Early this morning, we landed at North Seymour Island, one of the jewels of the crown of Galapagos. It is made up of a flat platform that formed under water and eventually rose above the water line, and this island has become the nesting site for some of the emblematic species of the archipelago. As we come to the end of the year, the animals feel the changing conditions of the environment and start acting strangely. Most of them begin to exhibit their mating behaviors, and for us this always a sign that the warmer weather are approaching. As we strolled around, we had a wonderful opportunity to see the Galapagos swallow-tailed gull protecting a very young chick, as well as multiple magnificent frigatebirds that were actively taking care of their young on the nest. We also came across a few male land iguanas that were already displaying the mating behavior, along with their beautiful bright colors.
Strong winds in the afternoon made us a bit tentative during our snorkeling outing, but once we were in the water, we were amazed by the beautiful colors and the excellent visibility—conditions were just perfect. We found many aggregations of tropical fish of many different colors, as well as a large tiger sea snake that was pretty tame, we were able to get very close to it without scaring it away. As we continued snorkeling close to the rocks, a couple of whitetip reef sharks were sleeping on the sandy bottom, while a Pacific green sea turtle came out to the surface to breathe, right next to us! In the late afternoon, we took a stroll along the red sandy beach of Rabida, walking among sea lions as the sun started to go down. What an incredible place. Today we understand why this place needs to be conserved for future generations, not only for visitors to come and learn from nature, but also for the younger generations of Galapagos inhabitants that deserve to keep their home.
As we walked back to our Zodiacs to head back to the ship, we could not have felt any happier. We have had the privilege to share the island with its inhabitants, who have made us feel like a part of their world. What an experience!
