Espanola, Galapagos Islands

Rocky first night at sea. Myron got very little sleep (distracted by rocking of the ship and noise). No seasickness so far! Woke up at 6AM for showers.

Wet landing at Gardner Bay. Saw sea lions, sally lightfoot crabs, yellow warbler, american oystercatcher, galapagos mockingbird, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, hawks. Walked on white sandy beach for 1.5 hours. Boat for snacks and drinks. Then snorkeling at Gardner Island for 1 hr (forgot camera's memory card so no pix). Lots of fish and played with a sea lion pup. Back to the boat for lunch at noon: chicken soup, roast beef, potatoes and salad.

After 1 hr, left to go to Suarez Point. There, we saw blue footed boobies, nazca boobies, galapagos doves, hawks, sea lions, sally lightfoot crabs, red-billed tropic birds, waved albatross, marine iguana, lava lizards. We saw a blow hole, which is when the ocean comes in and creates a natural fountain in the rocks. After our hike, we returned to the San Jose. We reviewed tomorrow's plan and had dinner and went to bed at 9PM.

Mating dance of the Waved Albatross was very cool. The walk over the lava rocks took about 3 hours for 1.2 miles. Sneakers were a good choice of footwear!Read more