Española Island
It’s Sunday morning, and sun is shining! We spend the day on Española Island. This barren looking place is an astonishing sea bird settlement. At the time of landing a group of sea lions greeted us as they played at the surf on the rocky reefs.
The shore is teeming with life: Sally Lightfoot crabs nibble the green seaweeds on the rocky coastline, herons and mocking birds search around the rocks for small crabs for breakfast. Among the big boulders you can find hordes of marine iguanas, still slumbering and waiting for more sunshine in order to reach their optimum body temperature for heading off into the surf to forage on the abundant seaweeds. All this was just the beginning of an extraordinary day.
We continued to walk along the island’s shore until we reached the marvelous western cliffs covered in seabirds of several types. At the edge of the cliffs you can find thousands of nazca boobies and swallow tailed gulls; petrels and waved albatrosses skimming the water nearby, tropic birds displayed their elegant thin tails gliding by the cliffs advertising with their song that is time to breed.
The water is a little chilly, therefore rich in nutrients; fish are abundant, and sea birds are ready for the bounty. This wasn’t all Española had to offer: blue-footed boobies were the actual highlight of the place, some of them dancing, whistling and their chicks were also common.
In the afternoon we disembarked at Gardner bay on the north side of the island. The white beach with Galápagos hawks and dotted with playful sea lions was a clear indication of being in wonderland.
The tropical fish and the sea lions at the snorkeling site were the perfect detail to end an amazing day. Looking forward to see Floreana Island.
It’s Sunday morning, and sun is shining! We spend the day on Española Island. This barren looking place is an astonishing sea bird settlement. At the time of landing a group of sea lions greeted us as they played at the surf on the rocky reefs.
The shore is teeming with life: Sally Lightfoot crabs nibble the green seaweeds on the rocky coastline, herons and mocking birds search around the rocks for small crabs for breakfast. Among the big boulders you can find hordes of marine iguanas, still slumbering and waiting for more sunshine in order to reach their optimum body temperature for heading off into the surf to forage on the abundant seaweeds. All this was just the beginning of an extraordinary day.
We continued to walk along the island’s shore until we reached the marvelous western cliffs covered in seabirds of several types. At the edge of the cliffs you can find thousands of nazca boobies and swallow tailed gulls; petrels and waved albatrosses skimming the water nearby, tropic birds displayed their elegant thin tails gliding by the cliffs advertising with their song that is time to breed.
The water is a little chilly, therefore rich in nutrients; fish are abundant, and sea birds are ready for the bounty. This wasn’t all Española had to offer: blue-footed boobies were the actual highlight of the place, some of them dancing, whistling and their chicks were also common.
In the afternoon we disembarked at Gardner bay on the north side of the island. The white beach with Galápagos hawks and dotted with playful sea lions was a clear indication of being in wonderland.
The tropical fish and the sea lions at the snorkeling site were the perfect detail to end an amazing day. Looking forward to see Floreana Island.
