Today we woke up anchored in the northeast of Espanola Island. Some of our guests kayaked before breakfast while others opted for a relaxing stretch session at the beach. What a nice way to start the day! Later we snorkeled and walked the white sandy beach called Gardner, where Hood Mockingbirds and Galapagos sea lions were minding their own business unconcerned by our being there.
Navigating west over lunch, we found ourselves at Punta Suarez where we walked on boulders and saw the most colorful lava lizards, red marine iguanas, sea lions, American oystercatchers, Galapagos hawks, doves, finches, Nazca boobies, and a constrictor snake. The walk was an applied one, but well worth doing. Hood Island is special in that it is the oldest of the archipelago and is home to ninety percent of species endemic to Galapagos, meaning no less than nine out of ten species here are unique to this one island!
