Espanola Island
Another day in this archipelago began with surprises. As we disembarked on the snow-like white sand of Gardner Bay, we detected the energy of the northern swell hitting the shoreline overnight. This wave changes the geomorphology of the beach making it look different every week. While some of us were at the beach, some others were enjoying the last snorkeling outing of the trip, the extreme clearness of the water helping to create the idyllic experience everybody was to share.
The afternoon brought us to another location, Punta Suarez. There we observed how immense waves were bathing the shoreline. Tremulous, we observed the display of the power of Nature. We couldn’t use the regular landing spot (dock) since it was under water. The Galápagos sea lions gathered all together in the very same place where we should have had to disembark; for sure not afraid of the waves, just lazy.
During the hike we achieved an adherence with the place that placed us beyond reality. The presence of at least 25 albatrosses on land, exalted our spirits. That helped us to cope with the zillions of mosquitoes that were there from the very moment we disembarked. I confess I used my experience on the islands to my advantage and wrapped myself in a “bandido” fashion with a bandana covering my face, but everybody else did well with insect repellent or as I call it “bug juice.”
During the whole hike we were astonished by the size of the waves that made the tide line go up more than normal and the blowhole especially strong. We didn’t know by the time but later we were informed that Fernandina volcano was erupting. We felt sad and happy at the same time. Knowing that a volcano is erupting while we were here (visiting the islands) gave us a sort of satisfaction that is difficult to understand, even though we missed the eruption by two days.
We came to the end of this trip with the certainty of having had memorable moments. We enjoyed every single minute on the trails and for sure we learned what nature has. Young and adults, we all had a very special time that will make this experience unique in our life.
Another day in this archipelago began with surprises. As we disembarked on the snow-like white sand of Gardner Bay, we detected the energy of the northern swell hitting the shoreline overnight. This wave changes the geomorphology of the beach making it look different every week. While some of us were at the beach, some others were enjoying the last snorkeling outing of the trip, the extreme clearness of the water helping to create the idyllic experience everybody was to share.
The afternoon brought us to another location, Punta Suarez. There we observed how immense waves were bathing the shoreline. Tremulous, we observed the display of the power of Nature. We couldn’t use the regular landing spot (dock) since it was under water. The Galápagos sea lions gathered all together in the very same place where we should have had to disembark; for sure not afraid of the waves, just lazy.
During the hike we achieved an adherence with the place that placed us beyond reality. The presence of at least 25 albatrosses on land, exalted our spirits. That helped us to cope with the zillions of mosquitoes that were there from the very moment we disembarked. I confess I used my experience on the islands to my advantage and wrapped myself in a “bandido” fashion with a bandana covering my face, but everybody else did well with insect repellent or as I call it “bug juice.”
During the whole hike we were astonished by the size of the waves that made the tide line go up more than normal and the blowhole especially strong. We didn’t know by the time but later we were informed that Fernandina volcano was erupting. We felt sad and happy at the same time. Knowing that a volcano is erupting while we were here (visiting the islands) gave us a sort of satisfaction that is difficult to understand, even though we missed the eruption by two days.
We came to the end of this trip with the certainty of having had memorable moments. We enjoyed every single minute on the trails and for sure we learned what nature has. Young and adults, we all had a very special time that will make this experience unique in our life.
