Sophie Jones

Each day on the yacht would follow a similar pattern, we'd be up and ready for breakfast at around 7:30 am, and then ready to leave the boat at 8:00. We'd head off for a "wet landing", which basically means getting your feet wet, to explore the island a little. We'd be back on the boat for some tea and snacks a couple of hours later and then kitted up and ready to go snorkelling by 11:00. We'd spend around an hour in the water, which is more than enough in these cold waters, before heading back to the boat for a well deserved lunch. We would then be allowed to rest for a couple of hours, I'd usually go and chill on the deck at this point. Sometimes the boat would move to a new location during this period in which case we'd often have frigate birds circling the boat. Then we'd go back out for a "dry landing" at around 15:00, where we'd explore the interior or the island a bit more. Back on the boat a couple of hours later, we'd have another free hour or so before dinner around 6 ish. After dinner we were given a brief from the guide about the next day, after which he always advised us to go to bed early because of the long day. Although they probably just wanted us to go to bed so we'd be out of the crew's hair, they were right we were pretty exhauted after the full days of activities! After dinner around 8pm, the captain would set sail and we'd be off again, usually sailing until around 2am so that we were in a new location for the morning.

On our first morning we had arrived at Española Island. Our wet landing took us to a beautiful white sand beach, where we could see many species of bird, more marine iguanas, and some characterful sea lions hanging around with a whale carcass. We were given the option for some swimming, but the sun had disappeared that day and i didn't fancy the cold water! Later that mornig we went snorkelling around some rocks, the water was pretty deep and rough but i still loved it as always. There were loads of colourful fish, starfish, interesting coral, and a snoozing turtle. But i was glad to get out of the water after, despite the wet suit!

In the afternoon we visited the only Albatross colony in the Galapagos. Albatrosses are one of the largest sea birds, with a wingspan of 2.5 - 3.5 metres. A pair mate for several years and are quite sweet as they do their ritual dances of tapping their beaks together. There were lots of chicks when we were there which was great to see. There were also other sea birds and their chicks, such as the blue footed booby and the nazca booby. Once again there were loads of marine iguanas on this island too. But due to the unique way that wildlife has evolved on the Galapagos, each island has its own species. Española island is the only island where the marine iguanas have red patches on their skin. Aside from the wildlife, the scenery was also stunning to see. Even though the sun was well hidden, the cliffs were dramatic and the power of the ocean was fierce. There were a couple of blow holes on the coast, the most impressive one you could hear roaring away for ages before you could actually see it. Done for the day, we headed back to the boat for some excellent food before getting some rest for the next day.Read more