Española Island
Kayakers were the first to leave the ship this morning, while the rest of us joined Wellness Coordinator Maribel in stretching, sipped coffee and tea on deck as the sun began to climb in the azure sky, or enjoyed the chance to sleep in a bit for a change. It was a fabulous morning for all of these activities; the kayakers had sea lion escorts and wind in their favor and enjoyed the relative coolness of the early hours of the day. We gathered in the dining room and ate a hearty breakfast and soon afterwards chose to snorkel along the leeward side of Gardner Islet or ride the Zodiacs into the lovely white sand beach at Gardner Bay.
The snorkelers found small schools of fish, an octopus, rays and a bit of excitement when waves bowled some of them over inside a wide cave. A couple friendly sea lions swam among us, twirling and graceful and always curious. The water was warm, the visibility was good and everyone was sorry to realize this was our final snorkel session in Galápagos.
At the beach we wandered among dozens of resting sea lions. Some pups nursed, some pups searched for their mothers, others that must have already been fed romped on the beach and swam in the shallow turquoise surf. Our guests posed among the indifferent sea lions for photos and it is extremely refreshing really, that the wildlife shows no fear of mankind here. There were several of the endemic Española mockingbirds and black and grey Darwin finches flitting around in the lush, green salt bushes behind the beach. We strolled on the beach and swam in the ocean and no one was in a hurry to return to the ship!
After siesta we gathered in the lounge and discussed our concerns about the state of the ocean and emphasized how we must all individually do all we can to save “the blue heart of our planet.” I have personally been greatly inspired by the recent expedition with Mission Blue, and was delighted for the opportunity to share and pass along some of what I have recently learned and heard to our guests. Though the state of the oceans is alarming, there is still time to restore the sea and the interest and determination among this group - from the 18 year old who’d just been accepted to College (“reduce and reuse,” she suggested), her 80 year old Grandma who worked for the EPA when it just began years ago, the College prof/ornithologist on sabbatical, to the retired soccer player and all the varied and wonderful people in between – everyone on this expedition was impacted by the beauty and wildness of Galápagos and the surrounding, still-healthy seas.
Our afternoon walk was simply magical. We disembarked right onto the lava rocks because the waves were breaking across the landing dock. We tripped and treaded along a boulder strewn trail that led us past nesting iguanas, Nazca boobies in all the stages of breeding and raising their chicks, and a blowhole that blasted spray high as waves were forced into a crack, and we ended in a dynamic waved albatross colony. These elegant birds were dancing and mating and soaring above the cliffs. They have recently returned from three months at sea and the excitement of the beginning of the nesting season was obvious. We spied a couple Galápagos hawks, and there were dozens of young finches and gorgeous swallowtail gulls and red-billed tropic birds.
Again we reluctantly returned to the ship as dusk fell, and none of us will ever forget this voyage in the Enchanted Galápagos Islands!
