More Boobies, Lava, Sea Lions & Giant Tortoises
- Mary Moss
- Apr 23, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: May 18, 2023
Espanola Island
This morning we took the pangas to Punta Suarez on Espanola Island to hike among the lava boulders. Before we could make our way to the hiking trail, we had to dodge many sea lions lounging on the landing pier.
This was a solid hike where you really had to focus and pay attention where we were stepping. The boulders were uneven, unstable and we didn’t want to accidentally step on the tail of a lava lizard or marine iguana.
Our treat for making it successfully to the top of the point was seeing boobies and albatrosses. We saw many blue footed and Nazca boobies and quite a few albatrosses. James dubbed the Nazca boobies “nascar’ boobies and it stuck for our group! They are white with black on their wings and tail and have gray feet. Some might think they are bland compared to the blue footed booby. They are also a bit larger than their blue footed friends. We didn’t know if we’d be able to see any albatross as we were just at the beginning of their nesting period (April - May). We’re told that during this time 25,000 - 30,000 albatrosses can be found nesting on this island. There were none last present last week so seeing any was a treat and we considered ourselves quite lucky. The are larger birds with white and gray coloring and a long yellow beak.
Another treat was seeing the blow hole at the top of Punta Suarez. The blow hole is a natural formation that spurts water over 20 feet in the air at high tide. It was awesome to see and the cool spray after the warm hike was much appreciated.
Floreana Island
Today we began our day at Punta Cormorant. We hiked to a beach with sand that felt like satin. We arrived before the beach had any footprints on it and I don’t think I’ve even seen a beach so pristine.
We were all looking forward to snorkeling at Devil’s Crown…where seeing much sea life was anticipated. However, the currents were quite…devilish. They seemed to come from every direction. We tried 3 times in 3 different locations to no avail. We were all a bit tired after kicking and swimming about as hard as we could. The views from the panga were lovely!
This afternoon, we went to Post Office Bay. Back in the 18th century, a group of whalers set up a wooden barrel to collect mail at this site now known as Post Office Bay. The barrel has several ziplock bags with bundles of postcards inside. Here’s how it works: people who stop at Post Office Bay look through the postcards and see if any are near a location they are traveling to. If yes, they take the postcard and hand deliver it to the recipient. Likewise, if you need to send a postcard, you address it and drop it off in the barrel. Fernanda (our guide) said she sent one to her daughter in Canada and it took over a month for her to receive it. We sent a few postcards to our family back home and we are curious about when they will arrive.
UPDATE:
The postcard to my mom was delivered before we returned to the states and had a postmark from Miami. Seems folks must have utilized the convenience of the US Postal Service.
Santa Cruz Island
Last night was another night of rough and unforgiving seas. Despite waking a bit tired, we started our day early with a bus ride to the highlands and El Chato Ranch and Turtle Reserve. We were all given rubber rain boots and allowed to wander about the farm looking for giant turtles. This wasn’t difficult as they were all over. We saw a male tortoise pursuing a female. She did not appear interested and she turned on some speed to get away. Some of us may have said, “no, means no!” on her behalf. Again, it was amazing to see these creatures in the wild.
We also walked through a lava tube formed years and years ago. We walked down manmade stairs and descended through thick and lush ferns and other vegetation. Seeing the lava tunnel made from the volcano makes you think about the sheer power and strength of such occurrences.
The water is rough in the bay and it looks like another rough night ahead. Ahhh adventure!
Comments