Espanola Island - Gardner Bay

The Greeting Committee at Gardner Bay

Espanola Island is the home to several spectacular visitor sites, one of which is the exquisite white sand beach at Gardner Bay. It's a beach perfect for walking and watching the frolicking and resting sea lions, hundreds of which may be seen here at any given time.

To me, this is always a special place. Always, loud guttural barking is a first indication that we have arrived at Espanola Island’s beautiful Gardner Bay. Be prepared for the amazing welcoming committee made of literally hundreds of sea lions lazing on the beach, playing in the surf and soaking up the sun.

Swimming with Sea Lions

As a guide and naturalist certified by the Galapagos National Park Service and the owner of the Galapagos Eco Lodge on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos Islands, one of my great pleasures is taking my hotel guests, cruise ship passengers, tourists and visitors snorkeling with the sea lions. The pleasure I get each time I do this is immeasurable to me and I am sure to my guests as well. As a ubiquitous and playful creature of the Galapagos Islands, the sea lions are sure to bring a smile and joy to everyone who encounters them and has the once-in-a lifetime opportunity to frolic in their natural habitat, the luxurious and pristine Pacific Ocean in which the Galapagos Islands are situated.

While every chance to swim with sea lions makes my heart feel good, there is one day I remember particularly well and with great fondness. And that is the day I share with you in this post. Before I do though, take a look at this glorious video taken that day by AquaSurround:

Though every day in the Galapagos Islands is very special, this was a day I was really looking forward to as I was taking my group to swim with the sea lions near Bartolome Island.

Galapagos Sea Lions - They Definitely Are Not Seals

Sea Lion Basking on a Bench in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Ask any visitor to tell you the highlight of their visit to the Galapagos Islands, and you're as likely as not to hear "The sea lions!" It's true - everyone loves the sea lions. They greet you on every island. They are unafraid. They are entertaining. They are cute. They are noisy. They show up in the most expected - and unexpected - places. They sit on our park benches, taking over. They climb into our boats and pangas if we let them. They lay about the ocean front property - after all, they were here first; they actually do own the beach! They swim and cavort in the water. They don't mind having their picture taken - and are more than willing to pose. So, everyone gets bragging rights to having taken wonderful photos of the sea lions.

Sea Lion Pup

But, there's a lot to learn about them too. For example, Galapagos sea lions are ubiquitous in the Galapagos Islands. They are endemic and exclusive to the archipelago (except for one location on Ecuador's mainland coastline) and can be seen and heard on every island; the total population is about 50,000 sea lions. They are quite large as sea lions go and range in size from mature males of about 1000 pounds to mature females of about 700 pounds. Pups weigh about 13 pounds at birth.

Isle Lobos - One of San Cristobal's Most Exciting Attractions

Every day in Galapagos is an adventure and when you stay on San Cristobal Island, all you have to do is jump on a boat and in minutes you are at some of the best visitor sites in Galapagos.  One of my favorites, full of adventure and endemic wild life, is Isle Lobos.

Sea Lions Too are Mama's Boys!

"Mama's boy" is at term usually used to describe a human male's exceedingly close relationship with his mother.  But, when you really think about it, I guess it should come as no surprise that human sons are not the only species that attach to their moms. That is exactly what the latest research about Galapagos Island sea lions, as reported in the journal Animal Behavior, has confirmed. Like many other species, such as Galapagos Blue Footed Boobies, the male sea lion doesn't venture far from his mom.




Male baby sea lions stay close to and rely on their moms for a much longer period than their female peers. Long after the little boys grow big enough to be capable of hunting and fishing, they still laze around dependently on their moms far after their sisters have ventured out on their own and learned to forage. It seems that the males have it made from a physical and (from what we as humans would refer to as a psychological) point of view.