This morning we woke up at Espanola Island, one of the oldest in the Galapagos archipelago. We had an incredible early morning activity, kayaking. It is so nice to observe the animals so close in their pristine environment and it is good exercise too! After breakfast our guests attended a briefing about safety and Instructions for snorkeling and right afterwards they got their snorkeling gear and they were ready for the next adventure!  The next visitor site is known as Gardner Bay, the white sandy beach with turquoise colored waters and black basaltic rocks were seen in the distance and as we got closer it was breath taking. Several of our guests took the opportunity to snorkel off the beach, a good place to practice, while the majority went deep water snorkeling on the protected side of Gardner Islet. Our guests had a blast with playful young sea lions and lots of colorful fish! It is unbelievable how much fun it is to swim and observe the sea lions in their element! Everybody had the time to enjoy the beach at Gardner bay, which is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

We went back on board, had time for a shower, and enjoyed a delicious Ecuadorian buffet. Soon the National Geographic Islander was repositioned towards Punta Suarez, located at the western side of Espanola. This afternoon we enjoyed a wonderful hike at Punta Suarez with great weather conditions, sunny, clear blue skies, and a gentle ocean breeze. It was just perfect!, This hike was considered the most challenging one of our expedition with terrain covered by boulders, however it is always worth the effort as this place has so much wildlife. From the first moment you put your feet on this visitor site you are transported to a different world. Here the animals are not afraid of you and this is the gift of the Galapagos - you are part of nature again, what a blessing! It was amazing to observe the Galapagos sea lions so closely, from the huge males to the females with their pups. Colorful marine iguanas were all along the path and as we headed further inland, we got to see Waved albatross, Galapagos doves, Espanola mocking birds and the top predator of the archipelago, the Galapagos hawk. As we walked along the coast we enjoyed the sight of swallowed-tailed gulls and Nazca boobies which are breeding right now and we saw several of them with eggs.

Here at the Equator after sunset it gets dark very fast and we embarked just in time. We came back with awesome memories, from the morning to the afternoon. After dinner I was able to lead star gazing on the Sky deck, all the lights were turned off and we were happy to observe several constellations from the northern and the southern hemispheres, another advantage of being right at the Equator.

Tomorrow we are going to Floreana Island where the adventure continues!