Española Island
When Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos in 1835 he noted: “Most of the organic productions are aboriginal creations, found nowhere else; there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands.”
Today we visited an island with many unique species, not just to the Galápagos but for the island itself. Española is the oldest island of the archipelago. This time has allowed the species to adapt to the distinctive conditions of the place, evolving into species found nowhere else but on Española.
This morning our ship was anchored near the northeastern side of the island. Our visitor site, Gardner Bay, is a beautiful white coralline beach covered with sea lions. The turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean made the sand look even whiter! This was our first chance to explore the underwater world of the Galápagos! We had activities for every request: kayaking, snorkeling and the glass-bottom boat. At the end of every activity we all went to the beach where we were able to walk through hundreds of sleeping sea lions. Observing these animals is a mixture of fun and cute moments… baby sea lions are in their best time!
In the afternoon we repositioned at the western side of the island: Punta Suarez. From the first steps to the end of the walk, nature captured us. Just at the disembarkation we found several marine iguanas sunbathing. This is an endemic subspecies to Española. Their particular colors, red and turquoise in matting season, have given them the nickname of Christmas iguanas.
The lava lizards are a unique species as well; they are the largest and most colorful of the archipelago. Española mocking birds were our local guides, singing during the whole visit. We walked through colonies of blue-footed and Nazca boobies. But I have to say the reward for all of us were the waved albatross that were waiting for us at the end of the trail. What beautiful birds albatross are! We found them nesting and in their courtship. We enjoyed watching them flying or jumping off the cliff. This little rock in the middle of the Pacific is the only island in the world where this species nests and today we shared the area with them.
Darwin was a great observer; about his visit he wrote as well: “The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention.” Certainly Española got all our attention today!
