On the night of 30 October 2026, Puerto Ayora got 196 mm of rain: eighteen normal Octobers in one night. At least two people dead, thousands of families flooded out, and a town asking why the money that pours into Galápagos never reaches the people who live here. With a 2021 entry, The Real Galápagos, and how to help. … More SOS Galapagos: Eighteen Octobers of Rain in One Night
Watching the fish at the Laguna de las Ninfas: why the tension between risk-taking and caution runs all the way down our evolutionary heritage—and why humans are, in Bronowski’s phrase, the social solitary. … More Gratitude Practice: The Social Solitary
Back on Santa Cruz: a local’s view of what tourism, conservation and education mean for the people who live in the Galápagos and the challenges they still face. … More 28 June 2021: The Real Galápagos
In the morning I walk from my hostel to the Charles Darwin Research Station (the operative branch of the Charles Darwin Foundation), about a ten minute walk along the southern coast east of Puerto Ayora. The narrow cobblestone road with a sidewalk to one side is lined on both by dense vegetation. Occasionally small, colorful … More 2 June 2021: Charles Darwin Research Station
I arrive at the airport in Guayaquil about two hours before departure, hoping that gives me enough time to get to the gate. Before checking in with the airline, first I have to wait at another counter to obtain a Transit Locater Card, and although I preregistered online, the line is slow. They seem dubious … More 1 June 2021: Arrival in Galápagos
