Española Island

Today, without a doubt, will remain in our memories forever. Española Island is the perfect place to understand adaptive species, and how some of these species live nowhere else on the planet. This was the thinking of one of the most famous naturalists to ever explore the Enchanted Island, Charles Darwin. He later formulated a theory as to why some species can be found only in Galápagos, how they are related to South America and why some of these species are not the same throughout the entire archipelago. His conclusions were revolutionary. He said that all the species originated from somewhere else, but here, in Galápagos, they had evolved into something completely different. This was an extremely controversial idea at the time.

This morning, we saw great examples of wildlife supporting Darwin’s theories, such as the Española mocking bird, Española lava lizard, Waved albatross and the Española marine iguana; this goes without mentioning the Española giant tortoises that we may get to see in the future, as they spread out over more of the island. Galápagos probably was the final step Darwin needed before publishing his theory about evolution by means of Natural Selection.

After this incredible experience at Punta Suarez, we moved to a different part of the island, Gardner Bay. This place, based on my own experience, is the best locations for seeing thousands of Galápagos sea lions sun bathing along a white coralline beach. It is also a good spot to be introduced to the underwater life in Galápagos firsthand. Each day has its own highlight. After this amazing day, we were ready to go to bed and wake up tomorrow morning, for a new adventure on a different island.