Española Island
This Island is so important for understanding the speciation of the fauna in Galápagos; seven of these creatures are found only here and nowhere else in the archipelago. This is explained by the fact that this island is the oldest formation and the fauna has been isolated for a longer period of time compared with newer geological formations.
Today we had the opportunity to explore two different visitor sites on this amazing Island; one in the morning and another one in the afternoon, with a short navigation during lunch. The morning was fully dedicated to water activities of different levels; we had a few groups of deep-water snorkelers, followed by beginners learning how to use their snorkeling equipment for the coming days of exploration. We also sent two groups for glass-bottom boating and a few went out for kayaking activities in the tranquil waters of the Pacific Ocean. We even disembarked on a white sandy beach for walking along the beach and photographing sea lions as well. Young explorers stayed on the beach observing the playful sea lion pups.
For the afternoon we offered two options at the same location; a two-mile walk along the cliffs of Punta Suarez and a short walk by the disembarkation area – this place is amazing for the abundance of marine life everywhere.
As soon as we disembarked at a man-made cement jetty we encountered thousands of marine iguanas and tidal pools with baby sea lions waiting for their mums to return from fishing. As we continued along the trail we arrived at one of the largest colonies of waved albatross, with hundreds of eggs being incubated by the parents. In a few days more, we will have hundreds of baby albatross to make this place even more beautiful.
Along the cliff we saw Nazca and blue-footed boobies nesting. Tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls and hawks were gliding, to make a perfect ending to the day.
