Day Eight, Espanola Island

Day eight, the official last day of the cruise. I think we were all a little wistful at the idea of our paradise cruise ending, but I can't say enough about the ability of Lindblad Expeditions to keep upping the ante as far as making each day's experience more incredible than the last. In case I haven't already stated this, Lindblad Expeditions is DEFINITELY the way to go if you ever want to go on an adventure cruise. They have teamed up with National Geographic, and the experience is top notch! The entire cruise was geared towards preservation and conservation, and Lindblad donates a portion of profits to the Darwin Research Station to encourage conservation among the islands inhabitants.

Espanola is the south-easternmost island of the Galapagos. This means it is it is the oldest island in the archipelago, and it harbors large numbers of endemic species. Our morning expedition was a snorkeling expedition along the small offshore islet of Gardner. Again, great snorkeling pictures to follow!

In the afternoon we went to the westernmost point of Espanola. The hike was through boulders, shrubbery and shoreline of Punta Suarez. We were greeted by a sea lion who had no intention of moving out of our way, lava lizards, iguanas galore, and many sea lions, including a baby following mom around while his placenta was still attached! After awhile the trail reaches the cliff edge were many birds nest.

Another Christmas card picture!

Entrance sign to Punta Suarez.
Immediately upon our arrival, before we had gotten off the paved dry dock, we encountered this brilliantly colored iguana.
And his close up portrait!

Next up was the mockingbird, who seemed determined that we were going to feed him. He was mistaken! Apparently some cruises allow their guests to feed the animals, although it is strictly forbidden by the Park. Lindblad was very explicit that we were not allowed to feed animals, because it is not in the best interests of maintaining the balance of nature.

The Espanola Lava lizard, also curious as to what we might be bringing.

And one of his more shy fellow brethren.

The iguanas pile up together for warmth. They create quite a sight!

Here is a momma sea lion with the baby keeping up. This was the baby sea lion that was still attached to his placenta. Talk about newborn!

See the little trail behind him?

Heron

Nazca boobies in a courting dance

Nazca booby nesting on an egg

Blue boobies...I kept seeking the perfect shot!

These were two baby blue boobies....no blue feet yet!

The adult albatross on the nest

And a juvenile albatross waiting on his parents

Galapagos hawk

And the scenery! You could forget about the birds and still be completely amazed! This shoreline reminded us of Maine.

There is a blowhole right there off the cliffs...

There are thousands of birds nesting along these cliffs.

The white areas are caused by the build up of bird poop

And another glorious sunset....

The last evening was quite a delight, some wore Halloween costumes, others came as they were. Here was our particular table for the evening. Mark, Jane, Babette, Dorcas, and Barb.

Some of our fellow cruise mates

The little lady's name was Joan. She has been to Anarctica, the Arctic, Russia, and many other places I can't even remember. She was very arthritic, but when it came time to snorkel, she was the first one in and the last one out!

After dinner that evening, we went up to the top deck to hang out in the gorgeous night. As we were talking a bird came flying by that we initially thought was a gull. After it landed and we got a better look at it we realized it was a short eared owl! I grabbed my camera and decided that rules or not, I was going to use a flash to get a picture of this guy! If you don't know owls are very shy and reclusive, and are very rarely seen. This bird was about two feet from Mark, sitting on the boat railing and just hanging out with us. For some unknown reason I couldn't get my camera to take the picture although I tried desperately until he flew off. It occurred to me on the flight home that I was too close to the owl for the telephoto lens to work. I missed the picture of a lifetime because the subject was actually TOO close! Only in the Galapagos....