Española Island
I always enjoy being in the water and snorkeling here in Galápagos. But I especially enjoy snorkeling in Gardner Bay, on Española Island. Today the water was very clear, and we could see thousands of fish actively eating microscopic planktonic organisms. Near the end of the snorkel outing we spotted a marine turtle. It swam slowly and freely through the water column and let us approach it closely.
This is the nesting season for the Pacific green sea turtle here in Galápagos. They come to the beaches at night to lay their eggs. They may dig several nests in a season and lay more than a hundred eggs per season. Sea turtle hatching survival rate is low: as low as one percent. But the marine turtle population in Galápagos is very healthy and every year thousands of turtles come to these islands to nest.
We expected that, in the next few months we will begin to more and more turtle tracks on the beaches and when the New Year comes we may find baby turtles coming out of the sand and walking very quickly down to the water. There they start a long journey in the ocean of thousands of miles and in approximately twenty five years they too will be ready to come back to the nesting area again.
Today we had the wonderful opportunity to see marine turtles resting, swimming, and mating underwater. I think everyone on the ship has already seen more than one sea turtle and today was only the second day of our voyage! After snorkeling we spent time on a beautiful white sand beach with Galápagos sea lions. Some of them played with our guests in the water. It was relaxing to have the time to sit on the beach, contemplate the sunset and appreciate the beauty of this planet.
I always enjoy being in the water and snorkeling here in Galápagos. But I especially enjoy snorkeling in Gardner Bay, on Española Island. Today the water was very clear, and we could see thousands of fish actively eating microscopic planktonic organisms. Near the end of the snorkel outing we spotted a marine turtle. It swam slowly and freely through the water column and let us approach it closely.
This is the nesting season for the Pacific green sea turtle here in Galápagos. They come to the beaches at night to lay their eggs. They may dig several nests in a season and lay more than a hundred eggs per season. Sea turtle hatching survival rate is low: as low as one percent. But the marine turtle population in Galápagos is very healthy and every year thousands of turtles come to these islands to nest.
We expected that, in the next few months we will begin to more and more turtle tracks on the beaches and when the New Year comes we may find baby turtles coming out of the sand and walking very quickly down to the water. There they start a long journey in the ocean of thousands of miles and in approximately twenty five years they too will be ready to come back to the nesting area again.
Today we had the wonderful opportunity to see marine turtles resting, swimming, and mating underwater. I think everyone on the ship has already seen more than one sea turtle and today was only the second day of our voyage! After snorkeling we spent time on a beautiful white sand beach with Galápagos sea lions. Some of them played with our guests in the water. It was relaxing to have the time to sit on the beach, contemplate the sunset and appreciate the beauty of this planet.
