Day 3: Espanola

Darwin cruised south and arrived at Espanola Island around two in the morning. After another filling breakfast, we went to Gardner Bay for a relaxing morning on the beach. Unfortunately, the weather turned cloudy and rained threatened so Will and I decided to snorkel. We found sting rays, schools of fish and a sea turtle. On the way back o the beach, we heard a male sea lion making aggressive noises so we were on alert to stay away and avoid confrontation. As the visibility decreased closer to the shore, we lost sight of the sea lion when all of a sudden it darted past us! Thankfully, he must have found us harmless when he checked us out and continued monitoring his territory. Close one!

The rest of the morning was spent snorkeling with the group. Billy and the boat’s Captain took us to a rock formation in Gardner Bay where the visibility was extremely clear. With large waves flowing in from the ocean, we were surprised when they led the group close to the rocks but were excited to find young playful sea lions. We all had a blast diving down and swimming circles while the sea lions looped around us. I have never interacted with a wild animal in such a way and it was exhilarating!

Our Galapagos Island hopping adventure onboard Darwin Yacht continues in the next post.