Española Island

The Galápagos is a place far and remote. Some people even think of it as a fantasy place where magical and mysterious things could happen, and in a way, this is true. The Galápagos used to be known also as the “Encantadas,” meaning “The Enchanted.” Known mainly by whalers and buccaneers back in the late seventeen hundreds, these islands became famous because of Charles Darwin’s voyage of the Beagle in 1835.

Nowadays, almost everybody knows about Galápagos and its rare inhabitants. More and more visitors are coming to this far end of the world to observe what Charles Darwin concluded in his book “The Origin of the Species.” It is only a pity that Charles Darwin couldn’t stay a little longer on the archipelago and explore it a little more extensively.

Española is one of the islands that Charles Darwin never set foot on; however, the theory of evolution by natural selection can be seen in every step of the way. The marine iguanas found here are remarkably different from those found in other islands and we can also find a unique species of mockingbird.

As we were strolling along the trail, we got to the point were we encountered my favourite sighting of the day: the waved albatross. This majestic bird could be seeing flying from far due its tremendous seven-foot wingspan. It was not necessary to look through our binoculars to get a closer look of them; we simply used our naked eyes. They were so close that it was hard to believe it!

The afternoon was no less than great. The location was a long white-coralline beach that is mainly occupied by sea lions. The water temperature was perfect and it was hard to leave the island behind. This was a perfect day, looking forward to tomorrow…