Española Island
This small island located in the southeast of the Galápagos archipelago is, due to its beauty and attractions, one of the main highlights in our expedition. Surrounded by vast aquamarine waters and being one of the oldest islands, it is the perfect home for many distinctive animal species of the Galápagos Islands, both on land and along its shorelines. Several species found on this island are not only endemic to the Galápagos but endemic to Española.
We started this day by visiting a stunning place, Gardner beach. Here we found a long, white-coralline beach, surrounded by turquoise waters, where we could relax and observe the various species of animals that live here. A huge colony of Galápagos sea lions delighted everyone, interacting alongside their very private beach. Española mockingbirds, made their appearance while busily searching for food in the sand with their long curved beaks. These birds were especially inquisitive today – they even looked in our backpacks, probably wandering what was inside these rare objects. Some mockingbirds were curious of the cameras as well; just take a look at the picture of today. Some of our guests decided to be a little more adventurous and took the option to snorkel along the nearby Gardner islet. Large schools of fish like Razor surgeonfish were seen feeding off the plankton near the surface of the water. The bay also offered some of us a great opportunity to practice kayaking and enjoy the scenery at a more peaceful pace, opportunity taken with eager excitement by several of our guests.
After lunch, it was time to explore the westernmost tip of Española Island. After an amusing National Geographic Geo Bee game, we landed at Punta Suarez following our afternoon’s schedule. Not far from our landing spot, we were amazed by the numbers of species that showed up all around us. We found several blue-footed boobies nesting along the walk, it was a pleasant surprise to see that their small chicks seem to be doing pretty well this season. The omnipresent Galápagos sea lions were admired as always, in fact these marine mammals are true favorite for all.
We could easily say that this afternoon we felt like we had walked inside an idyllicall Garden of Eden. All this week, we were immersed inside a perfect world where animals tolerate our proximity, showing almost no fear to humans. The Galápagos Islands are certainly an extraordinary destination, and the expedition that we just finished is living proof that there are still magical, pristine places in our home – our blue planet.
