Española Island
The Galápagos are a group of volcanic islands which on first impression seem quite similar in appearance but in fact nothing could be further than the truth. All the islands are different: all of them rocky but each with its own appearance and flavor.
Today we visited Española Island, the south easternmost island of the archipelago: thus being the oldest in geologic time and dwindling away due to the power of the ocean. We can say that Española Island plays an important role in the evolution of organisms and their dispersal towards the other islands. Being considered the oldest: Española is the one that is more likely to be the first place of arrival for organisms transported by ocean and air currents.
Our expedition included disembarkation at Punta Suarez for a long walk. At the time we landed, we were greeted by baby sea lions and the dominant male that never stops barking and myriads of red crabs crawling on the rocky shore. Some few yards inland we found ourselves surrounded by nature in its purest state: the trails are crowded with marine iguanas and sea birds such as blue-footed boobies, nesting alongside Nazca boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. The landscape of the island deserves attention as well: rocky cliffs where the winds produce updrafts are dotted with large sea birds gliding effortlessly.
Unquestionably the waved albatross is a majestic that nests by the thousands all over Española. Waved albatrosses nest every year on this island only and nowhere else in the Galápagos, thus being the only tropical albatross on the planet. Today we could see that the island is a real bird’s paradise: on land you find them courting and nesting and in the costal waters you’ll find them foraging in large flocks; boobies diving and petrels feeding in a quite different way, by picking plankton-sized creatures from the water’s surface.
In the afternoon we visited the north side of Española Island. We had a lot of activities, among which kayaking, snorkelling and-glass bottomed boat rides. The snorkelers enjoyed their first encounter with the exotic marine life: schooling and colorful reef fish and playful sea lions.
The Galápagos are a group of volcanic islands which on first impression seem quite similar in appearance but in fact nothing could be further than the truth. All the islands are different: all of them rocky but each with its own appearance and flavor.
Today we visited Española Island, the south easternmost island of the archipelago: thus being the oldest in geologic time and dwindling away due to the power of the ocean. We can say that Española Island plays an important role in the evolution of organisms and their dispersal towards the other islands. Being considered the oldest: Española is the one that is more likely to be the first place of arrival for organisms transported by ocean and air currents.
Our expedition included disembarkation at Punta Suarez for a long walk. At the time we landed, we were greeted by baby sea lions and the dominant male that never stops barking and myriads of red crabs crawling on the rocky shore. Some few yards inland we found ourselves surrounded by nature in its purest state: the trails are crowded with marine iguanas and sea birds such as blue-footed boobies, nesting alongside Nazca boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. The landscape of the island deserves attention as well: rocky cliffs where the winds produce updrafts are dotted with large sea birds gliding effortlessly.
Unquestionably the waved albatross is a majestic that nests by the thousands all over Española. Waved albatrosses nest every year on this island only and nowhere else in the Galápagos, thus being the only tropical albatross on the planet. Today we could see that the island is a real bird’s paradise: on land you find them courting and nesting and in the costal waters you’ll find them foraging in large flocks; boobies diving and petrels feeding in a quite different way, by picking plankton-sized creatures from the water’s surface.
In the afternoon we visited the north side of Española Island. We had a lot of activities, among which kayaking, snorkelling and-glass bottomed boat rides. The snorkelers enjoyed their first encounter with the exotic marine life: schooling and colorful reef fish and playful sea lions.
