I have decided that 2010 is the year I am going to endeavour to teach myself a little more about the World in general and all the fascinating places there are to visit.
I will be honest and say that during my school years, Geography was not my best subject. I think a major factor was the fact that my teacher was an absolute bore and he had no passion about his subject.
However both of my children have really enjoyed their Geography lessons at school, and this has made me re-evaluate my thinking of the subject.
As my son is considering taking a Gap Year he has been investigating different places to travel to. I think he has decided to plump for a Galapagos Islands Holiday. Mind you it isn’t going to be like his normal holidays, more a steep learning curve about other cultures.
As he is going to be away for at least 6 months, I thought a good place to start my Geography experience would be looking at the Galapagos Islands where he is starting his trip. The islands are part of Ecuador and consist of six main islands, with twelve smaller islands and at least forty small islets. Some of the islands are as far apart as a six hour boat trip. Bearing this in mind I would have thought that Galapagos Cruises are a really popular choice with visitors to the Islands and an absolutely brilliant way of experiencing the Galapagos.
Now for me Walking Holidays don’t sound brilliant, but when you consider what you will actually be experiencing you might change your mind. You may even be fortunate enough to get a glimmer of the wonderful Giant Tortoises. On reading up on the tortoises, I have already discovered that originally there were fifteen species of the Galapagos giant tortoise, but already four are extinct. However, with all the efforts of conservationists, the remaining species of tortoises are managing to survive, which is fantastic news.
I think my son is going to have a fantastic time when he is away, and he will certainly bring lots of new experiences and knowledge home with him. I think I will have my work cut out to learn about all the places he is going to visit, but I definitely think it is worthwhile, as knowledge is wonderful.
