Day 9:
After our excursion, we met with Paul Amos, an ex-pat from Pennsylvania. Mr. Amos moved to Cuenca in 2017 after disliking his stressful life as a U-Penn professor. After selling his home, Amos had enough money to completely retire and move to Cuenca after learning about the area in a magazine. As Ecuador uses United States currency he found it easy to move to Cuenca. Cuenca also has cheap medical care, is a secure and safe location, allows fresh resources such as market fruits and meats and has a stable climate in the Andes Mountains. Another benefit of living in Ecuador is the cheap and easily accessible bus system. Following Amos' retirement to Ecuador, he has struggled with several observations such as plumbing, language barriers and ex-pat social classes. The city of Cuenca was founded in 1557, such an old city comes with its problems such as old plumbing. Due to this, toilet paper in Cuenca and many other places in Ecuador is unable to get flushed. Another issue Amos has ran into since moving to Cuenca is the language barriers. He continues to practice but knows only a few words of Spanish. The people of Cuenca also only know a few words of English. Despite their language barriers, Amos still feels as though he is able to communicate well with the citizens he lives with. Lastly, as the ex-pat population grows, Paul is finding that an increasing number of younger generation people with children are moving into Cuenca. Personally, Amos feels that there are not many opportunities for him to meet people of his own generation.
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Cotopaxi- An active Strata Volcano where ecotourists are able to experience mountain climbing, biking and horseback riding. However, such activities have severely depleted the soil and vegetation. As a result, the wildlife in the area has also diminished as they no longer have access to resources or their habitat. Cotopaxi's vegetation has a low resistance to being trampled and slow recovery speed. Galapagos Islands- The Galapagos Islands currently has 13 major islands (subject to change due to volcanic activity). Ecotourists use this land area to study biodiversity and species adaptations following the observations made by Charles Darwin. With such an influx of tourists to a relatively small island area, the country of Ecuador requires a fee of $100 US Dollars to restore and protect specific species and areas. Activities on the islands include cruises and tours, hikes, swimming and diving and zip-lining. Quilotoa- A dormant caldera over 13,000 ft tall. When Quilotoa erupted in 1280, it was projected to be one of the worst volcanic eruptions throughout history. Now, Quilotoa is a beautiful recreational spot used for swimming, camping, hiking and kayaking. NGOs- Non-Governmental organizations are important in Ecuador as they stimulate the economy and support the continuing of ecotourism. An example of an NGO in Ecuador is Selva Viva- an animal rehab. Economic Impact- Ecotourism makes up 2% of all Ecuadorian GDP Pros: Ecotourism allows for income to stay within the boarders of the country and returns 95% of revenue. This revenue generates money for education. Ecotourism also promotes local cuisine and crafted goods. Cons: Ecotourism however has its downfalls. By bringing a high population of humans to fragile areas, ecosystems are degraded. Also, carbon emissions to travel to such areas is extremely high. Becky and Lori opened my eyes to the many species present all throughout Ecuador. Biodiversity is the variety of life found in a particular ecosystem. In the Galapagos, terrestrial species of the Islands are isolated from each other and Ecuadorian Mainland. On the islands, there are 5 different types of environments that isolate organisms to particular regions. The ecosystems are Marine, Arid, Humid, Littoral and transitional. The marine ecosystem encompasses the reefs, sandy bottom and the deep ocean of the islands. The Littoral ecosystem moves up from the marine environment to the shore such as beach and mangrove sites. The Arid environment is the most diverse and extensive section of the five environments the arid environment is home to the well known Palo Santo tree. The transitional landscape is between the Arid and Humid ecosystems. This environment is home to small grasses, shrubs and lichen. Lastly, the humid region is only found on the larger, higher elevated islands and has a lot of vegetation such as Scalesia, Miconia and Pampa. While traveling to the island of Santa Cruz, I noticed the shift from Arid to transitional to humid environments. Besides ecosystems and vegetation, the Galapagos Islands are also home to a wide array of species. Of the 56 species of birds on the islands 80% of them are endemic. Such birds are the Galapagos Penguins, Darwin's Finches and three different types of Boobies. The islands also have 6 different species of mammals however, 4 of those species belong to the rice rat family. Additionally, the Galapagos Islands are home to 22 species of reptiles, 20 which are endemic to the area. The Amazon Rain Forest is home to ten percent of all the biodiversity in the world. Of that, Ecuador contains only two percent of the Amazon basin, yet the Ecuadorian Rain Rorest is still a vital resource for humans and animals alike. Within this two percent lies the Yasuni National Park. The park was put in place to reduce the threats of exploitation by humans. These threats include oil refineries, mining and agricultural practices.
December 31, 2017 Greg and Haley presented information regarding the Seismic Activity found in Ecuador. Ecuador is located in South America and is divided by two tectonic plates. The mainland country is located on the South American plate while the Galapagos Islands, off the coast and owned by Ecuador, sits on the Nazca Plate. Currently, the Nazca Plate is subducting under the South American plate bringing the Galapagos Islands closer to mainland and also building up the Andes Mountain Range. Due to the large amount of tectonic activity in Ecuador, the area has Dip-slip Reverse Faults, which result in subsequent natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Dip-slips Reverse Faults are inclined fractures where hanging wall shift vertically over the foot wall. These faults are the cause of the largest mountain chains in the world. In Ecuador, earthquakes are very common and lead to massive destruction. Seismic waves, P, S and Surface, are released when tension from two plates at a fault reach their threshold. Some famous earthquakes from Ecuador were located at Riobamba, Esmeraldas, Tumaco, Napa Province and three from 2016 the Manta, Pedernales and Portoviejo. Volcanoes are also common in Ecuador. All three types of volcano are located in the country. Stratovolcanoes are the most common in the world, located in subduction zones, these volcanoes unleash layers of lava and ash to the landscape and atmosphere. Cinder volcanoes are steep and cone shaped and release mostly ash to the atmosphere. Shield volcanoes are made with gentle flowing slopes of fluid lava. Well known volcanoes in the area is the Cayambe, Chimborazo, Guagua Pichincha, Sierra Negra and Cotopaxi.
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ExperienceThrough Stockton University, I traveled to Ecuador where I studied Biodiversity, |