Española Island
This morning is our first full day of the voyage. We get up early for some stretching on the sundeck, having a great view of the island we are about to explore: Española. The bay where we are at anchor has this magical light blue color, the beach where several hundred sea lions rest is ivory white. The sky has some tufts of clouds but is mostly sunny, the breeze is gentle but picks up later this morning.
We are in the transition between the wet and dry seasons, and, as with everything on the equator, this transition is rather quick. Fortunately the water is still warm, because after breakfast and an extensive snorkeling briefing we are given our snorkel equipment. Once we are ready to hit the water it is already half past nine. After a good hour of snorkeling along a wall dripping with corals, barnacles, gorgonians and other benthos, we go to the beach to spend some time with the sea lions. Some of us are there already, trying out the snorkel gear in the shallow water.
The sea lions appeal to everyone; you can’t help but to relate them to a pet at home. They play with the waves, make funny noises and interact with every human being on the beach and in the water. Hood mockingbirds are running around frantic, with their expressive heads cocking non-stop, looking for prey, competition or just trouble, it seems. The sand feels cool and soft, the surf has a cleansing effect on most of us. Rosy-cheeked and tired from the elements, we turn back to the ship for lunch.
In the afternoon we head out again, this time at Punta Suarez. The walk leads us to a cliff where we see big surf hitting the shore while sea birds of all kinds soar in the now strong breeze. The whole scene has a quality of eternity. The cliffs we walk along are studded with succulents and evergreens, such as Lycium, Trianthema and Atriplex. Their colors are various greens and combine wonderfully with the yellow of a lichen which is abundant on the moist cliff face.
The waved albatross, just coming back from migration to the rich waters of the Humboldt Current, sit patiently waiting for their mates, but here and there we see courting, and even some eggs are spotted. Nazca boobies, blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls are abundant along the entire trail. When we walk back we see a Galápagos hawk sitting on an outcropping, as if deciding which prey it will devour this afternoon. It’s got plenty of choices, between the marine iguanas, Galápagos doves, Hood racers and an occasional too-curious mockingbird. We walk back in admiration for the animals which are so perfectly adapted and make us look so irrelevant. Their tolerance for one another, with so little means, can make one feel very, very humble.
