Española Island
Our last full day in the enchanted islands was magical indeed! We had big surf this morning which made the early kayak outing a bit more exciting than planned: choppy following waves forced the beginners among us to learn quickly how to steer with their rudders! After breakfast three pangas with guides and snorkelers motored over to the small islet of Gardner where the visibility was not very good, but the swimming was excellent. Others went in with me to the fine white sand beach where we strolled, relaxed, and admired the hundreds of lounging, nursing and dozing sea lions. Waves pounded on the beach, the sea lions moved higher and drier as the tide came up and we were very reluctant to leave this lovely spot when it was time to return to the ship for lunch.
In the afternoon naturalists Alexandra and Ernesto led two groups of long walkers, and Celso guided the short walk outing. We disembarked on a cement dock at Punta Suarez among brightly colored marine iguanas, a gang of playful teenage sea lions and nesting blue-footed boobies. The long hikers followed a rocky trail along the coast to an overlook of a blowhole that was blasting salt spray high into the air. We observed and photographed Nazca boobies, the large this-island-only endemic lava lizards, and this-island-only endemic mocking birds. We marveled one last time at the fearlessness of these beautiful and innocent Galápaganian creatures and rejoiced in the pristine nature of the island where we spent our last afternoon.
Española is one of the oldest of the islands in the Galápagos archipelago; some 3 to 5 million years old. It is also the home to a species of giant tortoise that was rescued from the brink of extinction, and this story is one of the most successful of the restoration projects of the National Park and Darwin Station. From a total world population of 15 individual tortoises that were located in the mid sixties and then moved to the Research Station for captive breeding there are now over two thousand wild tortoises again roaming on Española.
Today our naturalists shared this story of success with us and we felt privileged to be here, hiking on this exceptional island. We felt proud because we are a part of the conservation efforts being made to save this unique and still intake island ecosystem. Because we have witnessed first hand their beauty and the charm of their inhabitants we will head home tomorrow as “ambassadors” for Galápagos.
Our last full day in the enchanted islands was magical indeed! We had big surf this morning which made the early kayak outing a bit more exciting than planned: choppy following waves forced the beginners among us to learn quickly how to steer with their rudders! After breakfast three pangas with guides and snorkelers motored over to the small islet of Gardner where the visibility was not very good, but the swimming was excellent. Others went in with me to the fine white sand beach where we strolled, relaxed, and admired the hundreds of lounging, nursing and dozing sea lions. Waves pounded on the beach, the sea lions moved higher and drier as the tide came up and we were very reluctant to leave this lovely spot when it was time to return to the ship for lunch.
In the afternoon naturalists Alexandra and Ernesto led two groups of long walkers, and Celso guided the short walk outing. We disembarked on a cement dock at Punta Suarez among brightly colored marine iguanas, a gang of playful teenage sea lions and nesting blue-footed boobies. The long hikers followed a rocky trail along the coast to an overlook of a blowhole that was blasting salt spray high into the air. We observed and photographed Nazca boobies, the large this-island-only endemic lava lizards, and this-island-only endemic mocking birds. We marveled one last time at the fearlessness of these beautiful and innocent Galápaganian creatures and rejoiced in the pristine nature of the island where we spent our last afternoon.
Española is one of the oldest of the islands in the Galápagos archipelago; some 3 to 5 million years old. It is also the home to a species of giant tortoise that was rescued from the brink of extinction, and this story is one of the most successful of the restoration projects of the National Park and Darwin Station. From a total world population of 15 individual tortoises that were located in the mid sixties and then moved to the Research Station for captive breeding there are now over two thousand wild tortoises again roaming on Española.
Today our naturalists shared this story of success with us and we felt privileged to be here, hiking on this exceptional island. We felt proud because we are a part of the conservation efforts being made to save this unique and still intake island ecosystem. Because we have witnessed first hand their beauty and the charm of their inhabitants we will head home tomorrow as “ambassadors” for Galápagos.
