Española Island
After a calm night navigation and some good and recovering rest, we woke up at the site of Punta Suarez, on Española Island, for the second day of our Galápagos expedition cruise in these beautiful Islands.
Española is a must-see place to visit. Right at the landing site we were welcomed by playful sea lions, sleepy marine iguanas, courting blue-footed boobies, and the curious Hood mockingbird, always looking for some water dripping from our bottles.
As we went down the trails, well-marked with sticks painted in white and black, we were all astonished by the lack of fear of these wild animals. Some blue-footed boobies were courting in the middle of the trail and some sea lions were still sleeping.
We passed by a colony of Nazca boobies where some juveniles were practicing how to fly; others were waiting to be fed and, not that far off, the highlight of the visit was the impressive Waved Albatross, one of the most beautiful sea birds that nest every year only here, in Española. We were lucky, as we encountered a couple of albatrosses right in front of us, doing the famous courtship dance as if nobody were watching them.
Times goes fast and, after seeing the impressive blowhole, we headed back to the same landing site where the Zodiacs dropped us off, so they could take us back on board.
A delicious Ecuadorian buffet awaited us for lunch, and we navigated to our second visitor site. Our young (and never resting) young guests enjoy some kid’s activities especially prepared for them.
It is now 3:00 pm and it is time for our second outing to Gardner Bay, a beautiful white coral sand beach where a colony of sea lions is waiting for us. Time to practice and learn some snorkel lessons, and for those who already mastered the activity, a deep-water snorkel outing around Gardner Islet is a great opportunity to see many of the wonders of the Galápagos waters.
All of these activities, complemented by a kayaking opportunity, is a “normal” day with us aboard the National Geographic Endeavour! Hundreds of photos have been taken by now, and we are just at the second day of our itinerary…
