ZECO TRAVEL TALK

Today began with a walk at Gardner Bay on Espanola Island. We explored a stunning beach crowded with sea lions nursing their pups while gregarious mockingbirds vied for our attention. After testing the turquoise waters off the beach we took the Zodiacs to Gardner Island where we found colorful angelfish, parrotfish, and a huge school of salema. The school parted as Jack dove through them and he was quickly followed by a young Galapagos sea lion. Soon other young sea lions came to join in the fun and we found ourselves entertained by the most playful pinnipeds in the world.

After repositioning the Isabela II from Gardner Bay to Punta Suarez our challenge in the afternoon was to find the most majestic bird in the Galapagos; the waved albatross. It didn’t take long before we saw them soaring in the distance. We were excited to hear that they might have newly hatched chicks so we headed down a trail that had wildlife at every turn; lava lizards, Darwin finches, doves, marine iguanas and Nazca boobies. Our destination was the albatross airstrip where we found not just albatross taking off and landing, but a host of other aerial denizens: red-billed tropicbirds displayed their long, streaming tails while Galapagos hawks hovered overhead looking for prey. Behind these aerobatic displays was one of the most spectacular backdrops in the archipelago; a magnificent blowhole that shot forth and showered us with a refreshing spray. Our search for an albatross chick was eventually rewarded with one of the most memorable spectacles of the day. There, right next to the trail, was an albatross brooding its chick. As we looked on, the chick came out from under the mother to have a look at its new world. The mother seemed quite content and proud to show off her new arrival. We returned to the ship with a sense of wonder and awe of the grandeur of life in the Galapagos.