Española Island
We started our day with some early kayaking along the coast of Española, the oldest of the enchanted islands. A lot of birds were flying and the sun was just coming out.
After breakfast we had plenty of activities to enjoy this fantastic site; some of us went deep water snorkeling with sea lions, rays, and semi-tropical fish. Some others chose to try the beach as a place to learn how to snorkel for the first time. Gardner Beach was covered with about 700 sea lions, and everywhere we looked we found life on the white coralline sand. The curious Hood mockingbirds were also spotted defending their territory from ground finches trying to steal their seeds.
After a delightful Ecuadorian lunch, we had a wet landing at Suarez Point. Plenty of endemic species were seen at this site, and most of the species we saw were not only endemic to Galápagos but also endemic to Española Island. Along the path we saw blue-footed boobies with eggs and chicks in their nests, Hood lava lizards, finches, sea lions, Nazca boobies, and all the life you could ever imagine in just one visitor site.
This was an excellent pristine taste of the Galapagos, nature at its purest. We finished our day with a wonderful sunset and soon we headed back to the National Geographic Islander to continue our expedition around Darwin’s natural laboratory of evolution.
