Española Island
After a very calm navigation from San Cristobal, we arrived to Española, or Hood Island, the oldest of the archipelago but one of the most spectacular because of its great fauna found everywhere.
In the morning we explored the east side of the island called Gardner Bay. It was full of sea lions and their dark bodies contrasted with the fine white sand which was almost the consistency of flour. Our guests enjoyed different activities such as kayaking, deep-water snorkeling and glass-bottom boating, with soft winds and sun rays little by little illuminating the cloudy sky. The water was clear with a temperature of 70 degrees; we observed the underwater world during the snorkeling, discovering colorful fish and invertebrates which captivated our attention.
In the afternoon, after a short navigation, we arrived at the west side: Punta Suarez. Our outing began with a landing at a small dock, where a group of marine iguanas lay peacefully, receiving the sun rays; they looked reddish in color, so different compared with those we observed yesterday. A few yards from here a group of baby sea lions played happily in the waves while finches and mockingbirds in a feeding frenzy fed on the rest of sea lions’ placentas.
We walked along boulders and beside the trail we observed the interaction between blue-footed and Nazca boobies close to the cliffs. Inland, the landscape looked very flat and among the brownish vegetation we observed the heads of the largest seabird of the archipelago: the waved albatross. We observed many of them, adults and juveniles trying to learn to fly and getting ready for the migration south during the hot season. It was amazing to watch a young albatross that was trying to decide whether or not to jump off the cliff. I suppose it could be scary to jump for the first time, but this is the only opportunity they have to learn to fly. Finally, the juvenile albatross decided that it was not prepared to go; instead it went back behind the bushes waiting for another opportunity.
Leaving the albatross “airport,” we observed a Galápagos hawk on the rocks, very concentrated on trying to identify prey for dinner, while in the sky gulls, frigatebirds, tropicbirds and boobies got our attention with their noisy calls. It was late when we finished our expedition during this incredible day full of adventures and magnificent creatures. The sky looked reddish with the last beams of light, and it was time to go back to the National Geographic Endeavour, our home for this week.
