Española Island
The rainy season in the archipelago always bring warm water and in most cases visibility tends to be great. Today we had a mix of activities for everyone. We started with a pre-breakfast kayak outing, later on we had other departures that allowed us to exercise and enjoy the great landscape of Española Island. Some of our guests went on our glass bottom boat along the coast of a nearby islet, and found several species of fish and marine invertebrates. For the most adventurous we had a deep water snorkeling outing where we found sea stars, a couple of sea lions and schools of fish swimming around us, as well as diamond sting rays resting at the bottom. For those who wanted a more relaxed morning, we went to a beautiful white sand beach where sea lions rest, breed and nurse almost all year round.
Later on in the afternoon our Expedition Leader Sofia Darquea gave a talk about the many different aspects of Galápagos such as its geology, conservation, wildlife and history. We left the ship this afternoon for a hike on Punta Suarez where some went for a long or a short hike; both these options were great for observation of seabirds, sea lions, the most colorful marine iguanas, and some even spotted a Galápagos fur seal, which is not commonly seen around this area. A rain stayed with us most of the afternoon cooling off during our walk. The islands are always different and these changes make it a real expedition and all the more interesting.
