Española
There’s nothing like getting up early in the morning for a kayak ride along the coast of Gardner Bay, with pelicans fishing along the coast, finches trying to land on the Zodiac for a rest, and curious sea lions that pop their heads out of the water to see who is around their realm.
At Gardner Bay we walked along the beautiful white beach for a couple of hours enjoying the sea lions that where either sleeping, playing in the water or nursing from their mothers, there were so many of them that it was hard to concentrate with all the activity that was going on. Not to mention the curious Española Mockingbirds that were running all over the area trying to discover what we had in our backpacks.
On this journey the best was saved for last, Punta Suarez of Española is where one finds a concentration of all wild species of the Galápagos Islands; it even has its own lava lizard, mockingbird and giant tortoise.
As we walked along the boulders we were surprised every step of the way with Galápagos doves along the ground looking for seeds; mockingbirds following our footsteps; lava lizards hoping from rock to rock showing us their unique size and coloration. The Nazca booby colony that lies along the cliffs of the island was so spectacular that we had to sit for a while to enjoy them.
The more we walked the more birds and iguanas we found along the trail, however the best surprise was to be found at the very end of the trail the nesting colony of the waved albatross. There were chicks all over the area waiting for their parents to come and feed them and as we sat close to the cliff we enjoyed watching them in flight as they soared through the air before coming to land.
And with this spectacular island, my friends, we concluded one of the most startling weeks of our travel, a week that we will never forget.
