Espanola Island
Some of the guests woke up at the crack of dawn for an invigorating stretch on the sundeck. After a fabulous breakfast, the “Pangas” were loaded up with people ready to explore our first island. We landed on Espanola in small groups, ready to explore and get introduced to our new island friends. We were greeted by a plethora of sea lions lounging on the beach and playing in the water. We enjoyed taking pictures of the marine iguanas that were sprawled in groups across the rocks and lumbering across our trails. We learned about the blue-footed boobies and how to differentiate between the male and female of the species. We spent some time observing the blowhole on the southern side of the island. After returning to the dock to return to the ship, we got to see the marine iguanas taking a swim. It was a fabulous day stepping foot on our first island in the Galápagos, the oldest island in age.
In the afternoon, there were several opportunities to explore the area, depending on where your interests took you. A group ventured off in the glass bottom boat. Others went to the beach to practice snorkelling and enjoy the beautiful sand and sea lions. A third group ventured into the deeper water to snorkel with a tiger snake eel, a sleeping shark (so the naturalists tried to convince us), different types of parrotfish, puffer fish, and starfish. Once everyone needed a rest from the day’s activities, they spent time relaxing on the beach of Gardner bay with sea lions that were also taking a nap and relaxing. There could not have been a nicer end to the day than watching the sunset on the teak bar and our recap with underwater video from the day.
Some of the guests woke up at the crack of dawn for an invigorating stretch on the sundeck. After a fabulous breakfast, the “Pangas” were loaded up with people ready to explore our first island. We landed on Espanola in small groups, ready to explore and get introduced to our new island friends. We were greeted by a plethora of sea lions lounging on the beach and playing in the water. We enjoyed taking pictures of the marine iguanas that were sprawled in groups across the rocks and lumbering across our trails. We learned about the blue-footed boobies and how to differentiate between the male and female of the species. We spent some time observing the blowhole on the southern side of the island. After returning to the dock to return to the ship, we got to see the marine iguanas taking a swim. It was a fabulous day stepping foot on our first island in the Galápagos, the oldest island in age.
In the afternoon, there were several opportunities to explore the area, depending on where your interests took you. A group ventured off in the glass bottom boat. Others went to the beach to practice snorkelling and enjoy the beautiful sand and sea lions. A third group ventured into the deeper water to snorkel with a tiger snake eel, a sleeping shark (so the naturalists tried to convince us), different types of parrotfish, puffer fish, and starfish. Once everyone needed a rest from the day’s activities, they spent time relaxing on the beach of Gardner bay with sea lions that were also taking a nap and relaxing. There could not have been a nicer end to the day than watching the sunset on the teak bar and our recap with underwater video from the day.
