The Capital of Paradise

Welcome to San Cristóbal, the Capital of Paradise.

Out of all the islands of the Galápagos, San Cristóbal is the eastern-most. San Cristóbal was also the first of the islands that Darwin set foot on during his explorations.

Today, the island is the second most populated in the Galápagos, just behind Santa Cruz. However, with that in mind, there are still only 5,400 permanent inhabitants.

Stepping off the boat, there looks to be just as many seals as humans inhabiting this sleepy port town. It seems hard for any tourists, myself included, to pass by a seal napping on a bench on the Malecón without stopping to snap at least one photo.

Like all the islands of the Galápagos, San Cristóbal is unique in its own way. Besides sea lions, the island is home to a plethora of flora and fauna. Visitors flock here to see a variety of tropical birds including frigates and Red and Blue-footed Boobies.

Perhaps most famous of all are the critters on the Galápagos are the giant and gentle tortoises. San Cristóbal is also home to the Galápaguera de Cerro Colorado, a tortoise-breeding center, whose mission is to improve the population of the subspecies of giant tortoises specific to the island.

Off the Western horizon, one can spot Kicker Rock, or as locals call it, León Dormidio (The Sleeping Lion). Kicker Rock is said to be home to some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world.

Depending on the time of year, swimmers can spot a variety of marine life including green sea turtles, sea lions eagle rays, dolphins, and a variety of sharks.

Since it’s settlement in 1858 however, the island has faced many ecological challenges.  Introduction of invasive plants and animals have endangered the island’s endemic species.  However, in 1968 Ecuador designated 97% of the Galápagos Islands as National Park lands, and
began making efforts to reverse the damage.

The End of the Dàolù

Rachael Trost reporting

As this experience abroad has come to an end, I cannot express my gratitude for each moment here and every person I met along with road (that's Dàolù in Chinese if you were wondering about the title of this post).

The entrance to the center early on a foggy morning. 

If you are ever traveling to this specific region of southwest China, here are a few tips you should really pay attention to before you depart. Just some things I wish I had known before I left.

1. In the winter months, pack LOTS of layers to keep you warm and dry. Especially pajamas, I learned this lesson the hard way. 
2. When packing such clothes, make sure you have full outfit options in separate bags in case the airlines loose or delay your luggage. If it could happen to me, it could happen to you. 
3. It's normal for no one to understand what you are asking for. This can be really fun though as you discover new ways to address your wants. Hand signals are your friend :) 
4. Be prepared to walk. The best way to see the small cities and explore surrounding areas is on foot. 
5. A few necessary packing items include...
1. filtered water bottle (all the water they will serve you is boiling hot, a filtered bottle will allow you to sip on cooler water from the tap).
2. Nutrition bars or granola bars, whichever you prefer. Meals are served 3 times a day, but that can be a long time to wait if you are hungry. 
3. Slippers, seriously bring slippers. The buildings have no central heating and high humidity, leaving the floors a bit damp and pretty cold. 
4. A passport, money, and id holder. I bought mine on Amazon for $10. Buy one that hangs around your neck for easy access to important documents while traveling along with safety for your bills while exploring the towns. 
5. Camera, extra batteries, and extra batteries. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to realize out in the field your camera is almost dead. 
6. A smile and simple "hello" go a long way. Even if that's all you can say in the native tongue, it will open up others to you. (Hello in Chinese is Ni hao in case you were wondering). 
7. Don't be alarmed when you hop in a taxi and the driver enters the incoming lane of traffic. It's normal for them to honk madly and swerve from one side of the road to another. 
8. Push the limits. A sign says staff only? If you are a volunteer, you are staff right? Take the path untraveled and live a little. 
9. Enjoy, simply that. 

The lovely group of volunteers I spent the week with. From left to right..
Anon and Johanna from Germany, Dan from Australia, Fillipa from Sweden,
myself, and Frederick from Australia. 

There is no experience more special than hand feeding one of the most endangered animals on the planet. The center gave me an extremely unique opportunity to see the inter-workings of caring for these animals. I will miss the odd noises Yi Bao and Xin Hui would make as we carried their panda cakes to them, to watching the panda kindergarteners antagonize one another on their swing set, the memories are enough to last a lifetime. 

As I say goodbye to China, I say farewell to this blog as well. I cannot thank the Murrow College, the professors, and all the donors who made this trip possible for me. 

Just Some Panda Pictures

Throughout my stay at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda, I took hundreds of photos of the pandas I got to work closely with. As I am finishing up my blog posts, I am sadly coming to the conclusion most of those photos may not make it into this blog.

This post although skinny in words, will be rich in photographs from my journey. Below find some of my favorite photographs I snapped in the field that did not seem to fit within specific posts.

Pandas are everywhere in China, even on the seat covers in the taxis! 

The streets in downtown Ya'an always busy with traffic from bikes to mopeds. 

As you can see in the background, there were a rainbow of colors of mopeds for sale in the city. 

There were LOTS of bike taxis in the city, a very cheap way of getting around to close destinations.  

The view from inside my taxi taking me to the center from the bus station in Ya'an.

The river we followed up the canyon. It was pretty dry for this time of the year my guide said.

Chinese lanterns hanging near the entrance of the center. 

The sun shining over the entrance sign of the CCRCGP.

Xin His patiently waiting for feeding time. He was by far the most vocal panda at the center.

Yi Bao eating the special "panda cakes". 

What kind eyes he has huh?

Panda foot 

Xin His waiting for more food. 

Volunteer Johanna checking to see if her initial was still in the recently laid cement. 

As you can see, it is! She says she left her mark on the center forever. 

A view of the official entrance for the CCRCGP from the sunny first day I was there. 

A keeper on the fence between panda enclosures. 

Keepers form relationships with each panda they care for.

Tourists standing at the bottom of some enclosures hoping to see some panda action. 

One of many stands in and near the center selling panda merchandise of all kinds. 

The bamboo truck who delivered pounds of bamboo to the enclosures daily. 

The house next to our hostel always had freshly chopped wood. Not sure why though..

This child's poster was laid sideways against a wall outside our hostel. 

Hang drying clothes was the only option in this part of China. Dryers were nonexistent in this tiny town.

Through the trees, you can see the entrance of the base. 

The road directly in front of the base entrance. The little shops were filled with souvenirs and different foods like meat and corn. 

The bridge at the base entrance had beautiful carvings of pandas on each panel. 

Just munching on some bamboo. Panda's diet consists 99 percent of bamboo. 

A map of the base for visitors to see which areas to find which pandas. 

A large rock indicating the road to the research section of the park. This area was not open to the public. 

One of the kindergarteners drinking water from their little pool. You can see how fuzzy his coat is. 

Just playing in the tree. These babies would play all afternoon and sleep the rest of the day.

The kindergarteners had tons of toys to play with in their enclosure like these tires.

Pandas spend about 16 hours a day eating or foraging for foo

Volunteer Filippa cleaning Xin His's enclosure. 

Volunteer Dan helping remove the garbage bamboo. 

Lucikly, panda poop didn't smell very bad at all (mostly because it was 99 percent bamboo). 

Fillipa using one of the brooms to sweep up the stone area of an enclosure. Volunteers are in charge of cleaning their panda's areas every morning. 

All smiles as I feed Yi Bao his morning panda cakes. 

Repping the WSU Cougars in downtown Ya'an. Go Cougs! 

A man warming himself by a fire on the streets of Ya'an.
No central heating this time of year means everyone is cold.

The traffic coming over a bridge in Ya'an. 

A man selling cooked potatoes out of his cart. 

Motocycles lined up in Ya'an. Mopeds and motorcycles are the chosen mode of transportation.

The archway over a bridge in Ya'an.