Espanola Island
The day dawned overcast but calm after some rocking and rolling during the night. A few hardy souls were up early enough to join Hilda, the masseuse, for some stretching on the sky deck but others chose to sleep in until breakfast at 7:30. Following a nourishing and delicious breakfast, other hardy souls took off for our last snorkeling opportunity. This was a deep water snorkel around Tortuga Islet. Numerous fish species were observed along with white-tipped reef sharks, sea turtles, sea lions, many large sea stars, and rays. The water was rather choppy but did not pose a problem for the by now experienced snorkeling group.
After snorkeling, we joined up with the rest of the guests on Gardner Beach on Espanola (or Hood) Island which is the south-eastern most and oldest island in the Galápagos archipelago. It was a relaxing morning on a beautiful white-sand beach. We all got very good looks at the Hood mockingbird and the plentiful sea lions lounging on the sand. There was one newborn sea lion with the placenta still attached, nursing on its mother. There were other groups of frolicking young sea lions in the surf.
Back on board the Islander we had a departure briefing prior to lunch. I think everyone is sorry to address the topic of leaving this fascinating place but so it must be. Lunch, as usual, was both excellent and plentiful.
The siesta time was filled with shopping in the ship’s shop for souvenirs, watching a video about Lindblad Expedition’s voyages to Baja California and initial thoughts of packing and organizing all of our gear and luggage for the trip home.
By mid-afternoon, everyone was prepared for a final outing to Espanola Island. We had a dry landing at Punta Suarez on the westernmost point of the island. This is an extremely rich wildlife area of the Galápagos. Not only did we see swallow tailed gulls and Nazca boobies but the lava lizards, mockingbirds, marine iguanas, and Darwin’s finches which are all endemic to this island alone. The sea lions were everywhere and curious. Some people actually received sea lion kisses! Of particular interest for many was seeing the endemic waved albatross, a huge sea bird. They are well into their nesting season and we were very fortunate to see several of these birds taking off and landing. We also saw several albatross chicks in their nests. One final highlight was the breezy cliff edge where many of the birds soar on the wind and the powerful blowhole that shoots misty fountains high into the air. This is a spectacular spot amongst so many other spectacular places in the Islas Encantadas.
The day dawned overcast but calm after some rocking and rolling during the night. A few hardy souls were up early enough to join Hilda, the masseuse, for some stretching on the sky deck but others chose to sleep in until breakfast at 7:30. Following a nourishing and delicious breakfast, other hardy souls took off for our last snorkeling opportunity. This was a deep water snorkel around Tortuga Islet. Numerous fish species were observed along with white-tipped reef sharks, sea turtles, sea lions, many large sea stars, and rays. The water was rather choppy but did not pose a problem for the by now experienced snorkeling group.
After snorkeling, we joined up with the rest of the guests on Gardner Beach on Espanola (or Hood) Island which is the south-eastern most and oldest island in the Galápagos archipelago. It was a relaxing morning on a beautiful white-sand beach. We all got very good looks at the Hood mockingbird and the plentiful sea lions lounging on the sand. There was one newborn sea lion with the placenta still attached, nursing on its mother. There were other groups of frolicking young sea lions in the surf.
Back on board the Islander we had a departure briefing prior to lunch. I think everyone is sorry to address the topic of leaving this fascinating place but so it must be. Lunch, as usual, was both excellent and plentiful.
The siesta time was filled with shopping in the ship’s shop for souvenirs, watching a video about Lindblad Expedition’s voyages to Baja California and initial thoughts of packing and organizing all of our gear and luggage for the trip home.
By mid-afternoon, everyone was prepared for a final outing to Espanola Island. We had a dry landing at Punta Suarez on the westernmost point of the island. This is an extremely rich wildlife area of the Galápagos. Not only did we see swallow tailed gulls and Nazca boobies but the lava lizards, mockingbirds, marine iguanas, and Darwin’s finches which are all endemic to this island alone. The sea lions were everywhere and curious. Some people actually received sea lion kisses! Of particular interest for many was seeing the endemic waved albatross, a huge sea bird. They are well into their nesting season and we were very fortunate to see several of these birds taking off and landing. We also saw several albatross chicks in their nests. One final highlight was the breezy cliff edge where many of the birds soar on the wind and the powerful blowhole that shoots misty fountains high into the air. This is a spectacular spot amongst so many other spectacular places in the Islas Encantadas.
