Our amazing expedition headed towards the oldest of the enchanted archipelago this morning. We anchored in Gardner Bay, waiting for the sun to rise so we could go out kayaking along the coast of Espanola Island. After we spent the morning in the kayaks, paddling for the first time in the Galápagos, we headed back aboard for breakfast. Afterwards, we went out to explore the underwater world and of course to learn what National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions could show us within the blue heart of the planet.
There are approximately 32.000 species of fish registered so far in our planet, and what is even more interesting is to know that less than 5% of the ocean has been explored. Us humans don’t live in the ocean and sometimes are not aware about the beautiful colors, interactions, and species that can be seen by just wearing a snorkeling mask, a pair of flippers, and just opening our eyes to the blue heart of planet earth. We certainly enjoyed our first snorkeling today; not only were several species of fish seen but also many of the endemic Galápagos sea lions came to see greet us and play with our guests. I have always been amazed by the social behavior of young sea lions towards humans; they sure do seem to enjoy the company of our guests in the water. Sometimes I also wonder who is entertaining who.
About 17% of the marine life in the Galápagos is endemic to the archipelago. Today we saw some of the most interesting fish and marine habitats explored along our deep water snorkeling. We also visited a breathtaking white sand and turquoise water beach inhabited by around three hundred sea lions just recovering from a long night fishing out in the ocean. It’s hard to think about sea lions being lazy since when we see them on land they are almost always sleeping, but try to dive down to a quarter of a mile and catch fish with your mouth and think about all the energy that would take from you!
During the afternoon, as the National Geographic Islander navigated towards Punta Suarez a pod of around 150 bottle-nosed dolphins were found all of the sudden bow riding our vessel. They stayed for about half an hour with us—some babies were seen swimming next to their mothers, while males were slashing their tails against the water in a territorial display. What a nice show the ocean again offered us!
