Mira Costa students take first trip to Galapagos Island’s

By Allie King
Staff Writer

The Galapagos Island are best known for the profound discoveries of Charles Darwin. This year, Costa english teacher, Cameron Chow accompanied by his wife and sister, will lead Costa’s very first trip to the Galapagos Island.

The trip was conducted by Education First Tours. EF tour’s goal is to immerse students in new cultures. The trip took place during Costa’s 2014 Spring Break. The students experienced the people, language, food and way of life seen in Ecuador.

While in the Galapagos, the students traveled by boat each day and saw all that the island has to offer. The Galapagos is home to many unique wildlife. The island and it’s surrounding water forms an Ecuadorian province, a national park and a biological marine reserve.

“The Galapagos is a place I have always wanted to go to,” Chow said, ” and I knew it would be hard to go if i didn’t take a trip through school.”

In preparation for the trip, Chow showed many videos and pictures of the Galapagos and what they would be seeing on their trip. Many students looked forward to experiencing all that they had seen.

“I was excited to see new things,” junior Dylan Kim said. “I have seen so many pictures and it is cool that I finally got to see everything I’ve seen online.”

The students got to experience the wildlife in person and learn about the islands’ history. They began their tour in Quito. After they toured Quito, they flew to Baltra and continued on the island of Santa Cruz. Following that, they partook on a boat excursion to Florena Island. Next, they went on another boat excursion to North Seymour. They then returned to Baltra and flew back to Quito. They visited museums, landmarks, went snorkeling and got a chance to walk around the markets.

“When you travel, it is really cool to visit their food markets because you can try new foods, see their culture and experience their lifestyle hands on,” Chow said.

After a year of planning, the students and Chow were excited to experience the trip and see all the hard work they had put in.

“We have been planning it for a year and it was a lot of hard work,” Chow said. “Hopefully it will turn out to be a good experience and it will definitely be nice to get a break.”