Española Island
This Island is truly the best place to understand the adaptive radiation of species, which means some of this animals are found only here and nowhere else in the whole archipelago. All these species came from outside; here they changed and were able to colonize other Islands of the archipelago as well. Mockingbirds are probably the best example of this natural process: there are four different kinds, three of which we will be able to see as we explore the archipelago.
Charles Darwin suggested in 1835 that the Galápagos fauna and flora came from the closet land mass, South America, and here they evolved into completely different species from their ancestors: Española mockingbirds, Española marine iguanas, waved albatross, Española lava lizards and many other species are strong evidence of such an amazing thought.
This was our second day exploring the oldest islands in Galápagos and we started our activities at Gardener Bay: some of our guests had the opportunity to see the Galápagos marine life from our glass-bottom boat; some went to a white sandy beach covered with Galápagos sea lions; others preferred to explore the geology of Española from kayaks; and last but not least, the snorkelers spent time with both cold-water and tropical fishes, and the playful Galápagos sea lions.
By the afternoon we were in a different location know as Suarez Point, and we had a very intense walk over volcanic boulders. The reward was spectacular, because we spotted every single species we had hoped to see on our hike: blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, red-billed tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls, hawks, finches and many more.
On our way back we saw one of the most elusive species: the giant Galápagos centipede, which is endemic as well.
All of our guests are looking forward to more adventures tomorrow.
