We had a spectacular first full day in the Enchanted Islands! I woke the guests at 6:00 a.m. for coffee, fruit and apple bread in the lounge. By 6:30 a.m. we were loading three Zodiacs for the climb to the summit of Bartolome with our naturalists Walter, Greg and Jan. We followed a boardwalk and wooden steps past cinder and spatter cones, and small lava tubes and from the top we had a fabulous view of the extensive lava flow on Santiago that dates from 1897. The contrasting golden and white sand beaches, reddish cinder cones, barren black lava fields, green mangrove thicket and the blue ocean made for some lovely photo opportunities!
We enjoyed – and deserved – our breakfast following that hike. After the meal I talked about our snorkeling program and snorkel safety, and then we all went up to the sky deck where the naturalists helped us get suited up for snorkeling. We disembarked on a golden beach where everyone went into the water and most of us were successful with the gear. We saw white tipped reef sharks, an octopus and a feeding marine iguana, plus dozens of species of fish.
After a hearty traditional Ecuadorian buffet lunch, I invited the youngest guests to the bridge to meet our second officer and learn about the navigation equipment. Most of the rest of us took a welcome siesta until the mid afternoon when we anchored off the red island of Rabida. Naturalist Jan took a group of guests kayaking and they were no sooner in their bright yellow boats than they spotted a large manta ray! They continued paddling along the coast spying and admiring marine iguanas, pelicans and fur seals. Greg and I were snorkeling with two groups and we all had a marvelous time! We saw that huge manta ray, white tipped reef sharks, a horse conch, a zebra moray, a green sea turtle and zillion of multi-colored fish of all sizes in both small and huge schools. And to top it all off, as Greg was returning to the ship, his Zodiac was escorted by three leaping bottle-nosed dolphins!
Walter took his guests in for a wet landing on the red sand beach and they were delighted to find a lone flamingo feeding in a small brackish water lagoon. They had a peaceful walk and took photos of a hawk, mockingbirds and yellow warblers. Later Jan and Greg brought their snorkelers and kayakers to the beach for a quick visit. The late afternoon sun warmed us and the red beach was a magnificent and unusual color in the golden light. We returned to the ship as the sun set in an orange glow behind the impressive volcanoes of Isabela Island to the west. We are heading west tonight to the younger islands and those volcanoes. No doubt tomorrow will be another magical day and one to rival what we have done and seen today!
