Española Island
Today we went out to visit Punta Suarez on the southwestern side of the island. Española is the oldest island in the archipelago. Therefore, the island had enough time to evolve its own species. Endemism is very high due to the age of the island and its proximity to cold, rich upwelling water that bathes it. There are many species that are only found here.
Marine iguanas here are a very interesting species with very peculiar colors such as red, black and green. The tide was low so that they were taking the opportunity to graze on the exposed rocks covered with lots of algae without having to go deep. We also saw lots of sea lions pups and a female that just had finished giving birth. It was very exciting to find huge, fat, fussy chicks waiting for their parents to feed them.
On the way to the blowhole we found an Española constrictor curled up. Its belly was big since she just had her breakfast. We saw the blowhole at its best, spouting a large fountain spray towards the sky with albatrosses and Nazca boobies flying by.
At mid day, the National Geographic Endeavour moved to a different location: Gardner Bay. On board, Paula Tagle (our Expedition Leader) gave a snorkeling briefing to the guests. We had lunch and, after a well deserved rest, went to do all the different activities that Paula had planned for us. This included snorkeling, kayaking, and walking along Gardner Bay where we had the chance to interact with the inquisitive sea lions.
What a day this turned out to be!
