On our first full day of exploration in Galapagos, we started on Española Island, also known as Hood Island. Española has its own special magic, being the oldest. For 3.4 million years, it has been a natural laboratory for evolution and is home to various endemic species such as the Hood mockingbird, the Hood lava lizard and the most colorful marine iguanas in the archipelago.
The day started at beautiful Gardner Bay with a sunrise that took our breath away, with cotton-candy clouds and the ocean calm as a cup of tea. The morning was filled with water activities starting with kayaking and then snorkeling at Gardner Islet. It ended at a flawless white sand beach, home to a colony of Galapagos sea lions. In the afternoon, we disembarked at Punta Suarez where we hiked along sea bird and marine iguana territory. One of the highlights of the hike was witnessing the laying of an a waved albatross egg, something very rare to see.
