chinua Achebe Earlier this year, two of my best friends got married! Congrats Kara and Jaime 💚 They had the wedding they wanted, which was small and intimate. Later in the year, they would hold a reception at her parents house in Ontario, Canada and, being invited, I had  to go. Not only to see where Kara comes from but also to be a presence of love and support. I could write a story about how amazing these two humans are and how they have more than welcomed me into their family but that would just get all mushy, sentimental, corny. With that said, I am extremely fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time to have them be such an influential part of my life. Kara Jaime and Me Because I planned to take some time doing "fun" solo vacations this Summer, I knew that this visit to North America was going to be relatively quick—which it was— so I had to...