Española Island
Early risers had a relaxing kayaking experience around Gardner Islet. Sea turtles, sea lions and sea birds kept us busy as we paddled around the coast. Española Island, the southeastern-most and the oldest island in the archipelago, was a perfect way to end our trip on National Geographic Islander around this enchanted archipelago.
After breakfast, it seemed like no one wanted to waste any time. We snorkeled in crystal clear waters where we saw thousands of cardinal fish that covered the entire wall of our snorkeling site. Beach goers saw hundreds of sea lions. Females and babies nursing kept us busy as we took a few more pictures of them.
Mocking birds were no exception to the things we saw today. This curious little bird is the only one out of the four endemic species that Darwin did not see while visiting the islands… so we had to talk about them.
After lunch, we motored west to Punta Suarez. The fun started right at the landing site. Colorful iguanas and lava lizards had us talking about how female lizards have a red head when they are gravid. A new born baby that still had the umbilical cord attached to its stomach kept mom busy chasing him around. Blue-footed boobies with babies almost as big as their parents welcomed us on the trail. Baby sea lions stole the show until we found albatross chicks; they are so ugly that they are cute. Some of them will have wings strong enough to leave the island by the end of the year. We saw Nazca booby chicks that were still very white with fluffy cheeks, but protection was no longer necessary as they had also reached their parents size.
We left Punta Suarez behind, knowing that for the animals we saw, tomorrow will just be another day, but for us the Galápagos was an experience that has changed our lives!
