Espiritu Island

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After a day of lying on the beach, Kendra felt well enough to start touring around. The first trip we took was to a beach called Ventana. It’s a know beach for windsurfing and kite boarding. There is a campground right on the beach , full of motor homes . All the people there have canvas “garages” full of sails and boards. All the people there were at least our age or older!!! Brave souls! A doctor we met here told us that kiteboarding is a very dangerous sport, with lots of people being dragged inadvertenly by their kites in a strong wind! I guess it’s not a sport for the faint of heart! (like myself….)
Unfortunately, on the day we were there, there was NO wind. One of the view calm days we have had! SO- we just enjoyed the view.
The following day we had a great adventure. We went on a full day trip out to an island called Espiritu. The boats are for 6 - 8 people, somewhat like a boston whaler. We went out and around the island of Espiritu, enroute to a sea lion colony. When we fist started out, there was not much wind, and the ride was smooth and wonderful. By the time we turned the around the second coast of the island, the wind had picked up , and by now, the waves were about 1 meter. This may not sound high, but when you are sitting on a bench in a boston whaler, the resulting slam when you descend the crest of the wave, sends shock waves thru your spine. The first few times, it’s fun, but after an hour, you begin to wonder if you will be as tall after the trip as you were before! And once we in the waves, it was too far to turn around and go back- so onward we slammed! This part of the trip took about 2 hours. YIKES! Our butts were sore, are backs ached and our knees were a little jelly like! You have no idea how happy we were to see the calm bay ahead- never mind that we were also going to see the sea lions! One poor lady in the boat was afraid of water and boating- her husband had told her it would be a calm and lovely ride!!!!! Not sure what relationship they still have……
At the sea lion colony, many people jumped in the water to snorkel with the sea lions. It was quite chilly that day- about 20 degrees celius, or 72 f., and after the harrowing boat ride and the cool wind, Kendra and I declined to get wet. Scott and Mark jumped in- and had a wonderful time getting up close and personal with the sea lions. It was a good thing that Kendra stayed aboard, as she was able to take some great pictures as you will see.
Sea lions are very noisy, and also rather smelly, but fun to watch. It is amazing how agile they are in the water, and yet so clumsy when they are on land.
Following our visit with these amazing animals, we continued on to another beach- luckily on the lee side of the island, thru calm waters! There, lunch was provided and another break from the boat. Yippee! We enjoyed the sun, the food and the vista!
At the end of the trip, the captain- who only spoke Spanish- decided that it was too rough to take us back to the original beach. They had to return us to a beach further down the coast, and arrange for a car to pick us up . All in all, quite an adventure! The next day, we were all feeling quite sore in our backs and necks! WE had to take a day off and recover at the beach!
I’ll continue later, as I’m sure you are all quite tired of reading! Adios!

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Photos

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Undderwater shot of the sea lion.

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Isn't he cute?

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The boat.

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The cliffs of Espiritu

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Sea Linon Colony

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Someone has to have the best spot!

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Lunch on the island

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The picnic.