Snorkeling Part 2 - Kicker Rock
before i get started ... i had a few questions about the Marine Iguana ... i meant to include this but i was in a hurry and forgot, so ....
the Marine Iguana is the only true marine lizard in the world; and it feeds almost exclusively on marine algae. they can grow to 3.5 feet and weigh 30 pounds. the large males are capable of swimming through the strong surf and diving down to 30 feet, hanging onto the rocks with their powerful claws grazing on the algae. they have special glands that help remove the excess salt from their diet, and they eject it through their nostrils, kind of like a sneeze. mating and egg-laying take place Jan-Mar ... now :) although usually black in color, at this time they take on reds yellows and turquoise to attract a mate. this is an exhausting time for the males since they don't sleep while they are defending their territory. unlike deer, they don't control the females; they control the land that the females frequent; and therefore, can mate with more of them. he inseminates them with one of his TWO penises. in about 5 weeks, females lay 1-4 eggs in the sand which they actively defend. tiny miniatures emerge in about 3-4 months. ok, .... probably more than you ever wanted to know about Marine Iguanas. this one was about 3 feet long ...
oh, by the way, any and all 'white' that you see on any rocks, is guano (bird poop) :)
Now ... on to Kicker Rock ...
Kicker Rock is also known as Leon Dormido (Sleeping Lion) ... Kicker Rock is supposed to look like a 'shoe' from the north ... :) i don't really see it ... but you can see how it does resemble a Sleeping Lion from a distance... it is the remainder of a volcano ...
as you get closer, you notice there is a break in the rock ... this is where we snorkel .... and supposedly see White-tipped and Black-tipped, and Galapagos Sharks ... maybe HammerHeads too ...
i know it's hard to get a perspective of the massive size of this rock .... but in this photo you can see a rather large boat between the rocks...
i jumped in the water, hopeful ... that i would at least see something this time :) i saw a turtle immediately, but he was gone in a second. i headed for the wall where i knew i'd see some life ... here is a Rainbow Wrasse and lotsa other fishes ...
the Guide was moving quickly for the 'cut' ........ i followed, determined to see sharks this time. this Guide was good .... he immediately started 'calling them in' ... pounding on his life bouy, and pounding his hand over his fist ... making vibrations that they would feel and come to investigate ... he was good ... he yelled 'sharks' and pointed, and i dove down ... and YES .... i saw a shark !
this guy, probably my age, worked really hard and wanted everyone to see sharks ....so kept pounding and pointing .... i felt obliged to dive down to see what he was working so hard to produce ...
and there wasn't just one here and here ... there were a lot of them together ...
i realized early on that you just have to dive down to really see them ... i had asked for a weight belt to help me get down deeper, and it really works ... it takes you down pretty fast once you get started ... then when you're out of air, you look up and see just how far you have to go yet .... it's pretty exciting ... to come bursting to the surface ... hopeful that you were able to capture something on pictures to share :)
just to take another breath and dive down again
i really was getting tired of diving for sharks ... but our Guide was so determined to make sure that everyone saw the sharks, that he kept yelling and pointing .... i felt like i had to dive down and see them as to not disappoint him. ...at one point, he actually took me by the arm and pushed me through the water, against the current, so i could get to the place where they were ! .... i was impressed at how strong of a swimmer he was !
this one you can actually identify as a White Tipped Shark ....
i also saw this turtle .... briefly ... he didn't stick around ...
that snorkel was finished as i noticed, once again, i was the last one on the boat. we floated out a bit on our roomy catamaran and had a nice lunch of fish or chicken ... mine was 'fish' ... they tried to convince me .... but it was chicken :) ...do they think i'm a city girl ????? but it was good. we also had watermelon for a snack to get that salt water taste out of your mouth.
this is a view of the rock from another direction ...
after lunch we slowly cruised around the Rock ... there are other separations in the rock which are smaller. they said if it was calm you could actually swim through them too, but it waves were too big today.
on the Rock we could see Blue Footed Boobies and also Nazca Boobies, or Masked Boobies. they were really up there, so it's not very close up .... the Nazca is on the right ...you can kind of see it's mask ...
these pair lay 2 eggs a few days apart. the first egg hatches and has a distinct advantage. when the second egg hatches, the first chick attacks it and pushes it out of the nest. the parents ignore this battle. the second chick is left to it's fate, usually eaten by Mockingbirds. ...more on the Mockingbirds later ...
we also saw some Sea Lions jumping out of the water, .... just like dolphins ... i didn't realize they did this; they were having fun
i made a point of telling our Guide what a great job he did during our lunch; ... and told him i really wanted to see Eagle Rays this time :)
then we're off on our second snorkel of Kicker Rock .... again, our Guide made a mad dash for the cut, i quickly followed .... a couple more sharks .... ho-hummm :)
then he said the magic words 'EAGLE RAYS' !!!!!!! where? where? he pointed and down in went ... WoW .... OMG ! ....
not just one ... but many .... i don't know how many ... 15-20 ?
they just kept coming .... flying by ....
i dove down several times ... going between video and still shots ... i promise to try to post some video on You Tube ....
YouTube video now added .... you can watch here, or click on the YouTube button on the bottom right of below screen ...
then more sharks
there were also schools of Creole Fish ... which were really pretty, with a little bit of red on them as well as the distinguishing silver spots on their sides ....
and then ... the Eagle Rays passed through again ...
i love their long tails ....
and the white under-sides of their 'wings' ...
it was so exciting ....
then more sharks ...
for any of you who are wondering .... 'isn't it scary?' ..... you'll notice that all of the sharks are facing AWAY .... none are coming towards you .... it was WAY exciting !
another turtle and 2 more Sea Stars to finish off the snorkel ....
it's impossible for me to express how exciting that was for me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Snorkel trip not over yet ... stay tuned for Part 3 - Mangelsito Beach
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