Outstanding, remarkable, amazing, and unforgettable. These are a few words to describe this island and believe me I'm not exaggerating. Española beats everyone's expectations and it is surely a significant way to start the week.
Today I was asked if working here all the time and visiting the islands week after week, I would take things for granted. My answer was no of course. I've been working here for more than eight years and I never see the exact same animals on the islands or the same happenings. This is the great thing about working in a national park and not in a zoo. For instance, today I had three new experiences.
First, at the blowhole something spectacular occurred, as the water was pressured through a fissure found on a platform of lava, not only water came out of it but also so did a marine iguana! I had heard that this has happened before but never had actually seen it. This is where the Galapagos expression of "flying iguanas" comes from. I felt sorry for the iguana as it was blown up into the air for about 12 feet, and the landing was not very graceful. Funny things do sometimes happen.
The second thing was a lava lizard competing for the remains of an abandoned albatross egg. Very daring lava lizard as it had four mocking birds trying to beat him to the egg.
Finally towards the end of the trail we were admiring a yellow warbler feeding from the flower of a mesquite (Prosopis juliflora). This plant is from the mimosa family and it is known from other tropical regions through the world, it is originally from tropical America. In the Galapagos this plant is found on several islands but confined to the coastal and arid lowlands. The remarkable thing about this flower is that for the first time I see its splendid colors that usually are only pale yellow and orange. I was very much surprised and more than delighted that I found this magnificent looking flower. Perhaps you may understand the reason why one can last for so many years working in a place like this hoping and expecting new things every day.
In just one day I had three new experiences, which were all astounding. Isn't this amazing?
