Espanola Island
Which is better – Punta Suarez, the first day, as on the Polaris itinerary, or as our final hike of the trip, as on the Islander itinerary? It doesn’t really matter! This is a spectacular walk, and for many of our guests and for many of the Naturalists, it is one of the most beautiful visitor sites in Galápagos. Polaris visits Punta Suarez in the early morning: the sea lions are just waking up and heading to the sea to catch a fish for breakfast. The pups bleat in protest as the “milk truck” pulls away; but soon they forget their discontent and roll and tumble and hop along on the beach in small bands of curious babies. They chase the mocking birds, pull on sea lion tails and explore their world. In the late afternoon, when Islander visits this site, the pups are either contented nursing (with the Moms who came home early from the fishing tip) or they are still playing and pushing. They rush up to every female who swims towards shore, bleating and asking, “are you my mother?”
The bright turquoise and red Espanola marine iguanas often time their periods of activity with the tide. When the tide is lowest, they graze algaes from the shoreline lava rocks. At any time of the day, depending on how hot or cool an individual is, they can be seen in one of two basic basking postures: sprawled and maximizing the amount of heat they receive or elevated with their faces towards the sun to cool down.
Sea bird colonies have two peak times of activity: early morning and in the cool of the afternoon. So, both with Polaris and Islander we take our walk when the colonies are the busiest. We often see adult boobies feeding their chick, the patient parents incubating eggs or shading the young from the tropical sun. We can see the endemic waved albatross incubating and egg rolling, the fat fluffy young ones waiting for the adults to bring them food, or paired birds courting and dancing with wild gesturing of their heads thrown back, beaks open and funny noises at any time of the day; their behaviour is tuned in with the season not the time of day.
Punta Suarez, with Polaris, early in the morning, and as a first hike, is an utterly impressive spot; this island which has many endemics of its own and where there is so much wildlife activity has a real impact on our guests when visited at the beginning of our itinerary and early in the day. Likewise, in the cool of the afternoon, and as the light turns to golden and both the final day and the voyage itself wind to an end – as on the Islander itinerary – this too is a fantastic time to hike the rocky trail on Punta Suarez. I have been visiting Espanola for 8 years with the Polaris and for just 3 weeks with our new ship, Islander: I know for sure that I can’t choose whether I like an afternoon or a morning visit to Punta Suarez! So, I guess the only solution is to come and try them both – an a.m. visit with Polaris and a p.m. visit with Islander and then decide for yourself!
Which is better – Punta Suarez, the first day, as on the Polaris itinerary, or as our final hike of the trip, as on the Islander itinerary? It doesn’t really matter! This is a spectacular walk, and for many of our guests and for many of the Naturalists, it is one of the most beautiful visitor sites in Galápagos. Polaris visits Punta Suarez in the early morning: the sea lions are just waking up and heading to the sea to catch a fish for breakfast. The pups bleat in protest as the “milk truck” pulls away; but soon they forget their discontent and roll and tumble and hop along on the beach in small bands of curious babies. They chase the mocking birds, pull on sea lion tails and explore their world. In the late afternoon, when Islander visits this site, the pups are either contented nursing (with the Moms who came home early from the fishing tip) or they are still playing and pushing. They rush up to every female who swims towards shore, bleating and asking, “are you my mother?”
The bright turquoise and red Espanola marine iguanas often time their periods of activity with the tide. When the tide is lowest, they graze algaes from the shoreline lava rocks. At any time of the day, depending on how hot or cool an individual is, they can be seen in one of two basic basking postures: sprawled and maximizing the amount of heat they receive or elevated with their faces towards the sun to cool down.
Sea bird colonies have two peak times of activity: early morning and in the cool of the afternoon. So, both with Polaris and Islander we take our walk when the colonies are the busiest. We often see adult boobies feeding their chick, the patient parents incubating eggs or shading the young from the tropical sun. We can see the endemic waved albatross incubating and egg rolling, the fat fluffy young ones waiting for the adults to bring them food, or paired birds courting and dancing with wild gesturing of their heads thrown back, beaks open and funny noises at any time of the day; their behaviour is tuned in with the season not the time of day.
Punta Suarez, with Polaris, early in the morning, and as a first hike, is an utterly impressive spot; this island which has many endemics of its own and where there is so much wildlife activity has a real impact on our guests when visited at the beginning of our itinerary and early in the day. Likewise, in the cool of the afternoon, and as the light turns to golden and both the final day and the voyage itself wind to an end – as on the Islander itinerary – this too is a fantastic time to hike the rocky trail on Punta Suarez. I have been visiting Espanola for 8 years with the Polaris and for just 3 weeks with our new ship, Islander: I know for sure that I can’t choose whether I like an afternoon or a morning visit to Punta Suarez! So, I guess the only solution is to come and try them both – an a.m. visit with Polaris and a p.m. visit with Islander and then decide for yourself!
