This was the first day of full expedition for our guests onboard the National Geographic Endeavour in the famous Galapagos Islands, and the island that we visited today was Española.
In the morning we stopped at a visitor site called Gardner Bay for the water activities. After breakfast and a short briefing about snorkeling, we loaded into our Zodiacs and headed out to explore. The first to depart were the deep water snorkelers who departed, who had a fantastic experience underwater, surrounded by marine life. Plenty of species of tropical fish were spotted, as well as some turtles and other marine creatures, but there is one particular species which stole our attention—baby sea lions. They were so playful and curious, and everyone was surprised at how closely they approached us. For those who preferred some relaxation, we went to the beach of this beautiful bay. A group of sea lions, a few mockingbirds and multiple sea birds were our entertainment.
Later we all came back onboard to continue navigating and have some lunch.
The next destination was Punta Suarez, a well-known visitor’s site for biologists, due to the high percentage of endemism in this area. We hiked along a rocky trail inside the island to get to the cliffs where the colonies of many of the seabirds breed. Nazca boobies were in the middle of their breeding season, so we got to see males calling out females, some eggs in nests, and even a recently hatched boobie chick. One of the main attractions of this site is the waved albatross which is the largest bird found in the Galapagos. We were so lucky to get to see some of the last individuals of this year, as they migrate south during this time before returning in several months for another reproductive cycle. Sea lions with their pups and many colorful marine iguanas were part of the show as well.
That was an excellent start to an exciting week of exploration in the Galapagos.
