We started with a snorkeling trip to Gardener Islet where I was able to swim with more sea turtles and sea lions.  I guess I didn’t close my waterproof camera properly because water got in the camera. The camera died so no more water pictures, but my SD card survived thank goodness.

This was followed by a trip to another lovely sandy beach called Gardener Bay. We were able to swim with more sea lions there and we saw a couple other birds that we hadn’t seen before.  I really liked checking out some bones (I think the guide said that they were wale bones).

The big highlight of the day was going to Puerto Suarez (also on Espanola).  As soon as we disembarked we noticed a Galapagos Hawk hanging out next to a lighthouse with an iguana.

We saw tons of iguanas, Nazca Boobies (the white birds pictured below), sea lions, and a few lava lizards, but the big surprise was being able to see Waved Albatrosses flying and a baby albatross hanging out at a nesting sight.

Sadly, my DSLR battery died on this hike so I had to rely on my iPhone for most of the hike around the island.

You can click on any of the pictures below to make them larger.

Espanola Island is tied with Seymour Norte for the island where I saw the most animal diversity.  The only downside are the rocks everywhere.  A lady twisted her ankle a little bit, and it was slow going for the older folks on the hike.  I was happily hopping rock to rock in my Chacos, I love those sandals!