A Day on Española Island

April 6: Day 14. This morning we are anchored in Gardner Bay off Española Island, the southernmost and one of the oldest islands in the archipelago, formed like Santa Fe Island approximately 4 million years ago.

Basking sea lions

Erosion over time resulted in the island being one of the flattest and having one of the lowest elevations. After breakfast with David and Linda, we have another wet landing on Gardner Bay’s beautiful white sand beach. This mile-long beach is the longest in the islands and its pristine beauty rivals the sugar-sand beaches we are used to at home on the Florida Panhandle’s Emerald Coast.

Beach on Espanola

The beach has numerous sea lions basking in the sun, seemingly oblivious to our presence. We spent our time walking the beach, swimming, and photographing the lazing sea lions and returned to the ship just before a mean-looking rainstorm blew over the island.

For the afternoon’s activities, the ship was repositioned to Punta Suarez—the westernmost point on Española Island. The sheer black cliffs of Punta Suarez make it a prime bird sanctuary and is the breeding ground for nearly the entire world’s population (25,000–30,000 adults) of the waved albatross.

Nursing sea lion

With the activities including a power walk (activity level: challenging), and adventure hike (activity level: challenging), and a nature walk (activity level: moderate on rocky terrain), and with Capt. Larry still not feeling 100%, we decided to stay on board.

A storm is brewing!

After pre-dinner cocktails, we attended a conservation lecture which described how the Galapagos tortoise population on Española was restored from near extinction. This was followed by a destination briefing and dinner with David and Linda.

 

Heading back to the ship