BIOL 388  Galapagos with Drs. Bosch and Hartvigsen

Student comments/photos:

"I am so glad I decided to go to the Galapagos with Bosch and Hartvigsen.  I got to do so many amazing things that I would never get another opportunity to do.  We got to snorkel almost every day, hike up a volcano, swim with sea lions, go for a beautiful 10 mile bike ride, kayak . . . and so much more.  I learned so much on that trip and saw such a diverse amount of species.  It was my most memorable experience so far at college and was one of the best decisions I ever made.  Below is a picture of Kicker Rock (which was my favorite place we visited) and a picture of me snorkeling with a sea lion." - Bethany Dellay

"The trip to the Galapagos was a lot of fun as well as a great learning opportunity.  The trip was such an amazing experience that not many people get to enjoy, and having the teachers inputting their knowledge of the surroundings made it very worthwhile." - Kyle Healy

"I had a wonderful time.  It was a fantastic experience to go out and see the flora and fauna we've been taught about since elementary school in their natural environment.  It was also great in how we studied the biodiversity but also had a cultural experience." - Caitlyn Ryan

"Traveling to the Galapagos this summer with Dr. Bosch and Dr. Hartvigsen was an amazing experience!  I feel so lucky to have been offered the opportunity to travel there under academic circumstances -- it was much more of a valuable experience than it would have been traveling to 'vacation' there.  There are so many 'favorite' pictures, it's hard to choose.  This one (below) was taken at playa El Garrapatero on Santa Cruz Island.  This was a beach we visited on the end of a long bike trip.  All around us was beautiful white sand beaches. . .  surrounded by cacti . .  which I definitely was not expecting.  The most interesting part of this beach was the mangrove forests surrounding parts of the beach.  Dr. Bosch explained to us the importance of these unique ecosystems, and how shrimp farming on much of South America's cost is destroying them.  Being able to see a mangrove forest up close was a first for me, and one of the many unforgettable experiences I had this summer. - Hannah Clark