So it’s been one week since we arrived in the Galápagos, and we’re starting to settle into something of an understanding of life here. It’s a super interesting kind of place with more complex issues than you might expect of a tropical island, so let’s break it down, starting with...
THE TOWN OF PUERTO BAQUERIZO MORENO
We are living and studying on the island of San Cristóbal, one of the older islands in the archipelago. The main town here (where the university campus is located) is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, which I am currently viewing from the balcony of my homestay. Compared to Quito, in particular, it’s incredibly quiet and peaceful. A sleepy little fishing village that’s grown up a bit to facilitate the tourist industry, the town is centered around the Malecón, or the boardwalk facing out onto the Pacific. Here, the paver-and-brick streets are lined on one side with little tiendas and tourist-trap-souvenir stops, and the other by wooden railings and a view to the harbor.
Now, all down the street one can see the two dominant Galapagueño species vying for the best spots—tourists and sea lions. At this point, I’m pretty sure that the sea lions might be winning. Several park benches are almost always occupied by these furry, lolling tubes of blubber. As a native species, humans can’t hassle them (not that bothering a large bull sea lion is my concept of a good idea), so the streets are constantly replete with the extensive sea lion vocabulary of barks, coughs, and yelps.
For all that the nature here is beautiful, however, the design of the town is relatively unspectacular. Perhaps due to the fact that it’s a low-elevation tropical island less than a degree south of the Equator, there are very few trees on the island, and as such, very little wood construction. Instead, the primary building materials are concrete and cinder blocks. The most common approach to external decor is to paint the first floor, leave the second floor unpainted, and have most anything after that as unfinished cinderblock spires reaching to the sky. Gardens and greenery within the city are relatively sparse, resulting in a strangely grey environment amidst the bright natural colors surrounding it.
Otherwise, the city is essentially defined by a naval base on one end, and our tiny university campus on the other. (The USFQ campus itself is a strange construction—the dining hall and classrooms in front are in a lovely, colonial-esque building painted in a dark coral, while behind looms the lab building, a modern European looking construction of black and grey and stainless steel.) In between the two are primarily tourist-oriented operations, from dive spots to one-stop shopping, with the occasional support operation for the locals, like the tiny, run-down looking hospital across the street from the house where I live.
Architecture aside, though, I must admit that I far prefer Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to Quito—it’s been a beautiful week here so far, and I look forward to another one before we leave to go visit some other islands.
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