Santiago Island
Starting an early morning outing in the Galápagos Islands always surprises us with the unexpected. This morning as soon as we disembarked at Espumilla Beach, we spotted a juvenile Galápagos hawk. It was very curious and came to take a look at us; this kind of behavior benefited us because we had the opportunity to get close shots of this magnificent bird, which is the top predator in the Galápagos.
In addition to this close encounter, we walked through an old forest of Palo Santo trees. The songs of the different kind of birds that were found all over the area amused the early hikers. Falling in love with Mother Nature, we end the early walk on the beach, listening to the breaking waves.
Because of its unique geographical location, Galápagos provides a great opportunity for aquatic sports such as kayaking and snorkeling. The first group to go out for the next expedition was the kayakers; Buccaneer Cove is an interesting place because of its historical background and its cliffs packed with seabirds. Blue-footed boobies, pelicans, shearwaters and a few migratory birds were spotted.
On the other hand, snorkelers were charmed by the clearness of the calm water in Buccaneer Cove. Many species of tropical fish, lobsters, eagle rays, sea lions and white-tipped reef sharks were found in this calm bay. For non-snorkelers, the glass-bottom boat gave them the opportunity to enjoy the underwater realm without getting wet. We had a great morning outing, and were anxiously waiting for the afternoon activities.
Later in the afternoon we went to a place that used to be inhabited in the early 1930s—James Bay. Here we enjoyed the black-sand beach that was formed by the break down of the black lava and the erosion of tuff cones. Snorkeling was the alternative for those who did not want to walk. Teenagers enjoyed swimming with immature Galápagos sea lions while others went a little further from the beach in order to find much more of the underwater life. In fact many of the snorkelers found sea turtles and marine iguanas foraging on ulva.
Those who opted to discover more of the wildlife on Santiago Island took a walk along the gently rocky shore. A few migratory birds, lava lizards, and the Galápagos fur seal were found in our nature quest. Our afternoon ended with a colorful and engaging sunset.
