Captain Garces had the crew haul up our anchor before midnight and we navigated, with a smooth rocking motion, until dawn. A group of guests awoke early to join naturalist Patricio for a pre-breakfast kayak outing and as they paddled along the northwestern shores of Española they were rewarded with sightings of sea turtles, sea lion and various sea birds. Following a hearty buffet breakfast I spoke about snorkeling safety and then the naturalists distributed snorkel gear on the sky deck. We had the choice of snorkeling from the Zodiacs or from the beach this morning. Playful sea lions, many species of bright tropical fish and a ray were the highlights of the deep water snorkeling outing. By late morning we were all on the beach and enjoyed a stroll among sea lions and the cheeky, endemic Española mocking bird.
Lunch today was a magnificent traditional Ecuadorian buffet with menu items from both the coastal and highland regions of the country. The traditional siesta following the meal was much appreciated, too! In the relative cool of the late afternoon we disembarked on a cement dock and followed a rocky loop trail through bird and animal colonies. Sea lions and marine iguanas captured our attention near the landing area. Like all the native and endemic inhabitants of Galapagos they are fearless and, because they have no terrestrial predators, they let us walk among them as they go about all their natural behaviors. Sea lion pups were nursing and others were resting as they waited for their mothers to return from feeding. The marine iguanas were sunning and moving in from the shore to rest for the night.
We had two options this afternoon-a mile and a half long hike or a much shorter option that avoided most of the very rocky stretch of the trail. The longer trail loop took us along the coast and then inland and we hiked through nesting colonies of Nazca boobies. The boobies had chicks of all assizes and a few were also still incubating their eggs. The marine iguanas are beginning to court and nest so the big, territorial males on Española are in their breeding colors of bright red and turquoise.
We reached a cliff where we watched the sea birds soar beside and below us. The waved albatross, a mid- sized albatross with a wing span of 6-7 feet, nest on Española and are now completing their nesting cycle. We found a few large juvenile chicks that have almost molted into their adult plumage. These birds will leave the archipelago within the month and remain at sea for several years until they are ready to breed. We saw several adult birds also, some soaring along the cliff and others on land. These are large, elegant birds. There was a bit of courting and dancing going on as the birds tried to establish a pair bond before they headed off to sea, where they will feed until March and then return to Española to mate and lay eggs.
We reached the landing dock as the sun was setting and we boarded the Zodiacs which slowly motored back to the National Geographic Islander. We have had an amazing and thrilling day in Las Islas Encantadas!
