Located in the southeastern corner of the Galápagos Archipelago, Española is one of the oldest islands. A former shield volcano, it has now been eroded to a flattened island with tall cliffs on its southern side. It is in the path of the South Equatorial Current and its highly productive, cold waters, therefore the sea life thrives here. Española is the home to various marine seabird colonies, like the elegant Nazca boobies, the klepto-parasitic great and magnificent frigate birds, the nocturnal swallow-tailed gull and the unique waved albatross. Although still very early into their breeding season, we were very fortunate to witness the return of the first albatrosses today, which have spent approximately three months in the open seas of the Southern Pacific ocean.
10/4/2024
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Genovesa Island
With coffee in hand, I stepped out onto the front balcony of the lounge to see what was going on. We had just entered Darwin’s Bay, dropped anchor, and the juvenile red-footed boobies had found the ship and were flying around us on an inspection tour. The rest of the day continued with discoveries of all kinds. An early morning inversion layer (locally known as “garúa”) had fallen and dampened the environment with much desired drops of fresh water, although the chicks of various species didn’t appear terribly pleased in having wet feathers. On our return, the same bedraggled individuals looked smooth, sleek and dry once the sun had come out. The Galapagos National Park has only two sites for visitors, both spectacular, both well worth a slow walk among the palo santo trees to see the great frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, Galapagos doves, Darwin’s finches, short-eared owls, and storm petrels. Snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding along the base of the cliffs of Darwin’s Bay followed. There’s nothing quite like this island anywhere in the world.
