We started our trip by visiting the oldest Island of the archipelago: Española or Hood Island. This little landmass is situated at the easternmost point of the Galapagos Map.
Our first stop was Gardner Bay and Gardner Islet. We started the day with a beautiful white sandy beach, home of several Galapagos Sea lions… We enjoyed a bright, sunny day while Hood Mockingbirds came to welcome us.
Some of us went deep water snorkeling, some went to practice snorkeling from the beach, but all of us had the delight of swimming with playful sea lions.
In the afternoon, we changed our location on the island to disembark in Punta Suarez. This rocky walk took us to the only nesting colony in the world of the Waved Albatrosses.
We started by spotting some albatross chicks. These huge birds are getting ready for their first migration. Soon the weather of the islands will become warmer, and the albatross will have to leave and head south, in order to follow the cold waters of Humboldt Current.
We passed by a very interesting geological formation known as the blowhole! We walked among marine iguanas, and we crossed several colonies of Nazca boobies: the only endemic booby to the Galapagos Islands.
Finally we arrived at the cliff, from where we enjoyed of a majestic view. While we were getting ready to start our way back, we suddenly saw an adult albatross walking in our direction. We stood still while this curious bird walked among us, and then jumped off the cliff, right in front of our camera lenses… What a highlight!
We came back at sunset time, thinking about that albatross. It will fly for miles and miles, and after months, it will come back to nest again in this little landmass in the Pacific Ocean: Española.
