Blue at Española Island
Our day begins as all do here in Galápagos, with a new adventure awaiting us. This morning is somewhat different than others on this journey as we awaken to a bright blue surrounding the National Geographic Islander. We can see the bottom of the surrounding waters with an occasional sea turtle popping its head above the surface for a breath of air.
The seafloor here is more developed and white with coralline sand due to the older age of this island. An early group of kayakers takes to the sea for a bit of pre-breakfast exploring as they round the small satellite island of Gardner at Española Islands. The sea lions, boobies, and pelicans greet our coastal voyagers as they work up an appetite.
After a hearty breakfast our whole group is eager for the next activity. We start with deep water snorkeling along the island with sea lions again, however this time they are blowing bubbles at our snorkel masks and doing “loop de loops.” I truly believe the wildlife has more fun than we do at times. We make a wet landing and fine coralline sand greets us as it makes its way between our toes. Our fellow mammals on the beach seem to enjoy it also. Acceptance by our surrounding environment is incredible as Española mockingbirds take the liberty of digging into our back packs.
A short navigation brings us to the only other visitor site on Española Island, Punta Suarez. Past exploitation of Española almost brought the tortoise population to extinction and allowed the introduction of feral goats. Life is different now as the goats have been eliminated and the tortoise population has gone from 15 individuals to over 2000 with Galápagos National Park and Charles Darwin Station efforts.
Is that a boulder I see, is that another? We make our way over a rough terrain where we dodge boulders and abundant wildlife. Española lava lizards dart from left to right. One even sits upon the trail marker apparently asking for a photograph to be taken. We observe life everywhere as I stop talking for a time to allow this life to ooze in. The sounds that greet our ears, chep chep chep pssssss ank ank ank willll ahhhhhhhhh arh arh arh bahhhhhhhh. In Galápagos, we truly need to stop at times and watch, listen, and accept as we are accepted as part of this incredible environment.
Making our way to the southern cliffs we encounter the majestic Waved Albatross and its personal struggle for life with the last fledglings of the season practicing flight for their journey into the unknown. The sun falls giving an impressive show of its might with rays bursting through the cloud cover. Returning to the landing we are given a farewell by a young blue footed booby who has yet to obtain its blue.
