Española Island
Excited was the feeling of some, eager were some others, and a few younger guests upon disembarkation to Española Island had only one reaction: “Early!”
Sea lions swirling in the surf greeted us upon our arrival at Punta Suarez. Sally Lightfoot crabs and sunbathing marine iguanas with bright red streaking down their scaly skin were just behind.
Practicing our boulder-hopping prowess, we proceeded onward to the phenomenal coastline with pounding waves and, of course, the picturesque blowhole.
Albatrosses of the waved variety amused us with courtship dances, then, one after another, bounded from astonishing cliffs with their massive eight-foot wingspan from a spot well known by all as the “Albatross Airport.”
Nice views of Nazca boobies squawked all along our trail. Nesting blue-footed boobies were much less noisy. Nevertheless the Hood mockingbirds made more than enough ruckus to compensate.
Only here on Española could we be so overwhelmed by the onslaught on airborne wildlife. Darwin’s finches, red-billed tropic-birds, yellow-crowned night herons, and swallow-tailed gulls; just to mention a few, though certainly not to be omitted is the top predator of the islands, the Galápagos hawk.
Lava lizards on Española are by far the largest species, one of several living things endemic not only to Galápagos, but also just to this island specifically.
A morning enthusiastically appreciated by all to say the very least. To the question of quality most answers were along the lines of “Amazing,” or “Astounding,” but of course the young and young-at-heart gave a reaction of their own: “Awesome!”
Excited was the feeling of some, eager were some others, and a few younger guests upon disembarkation to Española Island had only one reaction: “Early!”
Sea lions swirling in the surf greeted us upon our arrival at Punta Suarez. Sally Lightfoot crabs and sunbathing marine iguanas with bright red streaking down their scaly skin were just behind.
Practicing our boulder-hopping prowess, we proceeded onward to the phenomenal coastline with pounding waves and, of course, the picturesque blowhole.
Albatrosses of the waved variety amused us with courtship dances, then, one after another, bounded from astonishing cliffs with their massive eight-foot wingspan from a spot well known by all as the “Albatross Airport.”
Nice views of Nazca boobies squawked all along our trail. Nesting blue-footed boobies were much less noisy. Nevertheless the Hood mockingbirds made more than enough ruckus to compensate.
Only here on Española could we be so overwhelmed by the onslaught on airborne wildlife. Darwin’s finches, red-billed tropic-birds, yellow-crowned night herons, and swallow-tailed gulls; just to mention a few, though certainly not to be omitted is the top predator of the islands, the Galápagos hawk.
Lava lizards on Española are by far the largest species, one of several living things endemic not only to Galápagos, but also just to this island specifically.
A morning enthusiastically appreciated by all to say the very least. To the question of quality most answers were along the lines of “Amazing,” or “Astounding,” but of course the young and young-at-heart gave a reaction of their own: “Awesome!”
