February 3, 2025
“I’m going on an adventure!”
- Bilbo Baggins
So the Whale Shark plans were a bust. And while I enjoyed a symphonic movement of increased colonic transit time, I soon found my footing and we were off again.
We signed up for a tour of a local desert island with the lyrical name of Isla Espiritu Santo. It was a beautiful calm day on the ocean and we sped off. Soon, the island appeared and the first thing you noticed was its unusual sediment layers.
At first, it appeared to be ordinary sandstone. Yet soon igneous like stone would show through and the sandstone started to appear like bad stucco of whipped peanut butter peeling off the black stone underneath. Perhaps, Stephen will explain it to me, but for the moment, it was puzzling.
We pulled into an inlet for an unusual sight. Here was a large colony of Frigate birds. This species is found throughout the equatorial plane but is particularly noted in the Galapagos Islands. It is a very large, distinctive sea bird in which the males are noted for their bright red breasts which they inflate to attract females.
The birds also have two other unusual features. Despite being seabirds and found over the ocean, they lack the oil protection common in other water birds. Thus, if they fall into the ocean, they often cannot get out and will drown.
Also, they are thieves. Much of their diet is from what they can steal from other birds.
We continued down the coast and stopped at two beaches with the clearest water I have seen. Stunning colors with small fish everywhere was common.
The rock formations coming off the unusual island continued to fascinate. Here was a pass through near the tip of the island.
Our destination was this rocky island just off the coast.
A large Sea Lion colony lived here. And we are going to swim with them!
We got into the water with all the grace our 64 year old bodies could muster. The water was cold but tolerable. We set off snorkeling following our leader with cameras in tow.
The bottom was rocky with some coral heads that towered on top. There was a mesmerizing school of sardines that swam as a large group, rather like starlings. Although there were thousands of individual fish they moved as if they were a single organism flashing glimpses of silver.
And right through the middle swam our first Sea Lion. It spun in a 360 degree arc effortlessly like some mermaid. It was the kind of thing I have only seen before in nature documentaries.
That image will be a memory I will long retain from these episodes of The Road to Bali
The day was not done yet. We stopped again at another pristine beach on the way back and ate Ceviche tostados on the shore.
As the sun set on the way home we passed a Humpback Whale with a calf and a school of Bottle Nose Dolphins that played in the wake of boats all the way to the harbor entrance.
It was a very good day.
Up next: There might be giants….
留言