Española Island

We had a general wake up call at 6:30am for breakfast and got ready for our morning activity on Española Island. This island has two visitor sites, one in the western side and other in the eastern side. The first one is called Punta Suarez and is one of the longest trails in Galápagos, but apart from that it is also the most visited place.

This island is the oldest geological formation above sea level, because the even older Galápagos islands have been sub-ducted underneath the South American Tectonic Plate. This explains why 70% of the fauna of this place is unique to Española Island. It means we will not be able to see any more of these species, unless our guests decide to come back to Galápagos.

We were out from 8 am to 11 am; once everyone was on board the National Geographic Polaris, we shared our happiness of having found Waved Albatrosses. They keep coming year after year to the same place where all of them were born, and they will keep coming if we make the right decisions, not only here but also in international waters where albatrosses live.

After a delicious lunch and a much deserved siesta, our guests were heading out, but this time they struck out in different directions. Some of our guests opted for the glass bottom boat, some for deep water snorkelling, and some decided to go straight to the beach for snorkeling lessons with one of our naturalists. A few even decided to explore the cost line of the eastern part of Española on board our kayaks.

Little by little we started heading back on board, but not with out having the chance to walk along the most beautiful white sand beach, crowded with Galápagos sea lions.

This was the end of our first full day in this paradise, and tomorrow will be another day as beautiful as this one on Española Island.