Española is one of the oldest islands in the archipelago and is a spectacular place to start this amazing journey in the Galapagos Islands. Our first visit in the morning was to Gardner Bay. The beautiful white sand beach is a sea lion colony, where our guests had their first encounter with these creatures. We spent the morning walking among them, taking pictures, and swimming from the beach. We also started our snorkeling outings. The morning was beautiful, the sun was shining, and the water was clear. The sea lions’ playfulness made our day.
In the afternoon we visited Punta Suarez, where we enjoyed a beautiful hike along the eroded coastline of Española. The famous cliffs of Española are the only place on the archipelago where we can see the waved albatross. The hike was on a two-mile loop trail that took our groups through some spectacular wildlife. We observed a nesting colony of Nazca boobies, packs of marine iguanas basking over rocks under the sun, lots of shorebirds, and an amazing view of the flight take-off area for the waved albatross. It was a true privilege to see these birds on full display, dancing and courting each other. The day ended with a beautiful sunset behind the wavy horizon.
