Early in the morning we kayaked along the coast of Gardner Bay on the east side of Española Island. One of the oldest eroded volcanoes (formed more than 4 million years ago), this island is full of wildlife. Some species are endemic only here, like the mockingbird, saddleback giant tortoises, and waved albatrosses. Here we also find the largest lava lizards and the most colorful marine iguanas.
After kayaking we explored an astonishing beach that has a colony of sea lions — we swam and played among these adorable creatures. Some of our guests went to snorkel in deep waters along the coast of Gardner Islet, where we saw many marine turtles, whitetip reef sharks, rays, and playful sea lions everywhere.
In the afternoon we moved to Punta Suarez. This site is considered the jewel of the crown, because as soon as you walk a few yards, you see many varieties of animals with every single step you take. We had a glorious time exploring that amazing place. We found albatrosses mating, dancing, and feeding their babies. We encountered blue-footed boobies nesting just a foot from our trail, hawks hovering in the air, Nazca boobies nesting, marine iguanas basking, and many finches getting seeds to eat. The sunset was spectacular — a great finale for such an amazing day in this paradise.
