If we were just tourists here in this amazing place (don’t get me wrong we sure have our touristy moments) we could be fooled into thinking that these islands are maybe not an unblemished but at least a near-perfect paradise. Living here although for only three months gives us a different perspective. Our most recent class was probably the most frustrating with a good twenty-something people crammed into a small room with a professor that occasionally seemed too busy with her other work for us. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t learn a lot, nothing form the powerpoints but a lot from our experiences. We had two dives during this past Marine Ecosystems course which showed us how strong currents can be in this archipelago and how unwieldy twenty-some people can crowd the vast ocean when they’re put underwater together. We’ve also been learning the extent of the Sea Lion epidemic on our home island, San Cristóbal. Its causes are unknown and with another El Niño year looming the number of dead pups from an unknown disease or environmental contaminant is scary.
It’s still hard not to think of this place as paradise though even with the news every few weeks of another fishing boat being caught with hundreds of sharks onboard because the next day we can just go on a lovely sea kayaking adventure to unpopulated beach miles away from anything I’ve ever known. It becomes real though when an Ecuadorian who works with the dive shop we use dies while snorkeling as we’re oblivious underwater safe with our SCUBAs & dive buddies. It was very unreal since he was talking with us on the boat before we went under, and he was going to snorkel with me since for a few minutes we had no BCD for me. It sends shivers down your spine and it somewhat seems to have soured a few of the locals opinions of us. 
Real life can mar this wonderful place, but it just makes it that more unique being somewhere that is so much elsewhere and so very much of this world.
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