Espanola

Espanola: 

We had sailed through the night to arrive at Espanola. Here the first activity is kayaking. Lynn and I are opting out as sleep seem a higher priority. Yet, I was up early and gathered my gear and went to the lounge and compiled my journal and the blog, recording yesterdays activities. 

Coffee and tea, fruit, and a bread are available on the Teak Deck. The sky is over cast as I make my way to the top Sky Deck. The skies are grey as the day breaks and we anchor. Zodiacs are lowered and the kayaks are prepared, as a Frigate Bird watches from the mast. Slowly other folks make their way for coffee as they gather their gear for the outing. 

I am enjoying the coffee and listening to the distant barking of Sea Lions. 

Breakfast was oatmeal, fruit, pastries, eggs, french toast etc etc etc , all very good. 

Snorkeling was first on the agenda today with deep water and shallow water. We opted for the deep water. We loaded onto the zodiacs and made our way  a small island outside of Gardner Bay. The water was fairly clear and brisk at 75F. The water near the island was about 12 feet deep tapering deeper as you went away from shore. 

We were soon met by three to five sea lions who were in a playful mood. They seemed to enjoy spinning and diving amongst us. One of their favorite games seems to be playing chicken, as they swim toward you then blow bubbles in your face and as they veer away avoiding a crash. We saw King Angel fish, Yellow tail razor fish, wrasses, and blennies. parrot fish and a stripped eel, oh and a couple of stingrays.  

Soon we boarded the zodiac and were back on ship. We rinsed and hung our gear and got the Go Pro charging. We showered and opted not to go to the beach,  it looked nice, but we needed to get stuff together and catch up on other things. 

Lunch was a great meal of Ecuadorian cuisine. Roast suckling pig, yellow rice, an amazing ceviche, and potatoes cakes, with various salads. Dessert was a sorbet and tres lache  cake. 

Relaxing couple of hours on the sundeck as we moved location to Punta Suarez.

We were divided into groups of about 12 and were shuttled to a dry landing. The main landing are was very wet as the surf was breaking over the landing area. We ended up landing  in an area of lava rock. Jonathan was our group guide, to say he was excellent would be selling him short.

We did a two mile hike that took us three hours as the pace was slow for photos and interpretive stops. We saw so many things which were beyond belief. Many Marine Iguanas, Nazca Boobies, Galapagos Hawk, Waved Albatros, Sea Lions, American Oystercatchers, Galapagos Mocking Birds, several finches we observed. There was a baby sea lion who wanted to sniff our shoes.  Lots of photo ops, just a very very very good day. 

Sea Lions have ears and Seals have ear holes. 

The evening recap covered the topics of Sea Lions, and the geology of the islands. 

Dinner was  tilapia or chicken. I chose the chicken and the portion was huge. Appetizer was Mozzarella and tomatoes , drizzled with Balsamic and olive oil. Dessert was a chocolate mouse cake. 

After dinner there was a photo presentation by Walter. He talked about various elements of composition. 

Tomorrow we will be off to Floreana and Champion Islands.