Española Island
The Galápagos Islands were formed by a plume of lava know as the “hot spot”. The plume remains stationary but the islands are not, so the Islands have continued moving after being formed to the east. Española Island is situated at the eastern side of the archipelago, making it the oldest island in Galápagos.
This morning we anchored at Punta Suarez, for one of the most challenging walks of the week, but also one of the most rewarding. Since animals have had time to adapt to the specific conditions on Española, the number of endemic species here is quite high. As we started we were surrounded by a variety of these endemic animals; first, the Española mocking bird. A few steps later, the largest and most colorful lava lizard of the Galápagos was standing in front of us, the Española lava lizard. Nest to it a pile of marine iguanas black and red in color, the Española marine iguanas. Our walk was on boulders, as we kept on walking we could observe the three different species of finches that live on the island: the small ground finch, the warbler finch and the large cactus finch.
But the best was still to come, as we walked closer to the cliff we found waved albatrosses. They were all taking part in different activities, from incubating their only huge egg, to performing their elegant and singular courtship, some were walking to the end of the cliff to jump off and others were just flying around. We all chose our favorite spot to sit down and observe these amazing behaviors.
The afternoon was spent on a different side of the island, Gardner Bay, were we started our water activities. The options were many: glass bottom boat, snorkeling, kayaking or beach time. If you wanted to do it all that was an option as well! The beach was a very peaceful place with hundreds of sea lions resting on the very fine white sand.
We came back with the sunset, goodbye sea lions and albatrosses – we have to continue our adventure!
The Galápagos Islands were formed by a plume of lava know as the “hot spot”. The plume remains stationary but the islands are not, so the Islands have continued moving after being formed to the east. Española Island is situated at the eastern side of the archipelago, making it the oldest island in Galápagos.
This morning we anchored at Punta Suarez, for one of the most challenging walks of the week, but also one of the most rewarding. Since animals have had time to adapt to the specific conditions on Española, the number of endemic species here is quite high. As we started we were surrounded by a variety of these endemic animals; first, the Española mocking bird. A few steps later, the largest and most colorful lava lizard of the Galápagos was standing in front of us, the Española lava lizard. Nest to it a pile of marine iguanas black and red in color, the Española marine iguanas. Our walk was on boulders, as we kept on walking we could observe the three different species of finches that live on the island: the small ground finch, the warbler finch and the large cactus finch.
But the best was still to come, as we walked closer to the cliff we found waved albatrosses. They were all taking part in different activities, from incubating their only huge egg, to performing their elegant and singular courtship, some were walking to the end of the cliff to jump off and others were just flying around. We all chose our favorite spot to sit down and observe these amazing behaviors.
The afternoon was spent on a different side of the island, Gardner Bay, were we started our water activities. The options were many: glass bottom boat, snorkeling, kayaking or beach time. If you wanted to do it all that was an option as well! The beach was a very peaceful place with hundreds of sea lions resting on the very fine white sand.
We came back with the sunset, goodbye sea lions and albatrosses – we have to continue our adventure!
