Santa Cruz Island
Sea is pretty calm; it perfectly reflects the image of a lovely town, set on the blackest lava in the world, surrounded by giant cactus and flamboyant trees. It’s like a copy of Puerto Ayora, but under the sea, and for a few seconds my mind wanders, I can’t distinguish which is the real one. But as I approach the main dock, I have no doubts, there is no mirage here. I see the bright smiles of 27 kids that are anxiously waiting for the Polaris Zodiacs to fulfill a dream. They are coming on board to learn about the behind the scenes of a ship, and they are going to be taken to the Polaris glass bottom boat.
I introduce myself and ask these kids about their last week’s experience, with Carlos Romero, one of our naturalists who visited their school, located in Santa Rosa, in the highlands of Santa Cruz. They remember a lot. “There are more than 20,000 fish in the world” Said a 9-year old girl. “Carlos showed us the picture of a fish that turns white when he is angry” said a 12-year old boy. “Will we see any turtles, now I know they eat algae” said an 11-year old kid.
And we saw the fish that gets upset when any other creature invades its territory, we saw a green sea turtle diving into great depths around La Loberia, and we found the endemic damselfish. Then kids came on board to learn about sailor knots with first officer John Zurita, and about They had pizzas, ice cream, and saw for the first time a microscope in use. We analysed the different sands of Galápagos, the green, the white, the red and the black.
I am certain that this experience will have a positive, permanent impact in the lives of the 27 kids that visited us today, as positive and unforgettable as the experience our 76 guests are having on board Polaris this week. Kids smiling with their new discoveries, the fish, a ship. Guests smiling with their tortoises in the highlands, their visit to the Charles Darwin Center, their bike riding, and the discovery of a few new finch species, like the rare and famous woodpecker finch.
Sea is pretty calm; it perfectly reflects the image of a lovely town, set on the blackest lava in the world, surrounded by giant cactus and flamboyant trees. It’s like a copy of Puerto Ayora, but under the sea, and for a few seconds my mind wanders, I can’t distinguish which is the real one. But as I approach the main dock, I have no doubts, there is no mirage here. I see the bright smiles of 27 kids that are anxiously waiting for the Polaris Zodiacs to fulfill a dream. They are coming on board to learn about the behind the scenes of a ship, and they are going to be taken to the Polaris glass bottom boat.
I introduce myself and ask these kids about their last week’s experience, with Carlos Romero, one of our naturalists who visited their school, located in Santa Rosa, in the highlands of Santa Cruz. They remember a lot. “There are more than 20,000 fish in the world” Said a 9-year old girl. “Carlos showed us the picture of a fish that turns white when he is angry” said a 12-year old boy. “Will we see any turtles, now I know they eat algae” said an 11-year old kid.
And we saw the fish that gets upset when any other creature invades its territory, we saw a green sea turtle diving into great depths around La Loberia, and we found the endemic damselfish. Then kids came on board to learn about sailor knots with first officer John Zurita, and about They had pizzas, ice cream, and saw for the first time a microscope in use. We analysed the different sands of Galápagos, the green, the white, the red and the black.
I am certain that this experience will have a positive, permanent impact in the lives of the 27 kids that visited us today, as positive and unforgettable as the experience our 76 guests are having on board Polaris this week. Kids smiling with their new discoveries, the fish, a ship. Guests smiling with their tortoises in the highlands, their visit to the Charles Darwin Center, their bike riding, and the discovery of a few new finch species, like the rare and famous woodpecker finch.
