During our first full day in the Galapagos we explored Española Island, the most south eastern island of the archipelago.
We started our day in the northeastern portion of the island at Gardner Bay with a pre-breakfast kayaking outing and then exploring the underwater world snorkeling at nearby Gardner Islet. Later on we enjoyed beautiful Gardner Bay beach.
During lunch we sailed along the leeward north coast of the island while enjoying a typical Ecuadorian buffet. After a well-deserved siesta, we landed once more at Punta Suarez we were greeted by playful sea lion pups frolicking in the shallows, as marine iguanas had just gotten out of the water after easy grazing during the afternoon low tide. As we made our way around the inland trail, we soon came across the largest birds in the Galapagos, the waved albatross, which only breeds on Española. The walk along the difficult terrain was well worth it, as some guests even got to witness the albatross courtship, which is somewhat rare at this stage because most albatross are already incubating eggs.
