Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez, Española Island
Landing on Gardner Beach was a good beginning to the day, which was a little cloudy and kept us cool. The beautiful white sandy beach was filled with sea lions, all the way from pups to adults. While mothers nursed their pups, other sea lions rolled around on the sand, and many mockingbirds moved among us.
As usual the sea lions got most of the attention. Four pups began to swim alongside the snorkelers and swimmers. They approached the humans with great curiosity, maybe wondering why we are so clumsy in the water, at least compared to them.
Other explorers decided snorkel in the deeper waters off Gardner Islet. They had a chance to see several species of fish and another group of curious sea lions. After the visit to the beach, it was time to move on to the next destination: Punta Suarez.
Punta Suarez is one of the most active sites on the Galápagos. This afternoon, as soon as we landed, we found the most colorful marine iguanas in the whole archipelago. Right now, in the breeding season, the males are reddish and almost iridescent green. An animal often has to wear the most attractive outfit to get attention from the opposite sex, a widespread trend in nature. Then it was the time to see the Nazca boobies and again the endemic mockingbird we saw all morning. The view of these rocks and cliffs filled with white and black seabirds—moving and making different sounds—is going to be in our memories forever.
As we returned to our home on the sea, the sun was setting. A hawk stood on a rock with the sun behind it and multicolored clouds hung in the background. However, when it was time to get back on the Zodiacs, our landing dock was partially covered by water and sea lions. So our dry embarkation became a wet one, and it was time to take our shoes off and get a little wet getting back on the Zodiacs, a small price to pay for experiencing this wildlife paradise on earth.
