Española Island

After our first day at North Seymour Island, I got to meet many of our guests on board of the National Geographic Polaris; I was so amazed to find out how many of them have been planning to come to Galápagos for so long, and here they were, walking and finally exploring this magical place.

There are a few places on earth that must be visited at least once in your life, and without a doubt, Galápagos is one of them!

After a delicious breakfast, we were ready to explore the island of Espanola; from the beginning to the end, this island was covered with many different species. What was even more special was to know that some of them live only here on Espanola and nowhere else in the world.

There are four species of endemic animals in Española: marine iguanas, mockingbirds, lava lizards and waved albatrosses, and we got to see them all!

Halfway through our walk we heard a very strong thunder-like sound; as we got closer to the cliff, we encountered a geological formation known as the blow hole. When the waves build up in strength, the pressurized water rushes into a crack that diverts the ocean water upwards, resulting in a huge geyser-like splash of water into the air!

After our morning activities we migrated to a different destination known as Gardner Bay. This time we had a lot of activities to offer to our guests; a glass bottom boat ride, kayaking, snorkeling lessons at the beach, deep water snorkeling and beach exploration.

Some of our guests were energetic enough to do all of the above, but of course there were many that paced the afternoon up and took some time to relax on the beach.

Our first day has ended up successful, with many smiling faces!