Espanola Island
After a very intense week, today we were allowed to sleep a little longer before enjoying the magnificence of Gardner Bay, the northern most part of Espanola Island. Some people went snorkeling to the always exciting Tortuga Rock, where it was possible to find a Tiger snake eel, a Jewel moray and a Zebra moray together with innumerable fish most of which were eating plankton. Some others went kayaking and it was certainly exceptional. The route we followed was very long and we were always escorted by sea lions. To paddle close to the walls of the rocks of this area and to explore some caves, is overwhelming. Finally, everybody ended the morning walking on the white organic beach with the good company of no less than 150 sea lions, all of them displaying their own agendas.
In the afternoon we landed at Punta Suárez, where we found the landing dock flooded by very large waves. The sea lions there were too busy surfing to pay any attention to us, and we were able to certify that to a good surfer these were not bad waves! The Blow hole at the end of the trail was impressive with its force, while there were very few birds gliding around. The blue footed boobies that were courting till last week are now gone, but it was refreshing to find that the Nazca boobies keep being successful in their nesting. It was a great surprise to find this particular young Nazca booby with a special “feather style” on its head. Who says there is no class among boobies?
After a very intense week, today we were allowed to sleep a little longer before enjoying the magnificence of Gardner Bay, the northern most part of Espanola Island. Some people went snorkeling to the always exciting Tortuga Rock, where it was possible to find a Tiger snake eel, a Jewel moray and a Zebra moray together with innumerable fish most of which were eating plankton. Some others went kayaking and it was certainly exceptional. The route we followed was very long and we were always escorted by sea lions. To paddle close to the walls of the rocks of this area and to explore some caves, is overwhelming. Finally, everybody ended the morning walking on the white organic beach with the good company of no less than 150 sea lions, all of them displaying their own agendas.
In the afternoon we landed at Punta Suárez, where we found the landing dock flooded by very large waves. The sea lions there were too busy surfing to pay any attention to us, and we were able to certify that to a good surfer these were not bad waves! The Blow hole at the end of the trail was impressive with its force, while there were very few birds gliding around. The blue footed boobies that were courting till last week are now gone, but it was refreshing to find that the Nazca boobies keep being successful in their nesting. It was a great surprise to find this particular young Nazca booby with a special “feather style” on its head. Who says there is no class among boobies?
