Espanola Island
Espanola is the southernmost island in the Galápagos archipelago. It constitutes one of the oldest islands with an estimated age of 3.2 million years old, therefore is quite eroded and very flat.
We started our activities today with a walk on Punta Suarez, at the eastern part of Espanola Island. This is a fascinating visitor’s site due to the great variety of wildlife that we could encounter here. When we landed on the island, we were nicely surprised by the clarity of the beautiful aquamarine color of the water, and almost right away, juvenile sea lions started to play in the near by shore, while many more were just basking on the sandy beach. These creatures were perhaps the favorite photography subject for the most of our guests.
We also found many marine iguanas, which are known to be the only sea-going lizard in the whole world. The marine iguanas of this particular island are the most colorful of the seven species we find spread throughout the archipelago. Even better, they reveal a stunning green and red coloration during this time of the year because of the breeding season. Many of the marine iguanas were still sleeping on the higher grounds of the beach or on top of the lava rocks. These are their usual morning locations, since they try to warm their bodies up before they head to the ocean for foraging.
Later in the walk, we observed a large colony of Nazca boobies located by the cliffs of the island. Nazca boobies are also in the middle of their breeding cycle. We observed a big array of sizes and ages; this included the very small (and almost naked) chicks, medium size fluffy ones, and of course some of the very big downy chicks.
As we continued with our walk, we finally saw the waved albatross, which was attempting to land on the rocky terrain of Espanola and eventually did it! Not too far from where we were standing, a young albatross was almost ready to fly. Waved albatrosses have chosen this island as their only home in the entire world, partly because it offers a very convenient landing site and a platform (the cliff side) for the taking off.
Most of the albatrosses are already gone by this time of the year because of the unbearable hit in the inner land, but we considered ourselves very lucky to see, perhaps, the last ones of the season.
For the afternoon, we had different activities. Some of our guests went to snorkel to enjoy the fascinating underwater life of the Galápagos. Some others went for a stroll on the beautiful white sandy beach, which is home for many sea lions. We also enjoyed some other activities, including the glass bottom boat outings and the kayaks.
In the end, there was a little bit (or a lot) for everyone to experience in the fascinating islands of the Galápagos. What a fantastic day!
Espanola is the southernmost island in the Galápagos archipelago. It constitutes one of the oldest islands with an estimated age of 3.2 million years old, therefore is quite eroded and very flat.
We started our activities today with a walk on Punta Suarez, at the eastern part of Espanola Island. This is a fascinating visitor’s site due to the great variety of wildlife that we could encounter here. When we landed on the island, we were nicely surprised by the clarity of the beautiful aquamarine color of the water, and almost right away, juvenile sea lions started to play in the near by shore, while many more were just basking on the sandy beach. These creatures were perhaps the favorite photography subject for the most of our guests.
We also found many marine iguanas, which are known to be the only sea-going lizard in the whole world. The marine iguanas of this particular island are the most colorful of the seven species we find spread throughout the archipelago. Even better, they reveal a stunning green and red coloration during this time of the year because of the breeding season. Many of the marine iguanas were still sleeping on the higher grounds of the beach or on top of the lava rocks. These are their usual morning locations, since they try to warm their bodies up before they head to the ocean for foraging.
Later in the walk, we observed a large colony of Nazca boobies located by the cliffs of the island. Nazca boobies are also in the middle of their breeding cycle. We observed a big array of sizes and ages; this included the very small (and almost naked) chicks, medium size fluffy ones, and of course some of the very big downy chicks.
As we continued with our walk, we finally saw the waved albatross, which was attempting to land on the rocky terrain of Espanola and eventually did it! Not too far from where we were standing, a young albatross was almost ready to fly. Waved albatrosses have chosen this island as their only home in the entire world, partly because it offers a very convenient landing site and a platform (the cliff side) for the taking off.
Most of the albatrosses are already gone by this time of the year because of the unbearable hit in the inner land, but we considered ourselves very lucky to see, perhaps, the last ones of the season.
For the afternoon, we had different activities. Some of our guests went to snorkel to enjoy the fascinating underwater life of the Galápagos. Some others went for a stroll on the beautiful white sandy beach, which is home for many sea lions. We also enjoyed some other activities, including the glass bottom boat outings and the kayaks.
In the end, there was a little bit (or a lot) for everyone to experience in the fascinating islands of the Galápagos. What a fantastic day!
