Española Island

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  • Daily Expedition Reports
  • 20 Feb 2022

Española Island, 2/20/2022, National Geographic Endeavour II

  • Aboard the National Geographic Endeavour II
  • Galápagos

Today we woke up in Gardner Bay on Española Island. After a delicious breakfast, some guests disembarked for a deep-water snorkeling experience along the shore of Gardner Islet. Other guests visited Gardner Beach. We observed many charismatic Galapagos sea lions basking on the white sand. We also spotted the hood mockingbird, one of the four species of mockingbirds found on the Galapagos Islands.

During lunch, Captain Eduardo Neira navigated toward Suarez Point, where we disembarked for a hike along the shore. Here we observed one of the most iconic animals of the Galapagos, the marine iguana. We also had the chance to see one of the largest colonies of Nazca boobies. We ended the day with our traditional recapitulation in the lounge of National Geographic Endeavour II.

Article by

Javier Carrion, Naturalist

Javier grew up on Santa Cruz island where his grandparents first arrived in the 1940´s. Veritable pioneers, his grandparents settled in the highlands where they found a place to raise their children.

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Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour II

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Española Island is the oldest of the Galapagos Islands, as it sits on the southeastern end of the archipelago. The islands are of volcanic origin and form because of the activity of what geologists call a hot spot. As the Nazca Plate slides to the southeast over the volcano, new islands develop. This means that the islands towards the northwest are the youngest, and the ones on the opposite end are the oldest.