Hemisphere Hoppin: Part 2 - Greeted by the Deep Blue Pacific

The sweet salty air blew across our faces as we hopped out of the car. We hurried to the shore where the pacific lapped at our feet and I instantly began stuffing my pockets with beautiful stones and shells.

We had to wait about an hour or so to catch the next boat tour because our unexpected fuel stop put us a little behind schedule but we gladly explored to coastline while waiting to board the ‘Condorito.’

Once we launched we were surrounded by blue both above and below – it felt great to be out on the water. (Made us miss Ocracoke!) And within ten minutes we were approaching the rocky coastline of the island.

The first creatures to greet us were the pelicans. (A little disguised on their dropping covered rock.)

Then the adorable Humboldt Penguins.

The Humboldt Penguins lay their nests on the high ground on the island and create little dirt paths to traverse down to the water to catch fish and to return back to the top for their nests. Humans are no longer allowed on the island because they are a danger to the penguins. If the penguins encounter a human on the island they become panicked and go to the cliffs where they jump off, sadly ending their little waddling lives. And so to minimize the number of penguin suicides, humans no longer set foot on the island.

They are tiny in this photo but you can see them traversing one of their paths to get to the shore. It took them so long to get to the bottom, I can't imagine going uphill!

We also saw some dolphins.

And many many birds. (See them all atop the rock outcropping?)

Henry's favorite were the sea lions, which in Spanish are named ‘Lobos del Mar’ which translates to wolves of the sea. They are named this because they often seem to have their heads leaned back as if they are howling at the moon like wolves.