Española Island
Our final day in the magical islands of Galápagos was, indeed, nothing short of magical! Some of us – even though each day has been different and superb – felt that we had saved the best for last. For our early riser kayakers, the day began bright and breezy. By the time they had paddled along the cliffs of Gardner Islet, with some playful sea lions as escorts, they were feeling joyful and wakeful, and very ready for breakfast.
After a delicious and plentiful meal, and half an hour of reading or card games while we let our food settle, we wiggled into our wet suits and boarded the Zodiacs for a final snorkeling outing. The water was cool and clear and as we swam among colorful schools of fish, we were joined and entertained by a few playful sea lions. Later on the beach there were dozens of them. They were involved in all types of behaviors: some were resting, pups were nursing or frolicking in the surf, young males were barking and stretching their impressive large bodies, and a couple of teenager sea lions snuggled up to our guests and settled down for a snooze.
Despite the fact that we have been photographing and watching sea lions all week long, we still took many more pictures because each one we found seemed cuter than the last one. Sea lions have endless amounts of charm and we could be endlessly entertained by them!
The beach at Gardner Bay is made of the finest of white sands and this morning, when the intermittent sunshine burst from among fluffy grey clouds, the ocean was an amazing array of turquoise and blue colors. We hiked along the beach or sat and relaxed, and we watched curious mockingbirds, that are endemic to Española Island, investigate our towels and backpacks and dig in the sand for bugs or seeds.
Back again on the ship, with permission from the Captain, we leapt from the bridge deck into the azure sea and swam against a swift current to grab the ladder and climb back on board. This was great fun and everyone who took the plunge was laughing and smiling as they sputtered to the surface.
The only gray note to our day was that the US soccer team failed to move on to the next round of World Cup play. However, we enjoyed the well played game despite their defeat, and it was fun to watch it with a group of our friendly Ecuadorian crew members in the crew’s lounge.
Following siesta, Jan and I and a group of guests, that included both kids and adults, talked about the sad plight of our planet’s oceans and the urgent need to protect more areas as “no take zones” so that the over-fished species can rebound to healthy populations. We discussed the damage that plastics can cause in the marine environment, and the importance of recycling, reusing and reducing our overall use of plastics. The kids on this trip listened with interest and added to our discussion; we have great faith that after such a fabulous week in this unique marine reserve they will be among those who continue to fight for the conservation of “the blue heart of our planet.”
The afternoon walk at Punta Suarez was spectacular. The trail was rough and rocky, but well worth the effort, as wildlife was varied and plentiful. We walked among nesting Nazca and blue-footed boobies, spied several species of Darwin finches and reddish marine iguanas, and were delighted with the elegant waved albatross that were incubating and resting inland close to our trail and soaring dramatically above us along the cliffs. We were thrilled to see the first new baby albatross chicks of the season!
As the sun set between layers of steel gray clouds, we returned to the ship. We have shared a marvelous week and could not have asked for better weather or better wildlife sightings. We have been privileged to walk among the fearless creatures of Galápagos and have all understood the need to preserve this unique ecosystem for the generations that follow us.
