Gardner Bay and Punta Suarez, Espanola Island
Sea lions were the most spectacular creatures today; as always, so playful and friendly they made our day. In the morning, after breakfast, we went to snorkel in the turquoise-green water of Gardner Bay on Espanola Island, a very old island (about 5 million years old) affected by the weathering trough of time but so impressive because here you find many animals found nowhere else in Galápagos and consequently around the world, such as Hood lava lizards, waved albatrosses, Hood mockingbirds, and colorful marine iguanas with reddish-green bands.
I took my zodiac to a cave that is along the shore; we jumped into the water and about 10 juvenile sea lions came to play with us. The experience was amazing for everyone; they came to make bubbles in front of our masks, one nibbled my flipper, and another one made circles around us with a piece of coral in its mouth. It was a private show for us, but much better than being in an aquarium or Sea World; it seems unreal for some of our fearless travelers, but yes, it happens in the Galápagos Islands, a magic place that I will never get tired of.
After our great journey in the water we went to walk on a beach; tons of sea lions live there as a big colony of several beach masters, each of them form a harem with up to 20 females plus their descendants. Our travelers love this place because they interact with them. Our morning ended with some of us going kayaking to explore more of the marvelous flora and fauna that this place offers.
On board we have a program for our younger explorers. After certain tasks they do aboard and on the islands, they achieve the grade of junior naturalist. After lunch they met our wellness specialist and one of the naturalists to have fun and to learn more about the islands. They get entertainment and enjoy it.
At 3:00p.m. we are ready again to walk, this time on Punta Suarez – same island, different spot. It is considered one of the most beautiful places in Galápagos; we are excited because July is the month when the albatrosses mate and have their babies, and along our walk we found many of them. Centipedes and snakes that are not usually seen were found for our intrepid explorers and recorded in photos. Blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies were nesting on the ground, some Galápagos hawks were intimidating their prey, the breaking waves against the cliff were bigger than normal, and the blow hole that exists there was fast and furious; it was a great afternoon and the final touch was a powerful sunset that illuminated our happy faces while our Zodiacs returned to the National Geographic Endeavour, our home sweet home.
