Espanola Island
We had a thriving day in one of the most beautiful islands of the archipelago. It started along the cliffs of Gardner Islet with our last snorkeling outing of the week. Once again full of excitement, we had a blast of a time when several Galápagos sea lions decided to escort us during our underwater exploration. Several species of colorful tropical fish and a very large diamond stingray were spotted as well. Afterwards we all went to the most beautiful place on the archipelago, Gardner beach. This fantastic place allowed us to interact with the Galápagos sea lions. I am sure we all had a great encounter with one of the most graceful and curious marine mammals on Earth.
In the afternoon the ship was repositioned to the westernmost point of the island, Punta Suarez. What a place for wildlife! As soon as we set foot on shore we saw almost everything that could be seen on Espanola Island. The most colorful marine iguanas of the archipelago sunbathing, and blue-footed boobies were seen everywhere together with Nazca boobies along the steep cliffs. For many of us the highlight of the day was to observe one of the most emblematic bird species found in the Galápagos, the waved albatross. This magnificent marine bird is one of the few albatross species that nest in tropical regions. As the sun was setting we went back to the ship that has been home to all of us this week, the National Geographic Islander.
We had a thriving day in one of the most beautiful islands of the archipelago. It started along the cliffs of Gardner Islet with our last snorkeling outing of the week. Once again full of excitement, we had a blast of a time when several Galápagos sea lions decided to escort us during our underwater exploration. Several species of colorful tropical fish and a very large diamond stingray were spotted as well. Afterwards we all went to the most beautiful place on the archipelago, Gardner beach. This fantastic place allowed us to interact with the Galápagos sea lions. I am sure we all had a great encounter with one of the most graceful and curious marine mammals on Earth.
In the afternoon the ship was repositioned to the westernmost point of the island, Punta Suarez. What a place for wildlife! As soon as we set foot on shore we saw almost everything that could be seen on Espanola Island. The most colorful marine iguanas of the archipelago sunbathing, and blue-footed boobies were seen everywhere together with Nazca boobies along the steep cliffs. For many of us the highlight of the day was to observe one of the most emblematic bird species found in the Galápagos, the waved albatross. This magnificent marine bird is one of the few albatross species that nest in tropical regions. As the sun was setting we went back to the ship that has been home to all of us this week, the National Geographic Islander.
