Española Island
Early in the morning we dropped anchor off Punta Suarez on Española Island, and by 8:00 a.m. we were ready to disembark. As we approached the island we were greeted by sea lions, marine iguanas and blue footed boobies that were part of the welcome committee.
Española is the southeasternmost island in the Galápagos, therefore it is home to myriads of sea birds; some of them are inshore feeders and others pelagic voyagers that seek shelter and nesting sites on this barren island.
The Galápagos are three to five million years old in geologic time, and this particular place turns out to be the oldest island of the archipelago. It is also very important for science because this was the first place of arrival for many species that today are distributed in the rest of the islands, some of them endemic and others native. In other words this is the very place where much of the island’s evolution started over five million years ago.
The location, topography and vegetation play an important role in this ecosystem. A peripheral island (it is low, flat and with little vegetation), it offers appropriate conditions for sea birds to nest and raise their young.
In the afternoon we repositioned the ship and we departed in different directions around Gardner Bay. Some enjoyed the glass bottomed boat and others had the opportunity to have first hand encounters with the marine life of the place. Snorkelling in the Galápagos can always give surprises and every time I snorkel, I expect the unexpected - in addition to the normal encounters with sea lions and a lot of tropical fish. This afternoon we were literally swimming among two hundred golden rays!
These type of rays are quite common in the Galápagos; I’ve seen them in smaller numbers many times but always less than two dozen. This time it was astonishing how many we saw.
Later on we all had the opportunity to disembark at Gardner Bay and go for a stroll on the white sand beach among the sea lion colony. Just amazing and we're still looking forward to see more!
Early in the morning we dropped anchor off Punta Suarez on Española Island, and by 8:00 a.m. we were ready to disembark. As we approached the island we were greeted by sea lions, marine iguanas and blue footed boobies that were part of the welcome committee.
Española is the southeasternmost island in the Galápagos, therefore it is home to myriads of sea birds; some of them are inshore feeders and others pelagic voyagers that seek shelter and nesting sites on this barren island.
The Galápagos are three to five million years old in geologic time, and this particular place turns out to be the oldest island of the archipelago. It is also very important for science because this was the first place of arrival for many species that today are distributed in the rest of the islands, some of them endemic and others native. In other words this is the very place where much of the island’s evolution started over five million years ago.
The location, topography and vegetation play an important role in this ecosystem. A peripheral island (it is low, flat and with little vegetation), it offers appropriate conditions for sea birds to nest and raise their young.
In the afternoon we repositioned the ship and we departed in different directions around Gardner Bay. Some enjoyed the glass bottomed boat and others had the opportunity to have first hand encounters with the marine life of the place. Snorkelling in the Galápagos can always give surprises and every time I snorkel, I expect the unexpected - in addition to the normal encounters with sea lions and a lot of tropical fish. This afternoon we were literally swimming among two hundred golden rays!
These type of rays are quite common in the Galápagos; I’ve seen them in smaller numbers many times but always less than two dozen. This time it was astonishing how many we saw.
Later on we all had the opportunity to disembark at Gardner Bay and go for a stroll on the white sand beach among the sea lion colony. Just amazing and we're still looking forward to see more!
