The oldest and at the same time the southeastern-most formation of the chain, Hood or Española, is interesting because species here have had more time in isolation and are a bit different than the ones from the other islands.
As it is our first full day onboard, everybody is very excited about discovering this place. We start with snorkeling around Gardener Islet, where there were lots of tropical fish in the area and the colors of the walls with its micro life was very interesting, The calm conditions and the beautiful aquamarine color of the ocean transported us to the marine world of the Galapagos.
Later in the morning we went to the beach. The Mocking birds, probably one of the most intelligent land birds on these islands, welcomed us as we landed. They are extremely curious and wanted to find out about us as we wanted to learn more about them. They know that we humans carry fresh water with us, so they come to greet us trying to get an easy drink. A couple of hundred sea lions, which from the distance looked like rocks, were lying on the beach waiting for the sun to come out and warm them up, so they could start getting into the water to cool down. Females nursing babies not only posed for pictures, but got up close to look at us, as if pretending we were also part of their group.
Our afternoon visit to Punta Suarez, with its colorful iguanas and lava lizards, had us talking again about their capabilities to make it in very harsh, distant lands. Waved Albatross immature babies were exercising their wings, realizing it is about time to jump off the cliffs and become independent. We also observed Nazca boobies with babies, swallow tail gulls and doves.
For the animal species, tomorrow will just be another day, but for us we leave the island at sunset knowing that this a very unique place that will stay with us for a long time.
