By the time our guests woke up, the National Geographic Islander was already anchored at Gardner Bay on Española Island. The day started with a beautiful sunrise and by 6:15 am we had a group of guests going on a kayak expedition. Everyone that joined this outing had a great time as they got the chance to get really close to a number of baby sea lions that were playing by the shoreline.
After breakfast our guests had a snorkeling safety talk and got their snorkel gear from the expedition staff. Once our guests had their gear they went on a snorkeling outing to explore the cliffs of Gardner Islet. This was a really fun experience for everybody since we saw many different species of fish. We saw parrot fish, creole fish, Mexican hogfish, giant hawk fish and schools of black striped snapper. After snorkeling everybody got back onboard and changed very quickly because we still had time to go to the beach on Gardner Bay and observed a good size colony of Galapagos sea lions. It was then time for lunch so we headed back onboard.
The action began again at 3:30 pm at Punta Suarez, Española Island. After a dry landing everybody went on a hike that lasted until sunset. The highlights of this afternoon were the Galapagos marine iguanas and different species of seabirds that we found. First, at the landing site, we found a good number of marine iguanas that were basking on the rocks after feeding in the ocean. Once on the trail we found a flock of waved albatrosses that were performing a complicated and fun courtship dance. We also saw swallow tailed gulls, nazca boobies and red billed tropic birds. Of course, our guests had the chance to learn about the natural history of all these species from the Naturalists of the National Geographic Islander. By 6:15 pm everybody got back onboard and everybody united at the main lounge for snacks and drinks.
