Sydnor '27 Participates in Galápagos Travel Program

“At the start of June, I had the privilege of going on a two and a half week trip to the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador with Woodberry Forest School. Since I grew up at Woodberry Forest, I had heard about other faculty children going on the trip, so I couldn’t have been more excited when I got the opportunity to finally go. I have a huge love for travel, animals, and cultures different from mine, and this trip definitely encapsulated all of those things.

I traveled with a group of 10 students from Woodberry Forest and three other girls. For the first few days we stayed in a treehouse in the Cloud Forest in Ecuador at Bellavista. It was absolutely beautiful in the forest where I got to hike multiple times a day, as well as learn about all the native plants and animals. We even hiked to a waterfall and got to swim in it even though it was freezing cold. Some of my favorite things we did was play soccer with some of the locals and go on night hikes in the dark. There were so many colorful birds, including toucans and hummingbirds, which would fly up to us so we could feed them from the palms of our hands. All of the wildlife was so friendly, we were able to coexist peacefully with them. 

After a busy start to the trip, we took a plane to San Cristobal, one of the Galápagos Islands, where we stayed on a yacht named the Aida Maria for about a week, spending our days going on hikes around volcanoes, learning about giant tortoises and marine iguanas, and snorkeling with sea turtles, which was my favorite part of the whole trip! Every night we sailed to a different island, and it was so cool to learn about all of the different wildlife that varied drastically depending on each island. We traveled to San Cristobal, Santa Fé, South Plaza, Santa Cruz, Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, Rabida, North Seymour, and Baltra Island. 

Throughout our time in the Galápagos, we learned about the struggle of balancing conservation and tourism in these incredibly diverse and uninhabited islands. The islands are so beautiful and home to many endangered species. It is important to be mindful of the natural habitats of the plants and animals that live there. We got the opportunity to visit many giant tortoise conservatories and learn about all the ways to protect this incredible species. We also learned about Charles Darwin and evolution. During our daily snorkeling trips, we were surrounded by some amazing animals, including reef sharks, parrot fish, pacific green sea turtles, sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas, and so many others. On our hikes we saw fur seals, blue footed boobies, and Sally LightFoot crabs. One of the most memorable days on the yacht was when about 10 humpback whales surfaced around the boat! It was incredible to see them so close. Towards the end of the trip we flew back to Ecuador and spent a few days in Quito touring churches and bartering in the markets. 

I am so grateful to have been able to have this incredible experience. Many thanks to Mr. Len Mills and Ms. Perry Gresham from Woodberry Forest School for leading this wonderful trip. Traveling around the world is such an amazing opportunity for students my age to learn so much about different cultures. If you ever get a chance to go on a trip like this one, you definitely should because it is always so worth it. This was a trip of a lifetime and I made so many memories that I know I will never forget!”

Pictures courtesy of the Woodberry in the Galápagos travel blog.