Santiago Island, Espumilla Beach, Buccaneer’s, Cove and Puerto Egas
We woke up this morning off shore of the central island of Santiago. The cool breeze and the nice light of sunrise were motivating for the beginning of a day full of activities and exploration on this gorgeous island.
In the early morning before breakfast we explored Espumilla Beach. The abundant brown sand and the mangrove forest are perfect for nesting Pacific green sea turtles. In this season you can see a lot of nests; many of them still have eggs from the last breeding season. Most of the nests are empty already because the eggs already hatched. However Pacific green sea turtles will continue to come in order to nest because many of them arrive in Galápagos late in the season.
Later in the morning and after breakfast we were ready for more exploration. This time we would explore the underwater realm at Buccaneer’s Cove. Here some of us had the opportunity to do deep water snorkeling while some others enjoyed the same highlights from the glass-bottom boat, and a third group had a taste of the place form kayaks!
In the afternoon we repositioned the boat and anchored at Puerto Egas. Shortly afterwards we headed to the shore for a hike and to snorkel. The hike along the fringing lava of the coastline was amazing. It is dotted with marine iguanas, sea lions, and shore birds. From the beach we explored the marine ecosystem with masks, wetsuits, and fins. This outing was great—we saw the real spirit of the ocean! We encountered sea turtles, sea lions fishing, seabirds diving, white-tipped reef sharks, and stingrays! Just to mention a few.
