March 3: Espanola Island

What the brochure says:

Española is home to Darwin’s finches, Galápagos hawks, and large Nazca booby colonies, as
well as the occasional blue-footed booby pair, and several species endemic to this island, such
as the waved albatross (seasonally), Hood mockingbirds, and Hood lava lizards. You’ll walk
among colorful red and black marine iguanas and sea lions on a pristine white sand beach in
the morning and land at Punta Suarez in the afternoon. Gardner Bay will offer you the first of
many deep-water snorkeling and kayaking outings of the week. 

Our experience:

Wake up at 0530 for an early snack of apple bread, white pineapple, and papaya.

 

Then we departed at 0630 to see Gardner Bay. They insist on life jackets every time we are in a zodiac.

The rules for wildlife require everyone to keep a minimal distance of 6 feet/2 meters. Any closer might bring a warning  to back off from your assigned naturalist. All activities on the islands are done in small groups of at most 12, and must include a Galapagos Islands National Park licensed naturalist.  You are not allowed to wander the islands without being in a group led by a naturalist.

It was really fabulous! We were within 6 feet of sea lions and they didn't care. Some were sleeping, pups were frolicking in the waves, and a couple were rolling in and out with the waves.

We saw a Galapagos Hawk perched on a sign marker.

 

And a bunch of mocking birds.

A whale skeleton.

And depressions in the sand we were told are sea turtle nests.

It was wonderful having a naturalist there to explain the animals and how they live while we're up close to them. They held an exercise class on the beach. Then we went back to the ship for breakfast. You read that right: This was all on the first full day before breakfast!

After breakfast we were issued snorkeling gear and shorty wet suits.

Paul has a just-in-case life jacket that he can blow up if he needs it. We went snorkeling first in very shallow water then in deeper water. Paul did great. We saw lots of fish and a couple sea lions came to swim with us. Someone saw a shark, but we didn't. Time for a nice shower, lunch. then a lecture on nature photography by Anahi (pronounced Ana-E', with the accent on the E).  We wore the shorty wet suits and Paul did not get burned but I did. From the elbows down I'm crispy. I didn't wear the rash guard I brought because I was mostly covered. From now on I will.

A lecture followed on the geology of the islands. Apparently there is a volcano in the archipelago that is erupting now on Fernandina Island. We aren't anywhere near it, and our itinerary doesn't take us there on this trip.

Our next excursion was an hour and a half zodiac ride near the cliffs and out in the ocean to see a whole bunch of birds, some turtles, marine iguanas, and sea lions. These are Galapagos sea lions, which are a little smaller than California sea lions.

Even a big blow hole...

I got very wet and a bit seasick, but didn't throw up. Paul got just as wet but didn't get sick.

Then to the lounge for our daily recap and to discuss tomorrow. I ordered both drinks de jour. Each day will have both a "cocktail of the day" and a "mocktail of the day (non-alcoholic, mixed drink). Paul was not impressed, he got a glass of wine. I think I liked the mocktail best.

Desert with dinner, pineapple 3 ways: With coconut cream

Our last event of the day is a David Attenborough movie about the Galapagos, at 8:45pm.