The first full day of our journey took us to Española Island, one of our oldest volcanic islands and the southernmost island in the archipelago.
As our morning started, we were surrounded by aquamarine water as we made a very early landing on a coralline beach. Populated by Galapagos sea lions, the beach has an abundance of wildlife, including endemic Española mockingbirds, Española lava lizards, and a plethora of brightly colored Sally Lightfoot crabs.
We spent the afternoon on the open ocean as we took Zodiac tours along the rugged coastline of southern Punta Suarez. We observed waved albatrosses flying elegantly as they returned to their nesting sites on the island. An emblematic species in the Galapagos, this species breeds exclusively on Española Island.
Nazca boobies returned from foraging offshore as red-billed tropicbirds took to their cliffside nests. An occasional Pacific green sea turtle rose to the surface for a breath of air as the sun settled into the horizon.
