For our early morning outing we landed on North Seymour Island, one of the crowned jewels of the Galapagos Islands. Its flat platform formed underwater and eventually rose above the water line. This island has become the nesting site for some of the emblematic species of Galapagos. As we strolled around we had a wonderful opportunity to find the Galapagos swallow tail gull protecting a very young chick and the magnificent frigate birds actively taking care of the young in the nest. We walked across a few male land iguanas that were already displaying the mating behavior along with their beautiful bright colors. As we come to the end of the year, species feel the changing conditions of the environment and start acting strange. Most of them are beginning their mating behavior; for us this is always a sign of the changing seasons, meaning warmer weather is approaching…
Strong winds in the afternoon made our snorkelers wet before even entering the water! However, as we got into the water we were clearly satisfied with the beautiful color and the visibility—conditions were just perfect. We found many aggregations of tropical fish of many different colors. We also found a tiger sea snake that was pretty big and tame, so we could get very close to it without scaring it away. As we continued snorkeling close to the rocks a couple of white tip reef sharks were sleeping on the sandy bottom while a pacific green sea turtle came out to the surface to breathe right by our side!
In the late afternoon we took a stroll along the red sandy beach of Rabida. We walked among sea lions as the sun started to go down. What a place! Today we understand why this place needs to be conserved for future generations, not only for humans to come and learn from nature, but for the younger generations of inhabitants that deserve to keep their home.
As we walked back to the ship at sunset we could not feel any happier, we have had the privilege to share the island with its inhabitants that have made us feel a part of their own world. What an experience!
