Today we were up at the crack of dawn (7ish) to get ready for our boat trip. Remy and Harvey had...wait for it....pancakes. Dad had pancakes too for a change and everyone shuffled downstairs to the marina to meet our guide and captain.
We got our fill of whale and the resumed our journey toward the north end of the island where there is a very friendly sea lion colony. Adventurous snorkelers can swim around the rocks where the young sea lions like the play.
Unfortunately as we cut through a channel in the island toward the western side, it became apparent that it was much too windy for our small boat to make the journey comfortably. We opted instead to return to the Bonanza beach on the eastern side to have lunch, hike, snorkel, and swim.
Once we were back in the beach Dad and Clint donned their wetsuits and dove into the water for some snorkeling. The water was a very clear blue green, and the visibility for snorkeling was excellent. While there wasn't much sea life visible from the boat (aside from the whale), we were pleasantly surprised by the abundance of fish inhabiting the rocks.
Alan, our guide, introduced us to the itinerary options for the day, which included multiple possible stops around Isla Espiritu Santo. After deciding on a rough set of events, we hopped on the boat with our captain Ivan and motored out of the marina. On the way out we passed an absolutely enormous yacht, which we later learned was commissioned and designed by Steve Jobs shortly before he passed away.
The trip from the marina to the island takes around an hour, and a long the way we were mostly hugging the shore and getting an alternate view of the sights we had seen the previous day on our drive to ballandra, including a view of a half sunken yacht that had been flooded during a hurricane. After sinking it had been floated and repairs were underway before it sank again. Now it is simply resting in the surf, presumably abandoned.
About three quarters of the way to the island we saw a small cluster of boats and pulled up beside them. There was a humpback whale and a pod of dolphins in the water, and we stopped for several minutes to follow behind the whale, getting a great view of its back and one wave from its flipper.
We stopped once to check out a cave that our captain expertly navigated. Dad was certain we were going to run around.
After lunch Mom, Dad, and Remy all hiked up to the top of the rocky hill. We had to climb a few boulders to get there but the view was worth it, exposing a secret beach on the other side.
The boys declined to snorkel, but they made good use of the sand and shells to build several sand structures. They also set up a shell rental shop but unfortunately their customer base was quite small.
Once late afternoon rolled around we hopped back into the boat for the journey back home. After saying goodbye to our crew the boys hopped into the pool (we can't keep them out of there). A quick swim got everyone's appetites up and we had a wonderful dinner at the Barco restaurant at the end of the marina. Dad's mezcal included a side of "worm salt," which ended up being a small highlight of the evening. Never fear, you can buy it on Amazon.
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