Española Island
We got to sleep a bit later this morning and at 8:00 a.m. when the “breakfast is ready” call came, there was a good reason jump out of bed – we were hungry! And of course, we were going for our last visit to the Island of Española. After a delicious breakfast, two Zodiacs with guests motored off towards Tortuga Islet for an early snorkel outing. Many colorful fish and sea stars and even a couple sharks were spotted by our now experienced snorkelers. Those guests who did not feel like hitting the water quite so early went in to enjoy the lovely white sand beach of Gardner Bay. Many sea lions were sprawled on the beach, interacting with each other or in a deep sleep.
For those who remained late on the beach there was a special occurrence: they watched a sea lion give birth (see today’s photo) ! Sadly it is a bit early in the season for birthing and we are afraid this pup was premature.
The afternoon’s walk at Punta Suarez was on a 2-mile trail of lava boulders. But this area was another “wildlife high” and so we were well rewarded for our efforts. There were, of course, more sea lions to observe as they went about their apparently lazy life: only apparently are they lazy, because for several hours a day they are actively fishing, and then they rest and recover on the beach. We scrambled over the rocks and hiked among nesting Nazca and blue-footed boobies, watched the waves broke along the rocky coast and a blowhole shoot spray 70 feet into the air, and reached the albatross nesting area. There were several pairs of these large and gorgeous sea birds doing some of their courtship dances and we found a couple abandoned eggs. We watched them land – and it was not very gracefully done – among the rocks and take off from the cliff. We took countless more photos, and then returned to the Islander contentedly, as it has been a fabulous week, but sad to see it all over!
We got to sleep a bit later this morning and at 8:00 a.m. when the “breakfast is ready” call came, there was a good reason jump out of bed – we were hungry! And of course, we were going for our last visit to the Island of Española. After a delicious breakfast, two Zodiacs with guests motored off towards Tortuga Islet for an early snorkel outing. Many colorful fish and sea stars and even a couple sharks were spotted by our now experienced snorkelers. Those guests who did not feel like hitting the water quite so early went in to enjoy the lovely white sand beach of Gardner Bay. Many sea lions were sprawled on the beach, interacting with each other or in a deep sleep.
For those who remained late on the beach there was a special occurrence: they watched a sea lion give birth (see today’s photo) ! Sadly it is a bit early in the season for birthing and we are afraid this pup was premature.
The afternoon’s walk at Punta Suarez was on a 2-mile trail of lava boulders. But this area was another “wildlife high” and so we were well rewarded for our efforts. There were, of course, more sea lions to observe as they went about their apparently lazy life: only apparently are they lazy, because for several hours a day they are actively fishing, and then they rest and recover on the beach. We scrambled over the rocks and hiked among nesting Nazca and blue-footed boobies, watched the waves broke along the rocky coast and a blowhole shoot spray 70 feet into the air, and reached the albatross nesting area. There were several pairs of these large and gorgeous sea birds doing some of their courtship dances and we found a couple abandoned eggs. We watched them land – and it was not very gracefully done – among the rocks and take off from the cliff. We took countless more photos, and then returned to the Islander contentedly, as it has been a fabulous week, but sad to see it all over!
