Española Island
It is early in the morning and it seems to be that this is going to be a very hot day, as far as there is not a single cloud in the sky. After having a dry landing with good hiking shoes we are all willing to walk for some two and a half hours on very uneven terrain, but after all it’s worth it because we are visiting one the most impressive islands in the archipelago. Just in the first ten minutes we encountered along the way lots of sea lions, colonies of marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and a few mockingbirds; the more we walked the more animals we saw. This island is full of wildlife and we reached a view point where we could see hundreds of Nazca boobies nesting along a cliff and also a spectacular formation called the blow hole where water splashes as high as twenty meters. We were able to see also the three species of finches that occur here and many lava lizards. We came back on board for cold drinks and a nice buffet lunch.
In the afternoon we visited Gardner Bay on the same island. At a distance it looked as if there were many rocks on the beach but the more we approached it we realized that in fact they were sea lions, dozens of them! After a wet landing we enjoyed the afternoon by kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, and walking along this white and long beach. Everyone seemed to have a great time, even the guides!
We returned to the National Geographic Polaris for a nice shower and a happy hour at the bar with a beautiful sunset.
It is early in the morning and it seems to be that this is going to be a very hot day, as far as there is not a single cloud in the sky. After having a dry landing with good hiking shoes we are all willing to walk for some two and a half hours on very uneven terrain, but after all it’s worth it because we are visiting one the most impressive islands in the archipelago. Just in the first ten minutes we encountered along the way lots of sea lions, colonies of marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and a few mockingbirds; the more we walked the more animals we saw. This island is full of wildlife and we reached a view point where we could see hundreds of Nazca boobies nesting along a cliff and also a spectacular formation called the blow hole where water splashes as high as twenty meters. We were able to see also the three species of finches that occur here and many lava lizards. We came back on board for cold drinks and a nice buffet lunch.
In the afternoon we visited Gardner Bay on the same island. At a distance it looked as if there were many rocks on the beach but the more we approached it we realized that in fact they were sea lions, dozens of them! After a wet landing we enjoyed the afternoon by kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, and walking along this white and long beach. Everyone seemed to have a great time, even the guides!
We returned to the National Geographic Polaris for a nice shower and a happy hour at the bar with a beautiful sunset.
