Our expedition continued today as we visited one of the most fascinating Islands of the Galapagos archipelago, Española Island. This island has a spectacular combination of splendorous landscapes and a fantastic display of wildlife.
After we had a briefing on snorkeling and distributed snorkeling gear we were ready to explore the underwater world. Experienced snorkelers went to Gardner Islet to practice deep water snorkeling. The conditions were very good with crystalline water, great visibility, and a very pleasant water temperature. Once in the water a completely charming world was revealed as fish of many different colors swam all around us and some playful Galapagos sea lions moved among their observers. The whole outing made us feel as if we were inside a fish tank. Those less experienced snorkelers tested their gear and skills at the white coralline beach of Gardner Bay.
At Gardner Bay beach we were surrounded by a big Galapagos sea lion colony. Sea lions of many different sizes and ages were seen basking on the white coral sand allowing us to enjoy some time with them, while the always curious Española Mockingbirds came close to us to inspect everything we carried with us.
Once back on board at midday and after experiencing first-hand the fearless behavior of the Galapagos fauna, we enjoyed a delightful Ecuadorian buffet lunch as we sailed to our next destination, Punta Suarez.
Punta Suarez is one of the richest wildlife locations in Galápagos, where marine iguanas showing green and red colors were basking on the rocky shorelines like sculpted dragons, among dozens of young sea lions playing like kindergarten kids. Further along the trail we found Nazca boobies (some displaying courtship behaviors others incubating eggs or taking care of the very young offspring) among several lava lizards, mockingbirds, and Darwin's finches which are unique here.
The main attraction was definitely the beautiful Waved albatross that put on a wonderful show as we observed them jumping off high cliffs, grooming and flying around, carrying on with their lives without a care.
We finally came back onboard accompanied by a splendid sunset. We all had the feeling that we were privileged to spend a whole day in this paradise that showed us the beauty of life.
