by Nina Oberg, a student at Boston College currently studying abroad on the Galápagos Islands.

A short hike away from La Loberia on San Cristobal in the Galápagos Islands, you can find a small cove teeming with life. Surfing around in the waves below are a group of sea turtles coming up for air, seemingly undisturbed by the crashing waters just a few meters from where they swim. Dotting the cliff side it is easy to spot the swallow tailed gulls that have gathered there with signature red rings around their eyes. Venturing up to the top of the cliff, our naturalist guides had pointed out crabs scuttling about in the surf, camouflaged quite nicely with their black shells against the dark lava rock that is clumped along the beach. Marine iguanas lazed about as we walked through them, often times having to step over them in order to continue on our way up the hill. We even get to see a blue footed booby perched among the many gulls along the cliff.