Española Island is the oldest of the Galapagos Islands with an estimated age of over 3 million years. However this island is dying, slowly becoming a rocky, barren land with little or no vegetation. But this does give large bays, with sand and soft shingle which attracts a healthy number of Galapagos Sea Lions.

Española Island is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years. A popular tourist stop, Isla Española is the most southerly island in the Galápagos Archipelago. It is about a 10- to 12-hour trip by boat from Isla Santa Cruz. Tourists come to see the albatrosses and the mating dances of blue-footed boobies on Española Island.

Two spots are especially popular with visitors: Bahía Gardner, which has a lovely beach; and Punta Suárez, of interest because of its varied bird-life. This island has its own species of animals, such as the Española Mockingbird, which has a longer and more curved beak than the one on the central islands; the Española lava lizard; the Marine Iguana, which has red markings on its back; among others. Here there are also boobies, Swallow-tailed Gulls and other tropical birds.

[edit] See also

• Española at Wikitravel

[edit] External links

• Espanola wildlife and visitor sites Galapagosonline.com*
• Fauna at Garner Bay

Coordinates: 1°22′S 89°41′W / 1.367°S 89.683°W / -1.367; -89.683