Española Island
Today we visited the southeastern-most island of the archipelago. Early in the morning, so as to avoid the hottest hours of the day, we disembarked at Punta Suarez. We witnessed a true explosion of wildlife here: sea lions, Española lava lizards, Española mocking birds, Nazca boobies and swallow-tailed gull were all over the place; not to mention the race of marine iguana that inhabits the southern sector of the islands, spectacular at this time of year with its red and turquoise coloration. Not only is the uniqueness of the animals astonishing, but the seeming indifference they show in our presence, giving us an eye-full then returning to whatever it was they were doing. This apparent tameness has convinced all previous visitors that this is a very unique place in the world.
In the afternoon we focussed on water activities, such as swimming from one of the most beautiful beaches of this archipelago (Gardner Bay). Our guests body surfed in the beach breakers, the size of which are rarely seen in this area. But we also went deep water snorkeling around Turtle Rock, which is a fantastic place. We saw numerous tropical fish as well as eagle rays swimming graceful through the water (pictured above); it was the highlight of the outing for many of us.
Today we visited the southeastern-most island of the archipelago. Early in the morning, so as to avoid the hottest hours of the day, we disembarked at Punta Suarez. We witnessed a true explosion of wildlife here: sea lions, Española lava lizards, Española mocking birds, Nazca boobies and swallow-tailed gull were all over the place; not to mention the race of marine iguana that inhabits the southern sector of the islands, spectacular at this time of year with its red and turquoise coloration. Not only is the uniqueness of the animals astonishing, but the seeming indifference they show in our presence, giving us an eye-full then returning to whatever it was they were doing. This apparent tameness has convinced all previous visitors that this is a very unique place in the world.
In the afternoon we focussed on water activities, such as swimming from one of the most beautiful beaches of this archipelago (Gardner Bay). Our guests body surfed in the beach breakers, the size of which are rarely seen in this area. But we also went deep water snorkeling around Turtle Rock, which is a fantastic place. We saw numerous tropical fish as well as eagle rays swimming graceful through the water (pictured above); it was the highlight of the outing for many of us.
