Floreana Island
The underwater world has captivated us since our first immersion yesterday. We just don’t seem able to get enough of it. With Sylvia Earle, National Geographic’s Explorer-in-Residence on board, the marine life of Galápagos is in the forefront of our imagination as well as our eyes.
This morning after breakfast we explored Champion Island off of Floreana. Whether by mask and snorkel or by glass bottom boat, we floated over hundreds of fish. Some saw diving blue-footed boobies, others a white-tipped shark, and a few guests saw a green sea turtle. A zebra moray made an appearance long enough to be captured on film. A scorpion fish hid in a rocky hole, but did not hide well enough to escape the sharp eyes of some snorkelers.
The sea lions became the center of attraction without a doubt, swimming circles around us while scooting by, leaving bubbles in their wake. It would have been difficult to leave the water if temperatures had been just slightly warmer. However even as it was, we easily spent over an hour playing, searching, laughing and enjoying.
The afternoon offered a variety of other pleasures. Beach time was followed by a walk to a flamingo lagoon with rose-colored individuals feeding continually with pintail ducks and stilts walking or swimming in the same briny waters. A few more intrepid snorkelers visited Devil’s Crown, where an underwater tunnel framed a playful sea lion with its personal toy of booby feather.
We’ve begun to see these underwater inhabitants as individuals, with personalities. But there’s oh-so-much-more to see out there.
The underwater world has captivated us since our first immersion yesterday. We just don’t seem able to get enough of it. With Sylvia Earle, National Geographic’s Explorer-in-Residence on board, the marine life of Galápagos is in the forefront of our imagination as well as our eyes.
This morning after breakfast we explored Champion Island off of Floreana. Whether by mask and snorkel or by glass bottom boat, we floated over hundreds of fish. Some saw diving blue-footed boobies, others a white-tipped shark, and a few guests saw a green sea turtle. A zebra moray made an appearance long enough to be captured on film. A scorpion fish hid in a rocky hole, but did not hide well enough to escape the sharp eyes of some snorkelers.
The sea lions became the center of attraction without a doubt, swimming circles around us while scooting by, leaving bubbles in their wake. It would have been difficult to leave the water if temperatures had been just slightly warmer. However even as it was, we easily spent over an hour playing, searching, laughing and enjoying.
The afternoon offered a variety of other pleasures. Beach time was followed by a walk to a flamingo lagoon with rose-colored individuals feeding continually with pintail ducks and stilts walking or swimming in the same briny waters. A few more intrepid snorkelers visited Devil’s Crown, where an underwater tunnel framed a playful sea lion with its personal toy of booby feather.
We’ve begun to see these underwater inhabitants as individuals, with personalities. But there’s oh-so-much-more to see out there.
