Today we explored two parts of Espanola Island, Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay. Espanola is one of the oldest islands in the Galapagos archipelago and its volcanic origin is obvious by the kinds of rocks that we found there. The marine iguanas here are a different species than the marine iguanas we saw on North Seymour Island. Instead of being jet black they have have red and and green coloration. Today we also saw our first Nazca boobies (including chicks of various ages) and got a good sighting of the one hawk species that is found on the Galapagos.
After lunch and a short lecture by our on-board National Geographic explorer, Sylvia Earle, we jumped on the Zodiacs and headed to the beautiful white beach of Gardner Bay where we did some snorkeling. The water wasn't as calm as it had been earlier in the day but it was still fun and we got a chance to see some beautiful fish.
Weather:
Sunny: 80-85 F; winds variable
Water temperature: 70 F
Birds:
Elliot's Storm petral
Red-billed tropic bird
Galapagos dove
Espanola mockingbird
Cactus finch
Warbler finch
Nazca booby
Magnificent frigate bird
Lava heron
Yellow-crowned night heron
American oystercatcher
Galapagos hawk
Mammals:
Galapagos sea lions
Other cool things:
Espanola marine iguanas
Sally lightfoot crabs
Pacific green sea turtle
Hermit crab
Pencil-spinned sea urchin
Numerous fish which I haven’t had time to look up yet
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