Española Island
Española is overrun with wildlife. From the jetty to the very end of the trail, there is not a spot on this island without an animal on it. Sea lions, lava lizard, boobies, mockingbirds—everywhere you look there is something alive.
Being the oldest island, Española has several endemic species. For such a small island, there is a high rate of endemism. The mockingbirds are endemic to Española as are the lava lizards. Española is the only island where the waved albatross breed and of course, it is here that we find the most colorful marine iguanas. These striking reptiles steal everyone’s attention because of their exquisite colors (red and green) which become brighter towards the end of the cool season. The males develop this outstanding color to attract their mates.
In the afternoon our Captain, Fausto Hinojosa, repositioned the ship and anchored at Gardner Bay, where we focused on water activities. We swam from a beautiful white sand beach, went snorkeling in the deep and choppy water or, for those who wished to view the marine ecosystem without getting wet, took a ride in the glass bottom boat. Thought the conditions were a bit rough and the visibility not so great, it was fantastic to swim among large school of tropical fishes (pictured here is a giant damsel fish). Near the end of our snorkel outing some of us got to see an eastern pacific green sea turtle.
Española is overrun with wildlife. From the jetty to the very end of the trail, there is not a spot on this island without an animal on it. Sea lions, lava lizard, boobies, mockingbirds—everywhere you look there is something alive.
Being the oldest island, Española has several endemic species. For such a small island, there is a high rate of endemism. The mockingbirds are endemic to Española as are the lava lizards. Española is the only island where the waved albatross breed and of course, it is here that we find the most colorful marine iguanas. These striking reptiles steal everyone’s attention because of their exquisite colors (red and green) which become brighter towards the end of the cool season. The males develop this outstanding color to attract their mates.
In the afternoon our Captain, Fausto Hinojosa, repositioned the ship and anchored at Gardner Bay, where we focused on water activities. We swam from a beautiful white sand beach, went snorkeling in the deep and choppy water or, for those who wished to view the marine ecosystem without getting wet, took a ride in the glass bottom boat. Thought the conditions were a bit rough and the visibility not so great, it was fantastic to swim among large school of tropical fishes (pictured here is a giant damsel fish). Near the end of our snorkel outing some of us got to see an eastern pacific green sea turtle.
