Monday 28th October
By Iyla Majeed and George Smith
Being awoken by a downpour of rain was a stark contrast to our Galapagos mornings so far. The team fuelled up for the day with breakfast ready for the walk ahead.
We set off towards the beach on a mission to find plastic bottles to collect microplastics in on our beach clean. We obtained these by searching through bins, asking locals as well as shop owners. It was a 20-minute stroll to Tortuga Bay which is where the national park officially begins. The area is protected as 2,000 female turtles have nested here over the past year.
To reach the beach we followed the pathway listening to the call of yellow warblers and mocking birds, while the scent of acacia flowers and palo santo (or incense stick/holy stick) lingered on the breeze. Amid this were several rat traps which are placed in order to attempt to eradicate the invasive rat population.
A blue footed bobby. Picture: Sam McGeough
Before we did the beach clean we took the time to try and see the local wildlife. We managed to spot our first blue footed booby whose feet are made that colour due to their diet. Some of us waded into the water to see baby black tipped sharks that were sheltering into the protection of the mangrove trees. We also saw marine iguanas, a sea lion and Alex even had a Darwin’s finch land on his shoe.
On the way back we kept our eyes peeled and between us managed to collect so many pieces of microplastics that we filled up 12 bottles. Some bits were so small you could barely see them, others we mistook for crab shell. It made us realise why birds and fish end up eating them by mistake because if we humans can’t tell the difference when we know they are out there then wildlife doesn’t stand a chance. It was sobering.
Our team plant coffee, plantain and cassava on the organic farm. Picture: Dwayne Fields
After we left the beach we headed to an organic coffee farm. We began by meeting the owner, Mark who inherited the farm from his father who was one of the first people who came to the island in 1963. This is later than the other islands were inhabited as this island lacked fresh water. Both Mark and his brother own 70 hectares of land each which they farm.
The farm is home to cattle, a few horses and grows lots of produce including sweet potato, plantain, bananas, cassava, coffee and other fruits. Mark showed us some achiote which is a plant that contains seeds that can be used as dye, it can be boiled in oil to colour food and can also colour hair and be used as face paint. Scalesia is another plant that is endemic to the Galapagos and it encourages the birds and gives them shelter. The leaves also provide good compost for other plants.
Coffee is one source of income for the farm with Mark’s nephew handling that side of the business selling 200-300 kilos of coffee per year. From the beans being picked, it takes a month to go through several processes before they are ready to be sold. Harvest season is usually now but due to climate change Mark said the ocean current is bringing colder air which decreases their yield as the growth rate has slowed. This means that today, in the dry season, the beans still weren’t ready to be picked.
Mark’s philosophy with his farm and business is that the key to a good business is honesty and transparency with your product, and that’s why he’s the best in the game.
Dwayne, Phoebe, Sherrill and Mike get branded with the dye of the achiote tree. Picture: Team #WeTwo
After learning about life on the farm we all got stuck in planting some plantain, coffee and scalesia which the group thoroughly enjoyed. We got mucky and it was great to know we had helped a local farmer who serves everything he grows here in the farm restaurant mere metres from where it grows – meaning no food miles.
When we’d finished we headed back to enjoy the fruits of our labour – literally with some banana cake and fresh coffee. Food never tasted so good!