I am lying on the upper deck of the yacht enjoying the cool night breeze and the full moon. I can't explain how nice this is. It was a blistering day both for our feet as well as the heat of the day.
We started early with a lovely breakfast to suit the variety of people and cultural backgrounds. We then punted off to Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island.
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| Pahuihui lava - rope-like |
The way the day started you might have thought we were deliberately being tortured with a monotonous rambling set of presentations by our guide as we walked across a Pahuihui lava field. Not an easy walk and honestly not a whole lot to see. After an hour of this we moved to a neighboring beach that is what was left to snorkel.
A bit of background on me and snorkeling. Personally, not a big fan and the plan for these cruises is all about hiking and snorkeling. The only real snorkeling I have done prior to this trip was in the Caribbean at Grand Turk. I think I freaked out a bit based on my extreme fear of drowning. We had the little motors we could use to go down deep. It was interesting and I saw some cool things, but I was scarred.
So back to today. We are about to do our first snorkeling trip of the day and the tour. After the rather tedious and foot blistering walk, everyone is looking forward to getting into the water and seeing the fish and other wild life. I apply coat number 2 of sunscreen and decide to leave my t-shirt on. I head to the beach plop down in the shallows of the very warm sea and put on my flippers. Nerves are high, my breath a bit rapid, my fear of a panic attack rising. I walk backwards into the shallow waters and when deep enough flop face first into the lagoon. My initial discomfort is actually realizing itself in that my goggles started to fill with water, my breathing through the snorkel is not going well. I readjust my gear and push on.
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| This looks like severed cables |
Ok. After this trip, my whole attitude has changed regarding snorkeling. Wow! The water was warm but periodically streams of cool water would cross your path. There were schools of sardines, some larger colorful fish, a shark, and even some Galápagos penguins. While adjusting to snorkeling and the leaking goggles I didn't get as far out as some of the others but saw a number of critters, fish and formations that were amazing. I am bummed I do not have pictures to share since I have no underwater camera.
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| Galapagos penguins at Bartolome Island |
We had a second "deep water" snorkel trip after a nice lunch and rest. That is really what changed my attitude about snorkeling. We were dropped off in a little inlet along the a rocky volcanic shore on the island of Bartolome. What an experience! All my fears disappeared as I just floated along with the current. We saw so many fish both large and small of all colors. The parrot fish were gorgeous in the 4-5 species we had seen. We saw a couple sharks again. My third time since being in the islands. One of the most wonderful sights for me was seeing three differ types of star fish: one was big-bodied and yellowish in color with what looked like stitching around its edge; the second seems to be like a five-pointed asterisk in an almost sea blue color; the third was most surprising being a huge black one with red dots that polka-dotted its whole body and legs. The penguins were so fearless with a couple swimming among us like they were inspecting us for their approval. We saw sting rays and sea urchins, barnacles and coral of varying types, and most beautifully a sea turtle. Our guide spotted him on the lagoon floor. He was looking up at us like, "just keep going and leave me alone." Then WTF is happening because a crowd was gathering. He then took off swimming and we followed him for 10 minutes or so. Wonderful!
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| Vista from Bartolomé Island |
We came back to the boat to rest a bit, have a snack and head out third time to walk to the Hughes point of Bartolomé. The walk was long and steep. My phone tells me it was 24 floors high. What a gorgeous view and we were there at the end of the day for sunset. We walked back down, went back to the boat where we had a snack and juice, followed by a shower and an application of aloe to my sunburned parts.
After dinner and our briefing, most of us came up to the top deck to enjoy the night. There are three or four groups chatting and laughing. A couple people are just relaxing. I am basking in the light of the full moon writing.
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| My shadow in the moonlight |
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