Española Island

The guests who kayaked before breakfast returned to the ship somewhat tired but exuberant; it was a beautiful, breezy morning and they had enjoyed the outing immensely. We piled our plates with eggs benedict or oatmeal, fresh fruits, toast, cheese, sausages and cereal and sipped excellent Ecuadorian coffee in the dining room. Forty five minutes later we pulled on our wetsuits and boarded three Zodiacs with Celso, Ernesto and Tommy driven by our sharp-eyed and patient “pangueros” for a final snorkeling outing along the cliffs of Gardner Islet. We swam through and over huge schools of “booby bait” – the black-striped salemas and a few friendly sea lions completely out swam us and showed off with their aquatic grace.

I took a group of guests to shore where we soon had the lovely fine white sand beach to ourselves – well, I mean, there were no other homo sapiens on shore with us; we shared the sand with a couple hundred sea lions however! Big bulls were snoozing – resting up in preparation for the breeding season in a few short months. Pups were nursing and one in particular was as large as his mother! No doubt she did not raise a pup this past year so last year’s offspring willingly continued nursing as long as he could. Española mockingbird, long billed and aggressive, investigated our back packs, cameras and water bottles. This mockingbird species is found only on this one island, and since Darwin did not land on Española, he saw the other three mocking bird species – but not this one. Our guests enjoyed strolling along and swimming in the turquoise shallows off one of the world’s most beautiful, pristine beach. No one wanted to leave when it was time to…

While we ate lunch we passed through a pod of bottlenose dolphins. They leapt and surfaced, we “ohhed and ahhed” and then continued on to anchor off Punta Suarez on the northwestern point of Española. After siesta some of us gathered in the lounge to talk about the sad condition of our planet’s oceans and the urgent need to clean up, respect and save, “the blue heart of our planet.” Each and every one of us has to become involved at whatever level we can.

The afternoon’s walk was amazing! We could not help noticing that all the creatures we admired around us and along the rocky trail, or above us soaring on the fresh sea breeze, are bound to the health of the ocean realm. The seas around Galápagos are vibrant with life; they are yet healthy and whole and teeming with sea birds, marine mammals and fishes. We were awed by the elegance of the waved albatross, thrilled to watch them curt and dance and even mate, and delighted with close looks at cute booby chicks. We savored the peace and tranquility as we hiked along, surrounded by wildlife and dramatic landscapes. We felt privileged to have spent a magical week in this unique and magnificent archipelago – one of the last major island systems in the world that still boasts an intact ecosystem. We will take our photos and experiences home and cherish them forever.