Española Island, formerly known as Hood Island, is located in the southeastern corner of the archipelago. This island has two different visitor sites—Gardner Beach with crystalline turquoise water and white sand, and Punta Suarez on the northwest tip of the island.
This morning we visited Gardner Bay, a fantastic location for our first deep water snorkel, along the cliffs of Gardner Islet. The water temperature was very pleasant, around 79 degrees fahrenheit, and visibility was excellent. Lots of different fish species were seen, such as yellow tail razors, damsel fish, sergeant majors and many types of parrot fish, but as always, the stars in the water were the Galapagos sea lions. They were very playful today, swimming around our guests and giving them one of the best experience of a lifetime!
While many of us went for the deep water snorkel, others chose to go to the beach to try an easier snorkeling option, and also had a fantastic experience. The beach of Gardner Bay is a beautiful white coral beach, with a colony of friendly sea lions. After the snorkeling activities, some went of their first kayaking outing of the week, along the incredible rusted volcanic cliffs of Espanola, while the rest of the group walked along the beach or just relaxed among the sea lions.
In the afternoon, we made a dry landing at Punta Suarez, one of the richest wildlife locations in Galapagos. Sea lions and marine iguanas were there waiting for us when we stepped ashore, and further along the trail we found our first blue-footed boobies, as well as many Nazca boobies, waved albatrosses, and other unique sea birds. While admiring these fascinating animals, we also took notice of the smaller denizens of this island, such as the lava lizards, mockingbirds and Darwin's finches, which are uniquely found here on Española Island.
This is the world that Charles Darwin visited in 1835, which shaped evolutionary science forever by inspiring his then novel concept of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Our exploration of this incredible place is only just beginning!
