Española Island
Today we woke up anchored in front of one the most spectacular visitor sites of the Galápagos: Gardner Bay. The first adventure of the day was a pre-breakfast outing in order to enjoy nature while kayaking. After a delightful breakfast, we prepared for deep water snorkeling. Once in the Zodiacs, we enjoyed a comfortable navigation to Gardner Islet. As we climbed into the water, the Galápagos Islands underwater world made us feel as if we were in a natural aquarium.
The underwater cliffs of Gardner were blanketed by marine species; it was charming to see how the different colors of nature were displayed on the rocks. Different reef fish species of many different colors were found all over the area. Baby sea lions of different ages were so playful as they displayed synchronized movements all around us. As we finished snorkeling there was no time to waste, we got everything ready in order to go for a relaxing time on the beach.
There are very few beaches in Galápagos that display big sea lion colonies, and Garner Bay, is the most spectacular of all. On arrival we had a marvelous experience as we saw hundreds of Galápagos sea lions lying on the sand as if they were boulders. Hood mockingbirds were distributed all over the beach. Some individuals were singing, some others were even cleaning the sea lions of flies. One of the highlights was seeing a young Galápagos hawk that was feeding on a marine iguana close to the salt bushes as if hiding its pray.
Once we were back on board National Geographic Islander, we had an agreeable Ecuadorian buffet lunch as the crew pulled anchor in order to go to our next destination. In the afternoon we had a marvelous experience as we visited Punta Suarez. Colorful marine iguanas were the perfect natural decoration of the coastal trail. Farther inland, the magnificence of the place was displayed as we watched the waved albatrosses taking off from the cliffs. As we reached the other side of the cliff area a massive colony of nazca boobies was found covering the lava rocks. At the end of the exploration we enjoyed a splendid sunset that was telling that tomorrow we have more to enjoy. There is no other way to make it better at the living paradise of the Galápagos Islands.
