Española Island
For the last day in the Galápagos, our expedition took us to the oldest island of the archipelago, Española. This island is situated on the eastern side of the islands. As we approached we could see the top of a huge volcano which is already sinking into the ocean.
Early in the morning we had some people kayaking before breakfast. Later we went snorkeling on the shores of Gardner Islet. Sea lions came to play with our group. We saw some new species of fish, such as the Guinean puffer fish, the Giant Hawk Fish and the Flag Cabrilla. The rest of the morning took place on Gardner Bay, a white coralline beach occupied by hundreds of sleepy sea lions.
The afternoon still had surprises for us. We hiked on Punta Suarez, which is one of the highlights of the week. There were many colonies of Nazca Bobbies, Blue footed Bobbies, and Swallow tailed gulls. Suddenly very close to the trail there were two beautiful dark black eyes looking at us! The waved albatrosses! We entered the nesting area of these birds. There were many doing their courtship and we even saw some mating.
What a way of ending this expedition! Once again we can think about the islands and be sure the Galápagos will never leave us.
For the last day in the Galápagos, our expedition took us to the oldest island of the archipelago, Española. This island is situated on the eastern side of the islands. As we approached we could see the top of a huge volcano which is already sinking into the ocean.
Early in the morning we had some people kayaking before breakfast. Later we went snorkeling on the shores of Gardner Islet. Sea lions came to play with our group. We saw some new species of fish, such as the Guinean puffer fish, the Giant Hawk Fish and the Flag Cabrilla. The rest of the morning took place on Gardner Bay, a white coralline beach occupied by hundreds of sleepy sea lions.
The afternoon still had surprises for us. We hiked on Punta Suarez, which is one of the highlights of the week. There were many colonies of Nazca Bobbies, Blue footed Bobbies, and Swallow tailed gulls. Suddenly very close to the trail there were two beautiful dark black eyes looking at us! The waved albatrosses! We entered the nesting area of these birds. There were many doing their courtship and we even saw some mating.
What a way of ending this expedition! Once again we can think about the islands and be sure the Galápagos will never leave us.
