Española Island
We had a very civilized and leisurely start to our final day in the islands. A bountiful buffet breakfast was served between 8:00-9:00am. Soon after, we boarded the Zodiacs for snorkeling or a ride into the beach. Two groups of snorkelers motored about 15 minutes to reach the crystalline waters surrounding Tortuga Islet. Here the conditions were excellent and they enjoyed seeing the huge schools of grunts, razor fish and wrasses that were feeding in the surge. Big red spotted sea stars littered the ocean floor off the northern point of the islet.
Everyone disembarked eventually on the mile long beach at Gardner Bay. This gorgeous beach is made of fabulously fine, brilliantly white, ground up coralline sand. The lazy sea lions here, some sprawled and resting and others swimming in the turquoise shallows, entertained us. Many of our guests eagerly joined them in the water. Curious endemic Hood Island mockingbirds (Hood is the English name for Española Island), hopped and poked around, always on the look out for something to eat. The relaxing morning spent on this lovely peaceful beach was a moment to be recalled and cherished by us all.
The afternoon walk at Punta Suarez began with an unexpected wet landing. The tide was high and the landing dock was awash in the pounding surf. As we began our walk we edged our way through sleeping sea lions and then set off across the rocky terrain. At each step we had to carefully place our feet among the smooth lava boulders. And at every turn we were delighted and thrilled by the abundance and variety of wildlife! Besides the ubiquitous sea lions and marine iguanas, we trespassed through nesting colonies of both Nazca and blue-footed boobies. A tiny and naked baby booby caught our fancy and was oohed and ahhhed over and much photographed. Powerful spray pumped out of the blowhole with each crash of the waves. Endemic Hood lava lizards and mockingbirds darted under foot. The waved albatross was magnificent! They danced and courted and even copulated just feet from us, and we watched with awe. We found the first albatross egg of the season. And every single one of this week’s guests managed to get a good and unforgettable look at these large and lovely sea birds – whether by land or by sea (on a Zodiac ride around the point).
We had a very civilized and leisurely start to our final day in the islands. A bountiful buffet breakfast was served between 8:00-9:00am. Soon after, we boarded the Zodiacs for snorkeling or a ride into the beach. Two groups of snorkelers motored about 15 minutes to reach the crystalline waters surrounding Tortuga Islet. Here the conditions were excellent and they enjoyed seeing the huge schools of grunts, razor fish and wrasses that were feeding in the surge. Big red spotted sea stars littered the ocean floor off the northern point of the islet.
Everyone disembarked eventually on the mile long beach at Gardner Bay. This gorgeous beach is made of fabulously fine, brilliantly white, ground up coralline sand. The lazy sea lions here, some sprawled and resting and others swimming in the turquoise shallows, entertained us. Many of our guests eagerly joined them in the water. Curious endemic Hood Island mockingbirds (Hood is the English name for Española Island), hopped and poked around, always on the look out for something to eat. The relaxing morning spent on this lovely peaceful beach was a moment to be recalled and cherished by us all.
The afternoon walk at Punta Suarez began with an unexpected wet landing. The tide was high and the landing dock was awash in the pounding surf. As we began our walk we edged our way through sleeping sea lions and then set off across the rocky terrain. At each step we had to carefully place our feet among the smooth lava boulders. And at every turn we were delighted and thrilled by the abundance and variety of wildlife! Besides the ubiquitous sea lions and marine iguanas, we trespassed through nesting colonies of both Nazca and blue-footed boobies. A tiny and naked baby booby caught our fancy and was oohed and ahhhed over and much photographed. Powerful spray pumped out of the blowhole with each crash of the waves. Endemic Hood lava lizards and mockingbirds darted under foot. The waved albatross was magnificent! They danced and courted and even copulated just feet from us, and we watched with awe. We found the first albatross egg of the season. And every single one of this week’s guests managed to get a good and unforgettable look at these large and lovely sea birds – whether by land or by sea (on a Zodiac ride around the point).
