Monday, May 20th

Monday June 20th
Today a new adventure starts for our little group. The day started at around 7 for most of us with the tearing down of the camp we had made the night prior.  At around 8 we had breakfast, packed the cars and said our goodbyes. Before leaving, however, we took a final group picture at La Duna. After, we departed the ranch and headed for a port near La Paz. When we arrived we saw the boats. They were small but sturdy enough for our gear and luggage. We loaded up the boats and headed for the island. On the way though, we saw a pod of dolphins that were absolutely amazing. They were incredibly elegant and graceful with their swimming and some even jumped out of the water. When we finally got to the island and I was surprised how nice it was. Our camp site was a rocky beach filled with shells in front of a mountain and all of this was located is a sort of bay. We set up camp and hung out for a while. At this point some of the boys thought it would be a fun idea to have hermit crab races. A ring was made and the whole camp gathered to watch as the crabs scrambled for freedom. After that we headed out for snorkeling. While out, we were able to see multiple rare sea turtles and fish. The  one I personally saw was called a green turtle and is commonly eaten by the local population despite its endangered status. When we got back from snorkeling we had another surprise. Stephanie, our resident turtle expert, had located a turtle nest near our campsite. She marked the nest and began talking to another group of campers next to us. We would come to learn that these two men were also biologist researching the endemic rodents on the island. Later that night the biologists came and gave us an impromptu talk on the rodent populations on the island and the risks associated with introducing new species to isolated ecosystems. Everybody listened attentively and they even allowed us to ask questions about their organization at the end.