Santa Cristobal Island
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BOAT TRIP FROM SAN CRISTOBAL
Once on the shore, it was an amazing experience to watch the youngsters suckling, making little clicking noises as they sucked their mothers milk under the shadows of the mangrove tree. Some of them were but a few weeks old and were tiny. The smell however was not something to be desired. Although it was an incredible place, the stench of feaces was somewhat overpowering. Scattered across the sand were placentas from recent births and we also found a couple of skulls, perhaps from abandoned babies. This highlighted the fact that we were viewing these animals in their totally natural environment, undisturbed by man, and made the experience of being there more profound. Walking onwards, we stumbled upon some Marine Iguanas, their claws dug into the ground, their stubby faces unmoving as they lay in the sun. We then came across two boobies. One of them was a fluffy white baby whose feet had not yet turned blue and who was still to shed his downy feathers. This overgrown chick was hungry and making squawking noises to his mum for food. She stood opposite, patiently ignoring his cries, just like an adult who ignores it’s child crying for a lollipop. A few metres onwards, we were thoroughly entertained by the spectacle of two more boobies who were seemed to be having a conversation with one another. Every so often the female would start up a weird clacking throaty sound and the male would then whistle back to her. This strange display of interaction thoroughly warmed my heart and I found it hard to walk away. On the way back, we were lucky to witness a female sea-lion dragging her almost new-born across the sand to shade from the sun. As he struggled with his tiny flippers to follow along, she would help him on by grabbing his neck in her teeth and pulling him. Once she reached the mangrove, she growled protectively at the cluster of sleeping bodies, warning them away from her tiny pride and joy. Not far from the shore, we moored up and went for a snorkel with our new found friends. As I jumped into the water wet-suited up, I could hardly contain my excitement as I watched their slinky bodies gliding up and down beneath the surface. This really did feel close to heaven. Just as I thought it couldn’t get much better, a cheeky sea-lion swam upwards and underneath me, our tummies almost touching. He then lay on his back and floated along next to me, baring his teeth with a hairy grin. I actually found myself squealing out loud, overwhelmed with delight. As we headed once again I felt completely touched to the core. Our next stop was Kicker Rock where it was time to swim with the sharks!
Approaching the rock is extremely impressive. Two towering crusty formations jutting up towards the heavens from the deep sea. In between is a huge channel that we passed through and gazing up at the sheer sides of smooth rock is simply awesome. Looking ahead is a strange experience as you watch the level of water dropping down low, creating huge liquid bumps. We circled the rock then finally stopped off for snorkeling. Admittedly, swimming into the channel was an eerie experience as the ocean moved up and down and gently pushed me towards the sides. The visibility was not very good so we couldn’t see much through the murky water and despite wearing a wetsuit I still felt cold. We were quite disappointed when we boarded the boat as we hadn’t spotted any sharks but I was still stoked with the experience of swimming in the middle of the Pacific around these mountainous rocks.
Afterwards, we filled up on a good lunch on the way to our next destination. Cerro Brujo is a beautiful white sand beach with clear turquoise waters and tracks from turtles nesting in the dunes. Apart from the group of sealions who were lying lazily in the heat, we were the only people around to enjoy the stretch of paradise that is only reachable by boat. The only annoyance as we strolled along were the biting march flies that munched on our legs. The sinking sensation of the soft grains around my feet urged me to run along like a child in play and I was all at once washed over with a feeling of oneness. We hung around following turtle tracks that were tread across the sand and swimming in the greenish blue water. After an hour or so, we reluctantly boarded the boat and headed home. Enjoying the warmth of the day, I sat up top once again watching flying fish whizzing out of the water, skimming the surface then disappearing as rapidly as they had appeared. A very well organized and enjoyable day, this trip comes highly recommended.
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