Española Island, Galápagos
This morning National Geographic Islander anchored in front of a wide bay fringed with a white sand beach that stretched all along the coast: Gardner Bay. You could see the silhouette of sea lions lying on the sand in tight groups as protection against the cold night.
There was also a bit of cold water in the near future for those waiting for us who decided to start the morning exploring the island by a shallow dive. It is November, but the Humboldt Current is still felt in Galápagos. The cold water was worth the experience, and we observed our first sea lions in the water, agile and flexible as an acrobat dancer.
Walking the beach is also an opportunity to observe the sea lions in Galápagos. A large colony was established here, and it is easy to appreciate their behavior while walking along the beach. But it is this island’s mockingbirds that demand our attention for their startling audacity. They run between our legs, rummaging through bags and as if we were a different species resident of the island and nothing to fear.
In the afternoon we disembarked on the platform of Punta Suarez. Initially the landscape appeared bleak. But after a second look at the rocks that form a natural breakwater, we began to distinguish more and more marine iguanas, as black and motionless as the stones on which they are flanked. We had seen the sea lions on the beach of course, but now suddenly they appeared from between the rocks. They are small newborns, the birth season in full swing and the power of life contrasting with the aridity of the islands. The sea gives life, and an abundant colony of Nazca and blue-footed boobies along the cliffs show it. We observed from close range a nearby Galápagos hawk, and it ignored our presence.
And then a clumsy albatross waddled onto the trail to feed its chick just ahead. The feeling of being immersed in a world where we are one species among many others gives us a great lesson in humility and respect for nature. That's the strength of the Galapagos — a show which one cannot ignore.
