Española
The southernmost island in the archipelago—is often touted as a
favorite among visitors due to its abundance and diversity of wildlife.
Española is also the only island to harbor the waved albatross, the
largest bird in the Galápagos, a vocal variety of mockingbird, and the
most colorful marine iguanas in the archipelago.
Punta Suarez on the western side of the island is the most popular
visitor site. The 2-km trail begins at a white-sand beach where sea
lions and marine iguanas congregate. The trail continues along the
coastline, passing colonies of blue-footed and Nazca boobies nesting on
the cliffs, a finch or two flitting on the ground, and red-billed
tropicbirds flying offshore. Meanwhile, lava lizards and Hood
mockingbirds dart around visitors' feet. Further along the trail are a
marine iguana nesting site, the “airport” where waved albatrosses take
off and land, and a blowhole, where waves passing through a slit in the
rocky coastline force water to spout into the air.
Gardner Bay is a beautiful, white-sand beach at the east end of
Española, where visitors can nap next to sea lions, swim (carefully) in
the powerful surf, or snorkel around an offshore island. Visitors that
walk down the beach to the rocky limits may see marine iguanas or, if
arriving near the end of the year (October-December), sea turtles
mating.
The wildlife you will see on your Galapagos tour are completely
unaffected by Galapagos travel visitors . For this reason, there is a
restricted number of visitors permitted into the Galapagos each year, as
part of a joint effort to protect the delicate environmental and ecological
equilibrium. The most sensible method of Galapagos travel is via our cruise
ships. The M/V Galapagos Legend provides 3 night, 4 night and 7 night
cruises to select from, which can also be easily merged with Galapagos
travel visits to neighboring South American locations