Day 3, Isla Espanola

Espanola is in the southeastern quadrant in the Galapagos Archipelago. It is approximately 3.5 million years old, making it the oldest island in the archipelago. Since its inception on the original volcanic hotspot in the western sector, it has travelled over 100 miles. These two factors, remoteness from center and age, contribute to a high degree of endemism on Espanola.

Our day began with a 7 AM landing at Punta Suarez, where we had a fantastic walk, observing a colony of waved albatross mating and taking off from the cliffs near "Albatross Airport". The waved albatross is the largest bird on Galapagos, with a 7 foot wingspan. It can live up to 50 years. They go on long foraging trips of up to 2000 miles, and return to Galapagos after up to six months in the air. Partners re-bond, as these birds pair for life. Albatross mating involves a strange ritual of pecking, bobbing and weaving the head from side to side. When chicks are 6 months old, they take off with their parents, only returning 5-6 years later to breed.

There are said to be 12,000 breeding pairs of waved albatross, representing 90 % of the world's population, in Galapagos. There is only one other island where waved albatross are found, and that is Isla de la Plata off the Ecuadorean coast.

From the cliffs of Punta Suarez one can see all manner of seabirds, including Nazca boobies. redbilled tropicbirds, shearwaters, frigatebirds, swallow-tail gulls, Galapagos gulls, and even the Galapagos hawk. The Nazca booby is unusual in that the mother always hatches two eggs, three to six days apart, with the older one nudging the younger sibling out of the nest, ensuring its eventual death. This is a form of obligatory fledgling fratricide. As for the Galapagos hawk, there are said to be only 180 nesting pairs in the archipelago, which makes it quite vulnerable.

In the emerald waters below, there are Pacific green turtles and swarms of yellow-tail mullet. There is also quite an impressive blowhole at this location.

We snorkeled near Punta Suarez as well, getting right into caves along the rocky shoreline. In the afternoon we sailed to beautiful Gardner Bay, where we were free to walk by ourselves on the white sandy beach. Following this we had another snorkel. That night, Tuesday, we cruised to Floreana Island.