Floreana Island
Snorkeling in the Galápagos Islands constitutes an unforgettable lifetime experience. Today we had one of those memorable connections with the underwater world. When you become part of this aquatic environment, you feel like you’ve been transported to a different dimension. Hundreds (literally) of fish were all around us. At one point it seemed that all those little fish were like confetti over our bodies. One fish species in particular attracted the attention of its observers: the guinea fowl puffer (Arothron meleagris). Throughout its life, this puffer species goes through several coloration phases. Its juvenile golden phase is glorious. Just take a look at the vibrant yellow colour that can be observed in today’s picture. Its changing colour phase shows a fish with yellow and whitish blotches against dark patches. Its mature coloration phase is black with white spots!
The sea lions that we encountered today deserve special mention, as well. During the time that we spent admiring these energetic marine mammals, we almost felt as if we were a part of their world. We had been accepted, at least for some precious minutes. These were utterly magical moments, both so powerful and moving that one tends to lose track of the time. Today crystal clear waters were a hypothetical perfect stage for their best performance. Like agile acrobats, they were playing in front of us. We were astonished, but very appreciative observers to such fabulous aquatic ballet performance. From time to time one of them would blow bubbles right in front of our masks. For quite a few minutes we were oblivious to the rest of the world. We were part of a different one, a watery world whose inhabitants shared their antics and thrilled us. For many of us, this was an experience that left us with such strong impressions and they will be imprinted in our memories forever.
Snorkeling in the Galápagos Islands constitutes an unforgettable lifetime experience. Today we had one of those memorable connections with the underwater world. When you become part of this aquatic environment, you feel like you’ve been transported to a different dimension. Hundreds (literally) of fish were all around us. At one point it seemed that all those little fish were like confetti over our bodies. One fish species in particular attracted the attention of its observers: the guinea fowl puffer (Arothron meleagris). Throughout its life, this puffer species goes through several coloration phases. Its juvenile golden phase is glorious. Just take a look at the vibrant yellow colour that can be observed in today’s picture. Its changing colour phase shows a fish with yellow and whitish blotches against dark patches. Its mature coloration phase is black with white spots!
The sea lions that we encountered today deserve special mention, as well. During the time that we spent admiring these energetic marine mammals, we almost felt as if we were a part of their world. We had been accepted, at least for some precious minutes. These were utterly magical moments, both so powerful and moving that one tends to lose track of the time. Today crystal clear waters were a hypothetical perfect stage for their best performance. Like agile acrobats, they were playing in front of us. We were astonished, but very appreciative observers to such fabulous aquatic ballet performance. From time to time one of them would blow bubbles right in front of our masks. For quite a few minutes we were oblivious to the rest of the world. We were part of a different one, a watery world whose inhabitants shared their antics and thrilled us. For many of us, this was an experience that left us with such strong impressions and they will be imprinted in our memories forever.
