Los Islotes & Espiritu Santo Island
Sunrise today found many of us standing on the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird, watching early rays of light reflect off a beautiful small group of islands known as Los Islotes. Thankfully, the islands have been almost entirely whitewashed in guano, providing an ideal canvas to reflect the subtle hues of the rising sun. As we drew within earshot the sound of barking sea lions could be heard and their call lured us into the Zodiacs for a wonderful morning motoring around the small islands. In addition to the sea lions swimming and sunning, there were countless numbers of birds to be seen. This was an especially good opportunity to view booby birds, both brown and blue-footed. The blue-footed variety tended to be closer to the top of the islands, out of sight, but occasional males could be seen performing their unique mating display, waving around those wonderful azul appendages.
By mid morning the weather was calm enough to go for a swim near the sea lions, who obligingly darted quickly out to see who had joined them near their rocks. They would splash into the water, swimming straight at some of the lucky snorkelers, only to quickly dart to the side at the very last instant. It was amazing to think that creatures with such sharp teeth considered us mere curiosities and not something to attack and fight. What a wonderful opportunity to share their home.
For the afternoon we headed a short way to Espiritu Santo Island for desert hiking and kayaking in bright green shallow water. The island's shoreline is lined with strange overhanging cliffs. These formations are caused by minerals in solution which flow over the volcanic tuff that forms the main geologic material of the area. These minerals case harden the top layer of rock so that the forces of erosion by the waves below scoop out the softer underlying rock. The outcrops are interesting looking from a distance, but awe-inspiring from the seat of a kayak directly beneath them. Kayaks also proved to be a good platform for getting a close-up look at some brilliantly colored Sally Lightfoot crabs.
Everyone had the opportunity to kayak and hike to their heart's content, maybe even a little more than that for some of the hikers. Then, due to the incredible efforts of the crew, who transported everything imaginable to the shore in Zodiacs, the day came to an end with an amazing barbecue dinner on the beach. As the fire burned out, a guitar materialized and many of the greatest hits of the sixties and seventies were sent spinning towards the Milky Way.
Sunrise today found many of us standing on the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird, watching early rays of light reflect off a beautiful small group of islands known as Los Islotes. Thankfully, the islands have been almost entirely whitewashed in guano, providing an ideal canvas to reflect the subtle hues of the rising sun. As we drew within earshot the sound of barking sea lions could be heard and their call lured us into the Zodiacs for a wonderful morning motoring around the small islands. In addition to the sea lions swimming and sunning, there were countless numbers of birds to be seen. This was an especially good opportunity to view booby birds, both brown and blue-footed. The blue-footed variety tended to be closer to the top of the islands, out of sight, but occasional males could be seen performing their unique mating display, waving around those wonderful azul appendages.
By mid morning the weather was calm enough to go for a swim near the sea lions, who obligingly darted quickly out to see who had joined them near their rocks. They would splash into the water, swimming straight at some of the lucky snorkelers, only to quickly dart to the side at the very last instant. It was amazing to think that creatures with such sharp teeth considered us mere curiosities and not something to attack and fight. What a wonderful opportunity to share their home.
For the afternoon we headed a short way to Espiritu Santo Island for desert hiking and kayaking in bright green shallow water. The island's shoreline is lined with strange overhanging cliffs. These formations are caused by minerals in solution which flow over the volcanic tuff that forms the main geologic material of the area. These minerals case harden the top layer of rock so that the forces of erosion by the waves below scoop out the softer underlying rock. The outcrops are interesting looking from a distance, but awe-inspiring from the seat of a kayak directly beneath them. Kayaks also proved to be a good platform for getting a close-up look at some brilliantly colored Sally Lightfoot crabs.
Everyone had the opportunity to kayak and hike to their heart's content, maybe even a little more than that for some of the hikers. Then, due to the incredible efforts of the crew, who transported everything imaginable to the shore in Zodiacs, the day came to an end with an amazing barbecue dinner on the beach. As the fire burned out, a guitar materialized and many of the greatest hits of the sixties and seventies were sent spinning towards the Milky Way.
