May 7, 2019

May 7, 2019

Overnight our ship travelled to the far southeast, to the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, Espanola Island. After a dry landing on Punta Suarez, the western tip, besides the ubiquitous Sea Lions, we saw dozens of Marine Iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks. The Espanola version of these Marine Iguanas have reddish and greenish tinges and are sometimes referred to as Christmas Iguanas.

We hiked across the island and then along the cliffside where the birds were nesting.  We saw lots of white Nazca Boobies with almost full-grown chicks. We saw one mother disgorge a gullet-full of fish down the throat of a ravenous juvenile. Nazcas are the largest of the three Booby species in the Galapagos. Interestingly each of the species occupy different ecological niches, feeding and nesting in different locations.

Inland we saw a number of Waved Albatrosses sitting on nests in flat grassy areas. Albatrosses are huge, the size of a goose, with an eight foot wingspan. This is the only tropical Albatross and virtually all nest only on Espanola Island. They have a comical courtship of clacking their overly large beaks against each other.

Farther along we saw a pair of the relatively rare Galapagos Hawks. This is the only raptor that inhabits the islands. Probably because there were no rodents or other mammals endemic to the islands. Instead they prey on the smallish but colorful Lava Lizards that scamper around the volcanic landscape. The female and male lava lizards are each distinctly colored.

We also saw the Galapagos Blowhole which erupts whenever the surf crashes into this crack in the rocks. It looks like a geyser.

Back at our pick up point, we were amused to see several Marine Iguanas swimming offshore. I also got a couple nice photos of the bright red Sally Lightfoot Crabs scampering along the tidal region. They have a beautiful turquoise blue underbelly.

Back on the boat we had a lecture on Charles Darwin before lunch. As a young man he travelled on the five-year mapping voyage of the British survey ship, the Beagle. Prone to seasickness, he stayed on land as much as possible. Coming from a family of noted scientists, he observed subtle differences in creatures. In his month stay in the Galapagos, he was made aware that these variations were striking from one island to the next, leading him to wonder why.

In the afternoon, Aimee and I spend a little relaxation time on a beautiful beach in Gardner Bay on the northeastern side of Espanola Island. It is rated one of the nicest in the world. It is very picturesque with a white coral sand beach surrounded by a shallow turquoise sea. The beach had two groups of Sea Lions sleeping on the beach. While none decided to swim with me, we watched several play in the surf at our feet. Mostly they just liked rolling lazily in the surf. It was very humorous. At one point while taking a photo of Aimee and the ocean, a little pup came right up behind me. If there were no naturalists around, I would have leaned down to pet her.

Before dinner we went to the patio bar for Happy Hour and appetizers. Instead of enjoying them we were lured to the rear of the boat. We were astonished to see several dozen Galapagos Sharks surrounding us. We returned after our daily briefing to find a surge of action. Flying fish were routinely getting excited, leaping out of the sea. Unlucky ones that hit the boat were stunned long enough to set off a feeding frenzy with lots of splashing. One couple got soaked with a shark splash. Aimee couldn’t get enough of this National Geographic moment and made me take her back a third time after dinner. This nightly action is better than any stage show on the large cruise ships.