Española Island
Waking up early in the morning in the Galápagos, especially when you are a little bit tired, sounds like a great effort, but then as the days goes by, you realize that every step you make in this paradise becomes part of your own personal life.
We visited Punta Suarez, located on the south western side of Española. Wildlife in this great place is abundant. Just after disembarking at the jetty we found many Española marine iguanas literally covering the cemented area, together with half a dozen drowsy Galápagos sea lions. Many bird species like frigates and blue footed boobies were observed starting their daily feeding activities.
At the geological level, Española Island is very different compared to others. Volcanism has been the main force that created irregularities on the island that allows the condensation of humidity with the gradual elevation. In the case of Española, tectonic forces were uplifting the island hundreds of thousands of years ago from the bottom of the ocean, exposing a naked bed of rocks that gradually were colonized by plants and animals. These creatures are called pioneers because they arrived first, survived, adapted and colonized the island in harsh conditions.
A couple of hours passed while we explored and finally we saw one of the highlights of Española, the Waved albatross. We observed several individuals incubating huge eggs, about the size of a lady’s hand. It takes a long period, almost two months, for the single egg to be incubated, and five additional months for the chick to fledge. This beautiful bird species characterizes itself by the long migration that they do into the Pacific waters, coming back every year to the same island to procreate. Some juveniles will spend up to seven years out in the ocean without coming back to land.
In the afternoon we were anchored at a different site on the island, Gardner Bay. We had several options to explore this area: kayaking, glass bottom boat and deep water snorkelling outings, strolling and swimming at the beach. Snorkelling was a favourite activity; it took place around the small islet named Gardner.
Toady we saw many colourful fish species and several Galápagos sea lions were playing with us. A particular sea lion was so curious and playful that at one point it was just few inches away from my camera letting me take close up pictures of its face. The sea lion even grabbed my underwater camera nibbling it for a second. The beauty of this place has no point of comparison with any other island. What a great day we spent on Española!
Waking up early in the morning in the Galápagos, especially when you are a little bit tired, sounds like a great effort, but then as the days goes by, you realize that every step you make in this paradise becomes part of your own personal life.
We visited Punta Suarez, located on the south western side of Española. Wildlife in this great place is abundant. Just after disembarking at the jetty we found many Española marine iguanas literally covering the cemented area, together with half a dozen drowsy Galápagos sea lions. Many bird species like frigates and blue footed boobies were observed starting their daily feeding activities.
At the geological level, Española Island is very different compared to others. Volcanism has been the main force that created irregularities on the island that allows the condensation of humidity with the gradual elevation. In the case of Española, tectonic forces were uplifting the island hundreds of thousands of years ago from the bottom of the ocean, exposing a naked bed of rocks that gradually were colonized by plants and animals. These creatures are called pioneers because they arrived first, survived, adapted and colonized the island in harsh conditions.
A couple of hours passed while we explored and finally we saw one of the highlights of Española, the Waved albatross. We observed several individuals incubating huge eggs, about the size of a lady’s hand. It takes a long period, almost two months, for the single egg to be incubated, and five additional months for the chick to fledge. This beautiful bird species characterizes itself by the long migration that they do into the Pacific waters, coming back every year to the same island to procreate. Some juveniles will spend up to seven years out in the ocean without coming back to land.
In the afternoon we were anchored at a different site on the island, Gardner Bay. We had several options to explore this area: kayaking, glass bottom boat and deep water snorkelling outings, strolling and swimming at the beach. Snorkelling was a favourite activity; it took place around the small islet named Gardner.
Toady we saw many colourful fish species and several Galápagos sea lions were playing with us. A particular sea lion was so curious and playful that at one point it was just few inches away from my camera letting me take close up pictures of its face. The sea lion even grabbed my underwater camera nibbling it for a second. The beauty of this place has no point of comparison with any other island. What a great day we spent on Española!
