Ecuador
Suarez Point, Espanola Island
Punta Suárez, Española: Albatrosses, Boobies and a Blowhole
Española is one of the most isolated islands in the Galápagos, and it has animals of its own, among them the Española mockingbird and the Española lava lizard. Over millions of years its old volcano has worn down into one of the flattest, lowest islands in the archipelago. The waved albatrosses leave by January and spend about three months at sea before they return, so check your date if seeing them matters to you.
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A Guided Landing
Visits to Punta Suárez are made only with a naturalist guide authorized by Galápagos National Park, and you step ashore onto rocks where sea lions may lie in the way. From the landing, the trail heads inland past the bird colonies to cliffs on the island's south side.
- Española covers 60 square kilometers, rises only 206 meters at its highest point, and has no residents.
- Brightly colored red-and-green marine iguanas line the shore near the landing; this is the only marine iguana that keeps its bright colors all year.
- The island's other visitor site, Gardner Bay, is a white beach about 2 km long where visitors must stay on the sand. Some itineraries list it together with Punta Suárez.
- BirdLife International lists Española as an Important Bird Area.
- Visits ashore are allowed only in daylight, between 6:00 and 18:00, and the national park sets every boat's itinerary.
- A naturalist guide leads no more than 16 visitors at a time.
Visiting Rules
Punta Suárez is part of Galápagos National Park, so an authorized naturalist guide leads every visit and the park's rules apply from the moment you land. Boobies and albatrosses nest right beside the trail here, and animals may sit on the path itself.
- Keep to the marked trail and follow the signs.
- Stay at least two meters from every animal, even one that walks toward you, and never feed wildlife.
- Switch off your flash when photographing animals.
- Do not bring food, plants or animals into the islands.
- Smoking and fires are not allowed anywhere in the park, and all rubbish goes back to the boat with you.
- Do not buy souvenirs made from black coral, shells, lava rock, animal parts or native wood.
A Brief History
Española is old enough that most of its volcano has worn away, and people nearly wiped out its tortoises before a rescue began in the 1960s. Its English and Spanish names have changed more than once.
- About four million years ago: Española formed as a shield volcano over the Galápagos hotspot, then drifted away from it and went extinct.
- 1684: The English buccaneer Cowley named it King Charles's Island, after Charles II.
- 1793: The British captain James Colnett misread Cowley's maps, moved that name to what is now Floreana, and renamed this island Hood Island after Admiral Samuel Hood.
- 1800s: Whalers and others took most of the island's giant tortoises, and goats later stripped much of their habitat.
- 1854: Herman Melville mentioned the island in his novella The Encantadas.
- 1892: For the 400th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage, it was renamed Española, after Hispaniola.
- 1963 to 1974: The last 14 tortoises on the island, 12 females and 2 males, were taken to a breeding center on Santa Cruz. A third male came back from the San Diego Zoo in 1977.
- 1978: The last goats were removed.
- 1990: Tortoises raised in the breeding program and returned to the island had begun breeding there.
- 2007: The waved albatross was listed as Critically Endangered.
- To learn more ashore: The Charles Darwin Research Station stands on Academy Bay in Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island. It is the base of the Charles Darwin Foundation, whose scientists worked with the park on the Española tortoise rescue.
Punta Suárez with Children
Punta Suárez has a lot of wildlife close to the trail, which makes it a good choice for children who can walk over rough ground. Ask your guide before you set off how far the group will walk.
- Younger children: Watch young sea lions playing in the shallows while they wait for their mothers, and look for the large Española lava lizards and the red-and-green iguanas near the landing.
- School age: Watch for the mating dance of the blue-footed boobies, and look for Nazca boobies nesting near the western cliffs. On the south side, waves force water up through a crack in the lava, and at high tide the blowhole can throw spray nearly 30 meters into the air.
- Teenagers: If the albatrosses are there, watch their courtship of bill circling, bowing and beak clacking. Their wings span more than two meters, and because taking off is hard for such big birds, they often waddle to the cliff edge and launch themselves into the wind. The tortoise rescue, which began with only 14 animals, is one of the Galápagos' greatest conservation success stories.
Accessible Travel
The landing at Punta Suárez is on rocks, sometimes with sea lions lying across them, and Galápagos landings can be slippery and trails rocky. That makes this site difficult for people with mobility or balance problems.
- Ask your boat before booking how the crew helps passengers onto the rocks and how long the walk takes at your group's pace.
- Bring a hat, water and sun protection.
- Travel health insurance is mandatory for foreign visitors to the Galápagos, so check that your policy covers the islands.
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