As we awakened at Española Island we were shrouded in mist with turquoise blue water inviting us to enter into its realm. After eating a hearty breakfast we learned about our water activities for the day and we tried on wetsuits and fins, then continued our adventure. Deep water snorkelers headed to Gardner, a small satellite island, and entered into another world. Immediately we encountered large schools of razor surgeon fish foraging over the rocky reef, with king angelfish moving in and out of the school. White salema’s, an endemic species, swirled in large schools around the snorkelers, with yellow tailed damsel fish maintaining their algae gardens on the small boulders. As we headed to deeper water along a wall, a kaleidoscope of colors brightened this environment in the form of bright orange cup coral, gorgonian fan corals, and green sea urchins. A spiny red lobster poked its head out of a crevice in the basalt lava flow that had submerged into the ocean. We were then out of the water and traveling over it as we headed to our afternoon destination of Punta Suarez.
It appeared as if it had “rained down stones from the sky” as we walk upon an incredible landscape of an arid setting punctuated with wildlife at every turn. Young sea lions lounged upon the small beaches with the youngest pups frolicking in the waves and playing chase among themselves. Colorful marine iguanas sunbathed upon the rocks as we headed inland searching for more life. Espanola lava lizards flitted over the path with females showing us their blood red throat coloration. A Galapagos hawk eyed us as we pass its nesting area and various frigate birds soared overhead. Exploring through the vegetation we arrived at the southern cliffs of Espanola with a spectacular view of the pounding waves upon the steep coastline. Nazca boobies with their chicks dotted the high cliffs with a sporadic Galapagos sea lion lazing about. Verdant, black, grey, deep blue, and blood red can all describe the mix of incredible creatures which reside here on Espanola Island. As we take this experience into our hearts and minds on this 14th of February, the sun sets upon a turbid and spectacular sea.
