Today we woke up with the sunrise to visit Espumilla Beach. As we approached the shoreline, Pacific green turtles were spotted dragging themselves on the sand towards the water. These were females who had spent the night laying eggs beyond the high tide line. They were exhausted, with just enough energy to make it, yet several males were waiting for them at the water’s edge eager to pass their genes on. Needless to say the females were unwilling participants as they had to support the weight of the males for another eight hours. Such is the way of the reptiles….little romance.
We disembarked to walk the shoreline and as we were walking back to the landing site we discovered a male hawk busy searching through our belongings. He tried to rip apart a backpack and fly away with a sandal. This hawk kept us entertained for over twenty minutes without a care in world about us. What a great way to start the day.
After breakfast I was in charge of the kayakers and we set off toward Buccaneer’s Cove. There we spotted California sea lions, brown noddies and several Nazca boobies on the rocks. Fortunately there was little wind and waves and the event was a success for the passengers. After kayaking we snorkeled the same area finding fur sea lions, marble rays and a huge manta ray that approached us from the coast and glided near us without getting scared. What a nice moment.
After lunch it was my turn to give a lecture on ocean currents and show a film with the best moments of our snorkeling over the week. This was well received, especially the shots of penguins, sharks and a crazy flightless cormorant that interacted with me in Tagus Cove.
Later in the afternoon we finished this incredible day by walking along the shoreline of Puerto Egas where, aside from the usual marine iguanas and sea lions, we had a Great blue heron nearby in hunting mode. With the sun behind our backs this provided an excellent opportunity for photographers.
A great day came to an end with a delicious barbecue dinner on the deck of the National Geographic Islander.
