Hood Island
Today was our first full day in Galapagos, and we spent it exploring two visitor sites: Punta Suarez in the morning and Gardner Bay in the afternoon. Both places are located on Española, or Hood Island, which is the oldest island in this oceanic, volcanic archipelago. At 08:00 am we disembarked on a small cement dock and we had a superb outing! During the hike we enjoyed close contact with many different species of birds and animals. There were sea lions, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, Nazca boobies and waved albatrosses with newly hatched chicks.
In the afternoon we focused on water activities and had a deep-water snorkeling option for those with experience, or a glass bottom boat ride for those wishing to enjoy the under water ecosystem without getting wet at all. Afterwards we swam and snorkeled from one of the most beautiful beaches in the islands.
Today’s deep-water snorkel outing around Turtle Rock was the best it could have been! We swam among large schools of tropical fishes, sea turtles, and sea stars. We even saw a few sharks. Pictured here is the harmless and beautiful white-tipped reef shark. They inhabit rocky reefs and boulder-strewn slopes, and often lie motionless during the day, on sandy bottoms near rocky outcroppings. At night they feed primarily on reef fishes, octopuses and crustaceans.
Today was our first full day in Galapagos, and we spent it exploring two visitor sites: Punta Suarez in the morning and Gardner Bay in the afternoon. Both places are located on Española, or Hood Island, which is the oldest island in this oceanic, volcanic archipelago. At 08:00 am we disembarked on a small cement dock and we had a superb outing! During the hike we enjoyed close contact with many different species of birds and animals. There were sea lions, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, Nazca boobies and waved albatrosses with newly hatched chicks.
In the afternoon we focused on water activities and had a deep-water snorkeling option for those with experience, or a glass bottom boat ride for those wishing to enjoy the under water ecosystem without getting wet at all. Afterwards we swam and snorkeled from one of the most beautiful beaches in the islands.
Today’s deep-water snorkel outing around Turtle Rock was the best it could have been! We swam among large schools of tropical fishes, sea turtles, and sea stars. We even saw a few sharks. Pictured here is the harmless and beautiful white-tipped reef shark. They inhabit rocky reefs and boulder-strewn slopes, and often lie motionless during the day, on sandy bottoms near rocky outcroppings. At night they feed primarily on reef fishes, octopuses and crustaceans.
