Española Island
Very bright sun. It is 7 a.m., and a good breakfast will give us energy to start the day. We are going to Española Island, the oldest of them all.
We disembarked first on Punta Suarez, a tough walk on rocks; one after one, after one, a loop of one and a half miles where we encountered many of the real natives of the Galápagos. Right from the beginning on the jetty were some of its inhabitants either looking for food or water (such as the Española Mockingbird) or just simply basking in the sun, like marine iguanas and Galápagos sea lions.
The rainy season has perhaps come to an end; therefore the vegetation is still rather green. It was easy to observe several of the native flowers and also many of the different species of land birds present on the islands, adults and juveniles, who take advantage of the food supply provided by this season. A popular species such as the marine iguana of the island were also everywhere, red marine iguanas, and bright colored lava lizards.
Eventually we came right by a cliff overlooking the south coast. It was white, covered by guano mostly from Nazca boobies, beautiful black and white seabirds who have earned a reputation because of their survival strategy of “obligatory sibling murder”.
Brown pelicans flew by, as well as swallowed-tailed gulls, blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, and way up high in the sky the predator of them all, the Galápagos hawk.
On the way to the blowhole we met several Waved albatross, huge seabirds that weigh around 12 kilos and have a wingspan of seven feet. They come every year to nest here only, and when the season is over they return to the open seas. But the bright sun is almost above our heads and we start feeling the heat. Its time to go back.
Ecuadorian food is what we had for lunch: pork, sea food, potatoes and other goodies, just to get us ready for what is yet come, Gardner Bay. The afternoon offers options for all tastes: deep water snorkeling, kayaking and the glass bottom boat for those who want to stay dry. To finish this spectacular day, we landed on a white sand beach covered all over by sea lions. Here, we do not need to stay with the group or the guide; we can be with ourselves, each one of us can have a private moment with nature.
Very bright sun. It is 7 a.m., and a good breakfast will give us energy to start the day. We are going to Española Island, the oldest of them all.
We disembarked first on Punta Suarez, a tough walk on rocks; one after one, after one, a loop of one and a half miles where we encountered many of the real natives of the Galápagos. Right from the beginning on the jetty were some of its inhabitants either looking for food or water (such as the Española Mockingbird) or just simply basking in the sun, like marine iguanas and Galápagos sea lions.
The rainy season has perhaps come to an end; therefore the vegetation is still rather green. It was easy to observe several of the native flowers and also many of the different species of land birds present on the islands, adults and juveniles, who take advantage of the food supply provided by this season. A popular species such as the marine iguana of the island were also everywhere, red marine iguanas, and bright colored lava lizards.
Eventually we came right by a cliff overlooking the south coast. It was white, covered by guano mostly from Nazca boobies, beautiful black and white seabirds who have earned a reputation because of their survival strategy of “obligatory sibling murder”.
Brown pelicans flew by, as well as swallowed-tailed gulls, blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, and way up high in the sky the predator of them all, the Galápagos hawk.
On the way to the blowhole we met several Waved albatross, huge seabirds that weigh around 12 kilos and have a wingspan of seven feet. They come every year to nest here only, and when the season is over they return to the open seas. But the bright sun is almost above our heads and we start feeling the heat. Its time to go back.
Ecuadorian food is what we had for lunch: pork, sea food, potatoes and other goodies, just to get us ready for what is yet come, Gardner Bay. The afternoon offers options for all tastes: deep water snorkeling, kayaking and the glass bottom boat for those who want to stay dry. To finish this spectacular day, we landed on a white sand beach covered all over by sea lions. Here, we do not need to stay with the group or the guide; we can be with ourselves, each one of us can have a private moment with nature.
