Archive for the ‘Galapagos’ Tag
Winslow Homer's "The Fog Warning" 1885
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“Never vomit into the wind”
Motion sickness or kinetosis – also known as ‘Travel Sickness’ – is apparently experienced by about 33% of people – even in mild circumstances such as being on a boat in calm water.
Common symptoms …
- Dizziness, fatigue, and nausea [nausea, from the Greek term naus - meaning ship]
- A paleness of the skin may be followed by yawning, restlessness, and a cold sweat. As the symptoms progress, malaise and drowsiness set in, sometimes accompanied by an upset stomach.
Common situations that lead to sea sickness …
- Motion sickness is more likely to occur with complex types of movement, especially movement that is slow or involves two different directions (for example, vertical and horizontal) at the same time;
- Poor ventilation caused by gas fumes and smoke, and emotional factors such as fear and anxiety often act together to bring on an attack of motion sickness;
When it comes to a cruise, for example, in the Galapagos Islands …
- You should strongly consider a more stable vessel – these being the large capacity cruise ships, and heavy motor catamarans;
- The wider and heavier the vessel, the more stable it is; conversely, the narrower and lighter the vessel the more unstable it is;
- Ideally you want to locate yourself as low down and and central (from front to back, and from side to side) of the boat as possible – this is the spot that you will feel less movement.
Other data …
- Women are more sensitive to motion sickness than men, and pregnant women are especially at risk for motion sickness.
- Children are commonly affected. The peak incidence for the development of motion sickness is 12 years; infants and children under two are generally not affected.
- Persons who suffer from migraine headaches are at increased risk for motion sickness.
Supposed causes have been chalked up to an INNER EAR DISTURBANCE – basically what one feels and what one sees do not match. Some claim that when feeling motion but not seeing it (for example, in a ship with no windows), the inner ear transmits to the brain that it senses motion, but the eyes tell the brain that everything is still. As a result of the disconcordance, the brain will come to the conclusion that one of them is hallucinating and further conclude that the hallucination is due to poison ingestion. The brain responds by inducing vomiting, to clear the supposed toxin.
Visual input seems to be of lesser importance, since blind people can develop motion sickness.
In an interesting article in Science Daily (link), professor of human movement science at the University of Minnesota, Tom Stoffregen, Ph.D., claims that “Those who move a lot, although barely visible, are the ones that get sick. He says it’s like they’re subconsciously moving to compensate for the motion, but they’re only making it worse.”
Dr. Stoffregen says, “People who are going to get sick first become wobbly, and it’s fair to say that by becoming wobbly they make themselves sick.” For now, researchers can’t predict who’s going to get sick, but experts say the best way to prevent motion sickness is to lie down and close your eyes.
Treatment and/or prevention of Motion Sickness ..
Medications and other treatments are available. Nonprescription antihistamine treatments are believed to block signals from the inner ear to the vomiting center.
Antihistamines have been used to treat motions sickness. Notably, the nonsedating antihistamines do not seem to be effective for motion sickness treatment.
Examples of antihistamine medications to treat motion sickness include:
- chlorpheniramine (Aller-Chlor),
- cyclizine (Marezine),
- cyclizine HCI (Bonine for Kids)
- dimenhydrinate (Dramamine, Dramamine Chewable, Driminate),
- diphenhydramine (Benadryl or MAREOL [Colombia & Ecuador],
- meclizine (Antivert, Bonine, D-Vert, Dramamine II).
Side effects may include significant sedation, drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, and confusion and urinary retention in the elderly.
- These are most effective if taken 30 minutes to an hour before traveling and as directed. If the drugs are taken only when the traveler begins to feel sick, it is usually too late to stop the process. These drugs should not be taken by children under 12 or by persons with other health problems without a doctor’s consent. A number of prescription anti-nausea and anti-vomiting drugs are available. Ask your doctor for advice. One innovative treatment is a through-the-skin delivery system, Transderm Scop, developed for scopolamine a highly effective drug for motion sickness. One patch is normally applied behind the ear 4 hours prior to travel, and replaced every 3 days. This method is not recommended for children, pregnant women, or those with liver, kidney, or bladder disease.
Some studies have shown that ginger, an old home remedy for gastrointestinal disturbances, may be effective in prevention of motion sickness. Taking 1-2 grams of ginger orally has been used as an alternative medicine to prevent motion sickness. Studies both in experimental motion sickness and in naval cadets at sea have found that ginger, taken in advance, has reduced the symptoms of motion sickness. It is believed, however, that this benefit is due to the effects of ginger on stomach motility rather than suppression of sensory input.
Fixing one’s gaze upon landmarks or the horizon may help to prevent or lessen the symptoms of motion sickness.
Once the symptoms of motion sickness have set in, there is little to offer the suffering traveler other than sympathy and perhaps some fresh air.
Happy cruising.
DATE: FEBRUARY 1st, 2010
In an effort by the central government of Ecuador to generate more funds, stricter financial and tax legislation are being implimented. A direct effect is on the Ecuadorian tourism sector.
The Galápagos Islands are at the edge of their carrying capacity, absorbing some 120,000 tourists yearly, a figure that almost trebled in the past five years alone.
In 2005, Ecuador attracted 860,000 tourists of the 18.1 million visitors to the South American continent, up 5.1 percent over the previous year.
Top countries of origin of incoming tourism, according to Ecuador Tourism Ministry figures, were Peru, the United States, Columbia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany.
An integral marketing plan of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism continues to be ambitious, targeting increasing those numbers significantly in the coming years. Targets include attracting 1.1 million incoming tourists this year, and boosting that figure to 1.7 million by 2010. Hence the strategy to encourage travelers to Ecuador to experience the capital Quito, parts of the Amazon rain forest, the highlands, its volcanoes, its culture, its Pacific coastline, its beaches or its gastronomy.
Different sources estimate that in 2008 tourism generated aproximately USD $450 million, while recent figures estimate tourism to generate aproximately $1 to $1.5 billion US dollars.
In the early days of 2010, the tourism sector (mainly Galapagos related) is in a period of great uncertainty – mainly due to new financial and tax legislations that are focusing on capturing more funds for the central government. As a direct result numerous Galapagos cruise operators are increasing their previously published 2010 cruise rates up to 12%, while a smaller number are planning on maintaining their rates.
Scientists report colony of Galápagos sea lions in northern Peru
January 28, 2010
Original source: Andean Airmail & Peruvian Times
The Organization for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Animals, or Orca, says a colony of sea lions endemic to the Galápagos Islands have established a colony off the coast of northern Peru as a result of increased sea surface temperature in the region.
The colony includes 30 sea lions that traveled 1,500 kilometers, about 932 miles, from Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands to the Foca Island, located off the coast of Peru’s Piura department, daily El Comercio reported. The president of Orca, Carlos Yaipén, says the Foca colony is the first reported outside the Galápagos archipelago and due to an increase in sea temperature caused by climate change.
“Never before has a residency of Galápagos sea lions been reported outside of the islands. Individual sea lions have been reported stranded in Ecuador and Colombia, here as well, but never a colony,” says Yaipén. “This is due to their adaptation to climate change. The conditions of the sea around Piura are now similar to the Galápagos. This could result in the arrival of more sea lions as well as other species.”
Surface sea temperature around off the coast of Piura has reportedly increased over the last 10 years from an average of 17 degrees Celsius to 23 degrees Celsius. Sea temperature around the Galápagos Islands averages 25 degrees Celsius.
The Galápagos Islands is an archipelago of 19 volcanic islands located at the confluence of three ocean currents about 604 miles west of continental Ecuador. The islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique “living museum and showcase of evolution.” In 1978, they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
JANUARY 29/2010
The USGS reports the following:
| Magnitude |
5.0 |
| Date-Time |
|
| Location |
1.979°N, 90.303°W |
| Depth |
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program |
| Region |
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS REGION |
| Distances |
325 km (205 miles) NNW of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Galapagos
330 km (205 miles) NNE of Puerto Villamil, Isabela, Galapagos
1245 km (770 miles) WNW of Guayaquil, Ecuador
1335 km (830 miles) W of QUITO, Ecuador |
| Location Uncertainty |
horizontal +/- 13.1 km (8.1 miles); depth fixed by location program |
| Parameters |
NST=121, Nph=121, Dmin=293.4 km, Rmss=1.18 sec, Gp=144°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7 |
| Source |
|
| Event ID |
us2010sba6 |
As a public courtesy, and following Sangay Touring’s constant ethical and professional approach to Galapagos cruises, we publish the following regarding the economic Galapagos Islands boat, M/Y Gaby (aka Gabi):
Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism
Oficio No.- MT-GRG-2010-0013
Date: January 21, 2010
To all tour operators and agencies we inform you of the report by the Puerto Ayora Port Captain [see below excerpt section]. In addition we take this opportunity to inform you that, due to numerous complaints regarding the incompletion of services provided by the operator of the Gaby, the respective legal department of the Minsitry of Tourism will be exectuting in the following days, in conjuction with the Direccion Juridica, the respective administrative and legal procedures to ensure that all the pertinent and legal procedures are applied.
Official communication [translation of pertinent sections] from Capitania de Puerto Ayora, Galapagos
Date: January 18, 2010
The boat, Gaby, is currently prohibited to navigate due to the incompletion of Internaitonal security regulations. The boat, due to damages to its motor and generator, cannot navigate December 28th, 29th & 30th 2009 and after 3 inspections conducted by the Puerto Ayora Port captain to verify the boat’s condition has decided to stop its operation until such time as the boat returns to satisfactory conditions.
Aerogal & Tame airline fares have increased due to governmental airport taxes effective immediately (January 7th, 2010). For those passengers already paid in full, sangay Touring will absorb this increase.
January 1st to April 30th / June 15th to September 14th / November 1st to December 31st
GALAPAGOS FLIGHT RATES – HIGH SEASON
ADULT | CHILD | ROUTING
$422 | $217 | QUITO – GALAPAGOS – QUITO
$403 | $208 | QUITO – GALAPAGOS – GUAYAQUIL
$400 | $205 | GUAYAQUIL – GALAPAGOS – QUITO
$372 | $191 | GUAYAQUIL – GALAPAGOS – GUAYAQUIL
May 1st to June 14th / September 15th to October 31st
GALAPAGOS FLIGHT RATES – LOW SEASON
ADULT | CHILD | ROUTING
$367 | $190 | QUITO – GALAPAGOS – QUITO
$349 | $181 | QUITO – GALAPAGOS – GUAYAQUIL
$346 | $178 | GUAYAQUIL – GALAPAGOS – QUITO
$328 | $169 | GUAYAQUIL – GALAPAGOS – GUAYAQUIL
Note: ‘Child’ is anyone under 12 years of age / ‘Adult’ is anyone over 12 years of age.
SOURCE: http://www.galapagos.org/2008/index.php?id=233
The Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) is committed to maintaining the quality of visitor sites in terms of infrastructure, flow of visitors, and the quality of interpretation, and to ensuring that tourism activities in the archipelago adhere to the principles of ecotourism, as established in the Park’s Management Plan.
The results of the Park’s annual monitoring activities, together with reports presented by naturalist guides, and information shared by tourists, has revealed that the high demand at some sites is reducing the quality of the visitor experience. To address this problem, the GNPS recently held a workshop in which tourism operators, naturalist guides, and Park personnel worked to organize new itineraries for the 70 boats operating multi-day tours in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
During the workshop, participants analyzed and discussed different alternatives, and agreed to implement 15 day itineraries which will not visit any site more than once within a 15-day period. This arrangement would allow passengers to participate in cruises lasting five, seven or 15 days.
In 2010, the GNPS will begin the process of rolling out the new itineraries. The goal is for all tour ships operating in Galapagos to adhere to the 15 day itineraries in 2011.
The implementation of this measure will reduce visits to the most critical visitor sites, such as Bartolomé and Española by 50%.
Other complementary measures to optimize the management of the tourist experience include: visits to the towns, improved distribution of flights among Galapagos airports, zoning of ancillary tourism activities, and mechanisms for providing access to sites under special circumstances.
Proceso de Relaciones Públicas – Parque Nacional Galápagos – Ecuador
For more information write to: comunicacion@spng.org.ec, or visit http://www.galapagospark.org
The Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) will be the next province of Ecuador to convert into a free wireless (wi-fi) region, thanks to the wireless connection pilot project REDGAL.
This past Friday, the digital newspaper “El Cuidadano” announced that tests are currently being conducted on network connections to provide free internet to all of the Galapagos Islands population, using equipment that allows for large coverage with a bandwidth between 1.5 and 2.0 Mbps.
The project was spearheaded by the Galapagos National Institute (Instituto Nacional Galápagos) at the end of August 2008.
Original source is in Spanish, found here: http://tecnodatum.com/2009/03/galapagos-tendra-internet-inalambrico-gratuito/
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AEROGAL airline has just notified us, that as of June 24th 2009 [update confirmed on July 28, 2009], the following flight schedule change takes places:
DAYS: MONDAY TO SUNDAY (EXCEPT SATURDAY)
FLIGHT NO. 2K032
DEPART: QUITO | 07h50
ARRIVE: GUAYAQUIL | 08h35
DEPART: GUAYAQUIL | 09h20
ARRIVE: GALAPAGOS | 10h05
FLIGHT NO. 2K033
DEPART: GALAPAGOS | 10h45
ARRIVE: GUAYAQUIL | 13h30
DEPART: GUAYAQUIL | 14h30
ARRIVE: QUITO | 15h15
Celebrating 50 years, the Charles Darwin Foundation has launched its new web site: http://www.darwinfoundation.org/
Source: Parque Nacional Galapagos [Galapagos National Park]
Link: http://www.galapagospark.org/boletin.php?noticia=301
Date: July 21, 2009
Translation by: Robin Slater (Sangay Touring)
New hopes for obtaining descendants of the Lonesome George.
In the pen of the emblematic Giant Tortoise a new nest if discovered.
The Director of the Galapagos National Park, Edgar Muñoz, participated in the gathering, measuring and weighing of the eggs.
Last Saturday, the female Nº 107, one of two female that share the pen with the Solitary Jorge (spanish) (Lonesome George) and the female that attempted mating with Lonesome George for the first time in 2008, has nested this year again, renewing hopes for descendants of this emblematic Giant Tortoise.
Yesterday afternoon, National Park wardens opened the nest and found five eggs under perfect conditions. These eggs were removed, weighed, measured and placed in the artificial incubators in the Center of Reproduction and Upbringing in Captivity of Giant Turtles, part of the Galapagos National Park. Now it is necessary to wait the 120 days that the incubation process lasts to know if the eggs are fertile.
Due to the necessity of trying to recover the Pinta Island species (Geochelone abingdoni), the five eggs were placed in the incubator that keep the eggs at a constant temperature of 29.5 °C that which allows / augments the chances of obtaining female offspring.
The female Nº 107 and her partner are the Geochelone becky species, from the Wolf volcano on the western island of Isabela, which have a shell similar to that of Lonesome George, for this reason in 1993, started to share the with Lonesome George as part of an experiment to motivate their reproduction.
When almost all hopes that the reptile mates with his companions, in July of 2008, these females produced eggs, giving hope that this last of the Pinta island species does not go into extinction.
Resurgen las esperanzas de obtener descendientes del Solitario Jorge
En el corral del emblemático animal se encontró un nuevo nido
El Director del PNG, Edgar Muñoz, participó de la recolección, medición y pesaje de los huevos.
El sábado pasado, la hembra Nº 107, una de las dos que comparten el corral con el Solitario Jorge y que desovó por primera vez en 2008, volvió a anidar este año, con lo que renacen las esperanzas de que el emblemático reptil deje descendencia.
Ayer en la tarde, guardaparques abrieron el nido y encontraron cinco huevos en perfectas condiciones. Estos huevos fueron sacados, pesados, medidos y colocados en las incubadoras artificiales del Centro de Reproducción y Crianza en Cautiverio de Tortugas Gigantes de la Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos (DPNG), ahora hay que esperar los 120 días que dura el proceso de incubación para conocer si los huevos son fértiles .
Debido a la necesidad de tratar de recuperar la especie de tortugas de Pinta (Geochelone abingdoni), los cinco huevos fueron colocados en la incubadora que se mantienen a una temperatura de 29,5 °C lo cual permite obtener individuos hembras.
La hembra Nº 107 y su compañera, son de la especie Geochelone becky, originaria de volcán Wolf en la isla Isabela, tiene un carapacho de forma similar a Jorge, por lo que desde 1993, comparten el corral con el solitario como parte de un experimento para motivar su reproducción.
Cuando se veían agotadas las esperanzas de que el reptil se aparee con sus acompañantes, en julio de 2008, estas hembras desovaron por primera vez devolviendo al mundo la ilusión de que la especie de tortugas gigantes de Pinta no se extinga.
Elaborado por: Proceso de Relaciones Públicas de la Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos
Para mayor información, escríbanos a: comunicacion@spng.org.ec
The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health has confirmed 9 fatalities due to the A H1N1 flu virus in Ecuador [July 21, 2009]
Ambato | 1 male | 30 years old | July 2
Cuenca | 1 female | 28 years old | July 7
Quito | 1 female | 42 years old | July 11
Riobamba | 1 male | 74 years old | July 12
Quito | 1 female | 48 years old | July 12
Loja | 1 male | 24 years old | July 14
Alausi | 1 female | 26 years old | July 15
Chunchi | 1 female | 59 years old | July 17
Canar | 1 male | 38 years old | July 17
Source: El Comercio / July 21, 2009
Banco Pichincha coming soon to Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz Island) Galapagos.
Link: www.pichincha.com
Presently, the only bank in Galapagos (located in Puerto Ayora), is the Banco Pacifico.
SOURCE: EL COMERCIO
DATE: JUNE 17, 2009
According to local news sources, a diesel fuel spill occurred in Academy Bay, off the island of Santa Cruz on June 17, 2009. The spill occurred close to where the deluxe tourist boat, Evolution, was anchored. Galapagos National Park authorities have placed a security net to prevent the spill from spreading, although detergent was spread along the coast.
“It was a result of poor handling of the transfer of fuel to the boat, according to the crew; and investigations are under way to possibly fine the responsible parties” stated the Galapagos National Park spokesperson, Rosa Leon in an interview with AP by telephone in reference to an oil spill that appeared near the tourist boat Evolution which was anchored in the Puerto Ayora bay of Santa Cruz Island.
NOTE: Puerto Ayora spill containment.
Treatment and/or prevention of Motion Sickness ..
