Espanola Island
After an active Friday night with barbeque and star gazing we had an 8:00 breakfast. We need batteries fully charged for what lays ahead. The snorkeling at turtle islet is amazing. The combination of crystal clear water and tons of fish is just perfect. The endemic black stripped salemas carpet the ocean floor and the inevitable Galápagos sea lions do not allow anybody else to be the center of attention. At the west side of the islet in 6 feet of water we found a snake eel crawling on the bottom, looking for food. It eventually disappeared, burying itself on the sandy bottom.
The afternoon was glorious. The visit to Punta Suarez started with a pair of endemic Galápagos hawks mating right before us. It was such an unusual sight that two naturalists with 40 years of guiding experience combined had never seen it before. The cool afternoon breeze announces that both April and the hot season are almost finished. We saw the first blue-footed booby chicks of the season and a few pairs of waved albatrosses were performing the bonding rituals that will keep them together the rest of their lives. The right tide and swell mad for a spectacular blow hole, throwing water and foam 45 to 50 feet up in the sky. Almost at sunset, on our way out we found the trail crowded by sea lions that just came back after a day of sea lion life at sea. Not bad for another day in paradise.
After an active Friday night with barbeque and star gazing we had an 8:00 breakfast. We need batteries fully charged for what lays ahead. The snorkeling at turtle islet is amazing. The combination of crystal clear water and tons of fish is just perfect. The endemic black stripped salemas carpet the ocean floor and the inevitable Galápagos sea lions do not allow anybody else to be the center of attention. At the west side of the islet in 6 feet of water we found a snake eel crawling on the bottom, looking for food. It eventually disappeared, burying itself on the sandy bottom.
The afternoon was glorious. The visit to Punta Suarez started with a pair of endemic Galápagos hawks mating right before us. It was such an unusual sight that two naturalists with 40 years of guiding experience combined had never seen it before. The cool afternoon breeze announces that both April and the hot season are almost finished. We saw the first blue-footed booby chicks of the season and a few pairs of waved albatrosses were performing the bonding rituals that will keep them together the rest of their lives. The right tide and swell mad for a spectacular blow hole, throwing water and foam 45 to 50 feet up in the sky. Almost at sunset, on our way out we found the trail crowded by sea lions that just came back after a day of sea lion life at sea. Not bad for another day in paradise.
