Santiago Island
This morning in our pre-breakfast optional activity, we disembark at a black sandy beach, this geological formation is almost a mile long and is a very important nesting ground for the Pacific green sea turtles. Along the beach there were hundreds of holes which were home to ghosts crabs. These crabs hide themselves when the tide is high and they come out in low tide to look for food along the beach. This was an extraordinary moment in nature and this gave us an idea that nothing is wasted in Mother Nature. Along the beach we also spotted lots of turtle’s egg shells and bottom mangrove trees. This was just the beginning of our morning activity and everybody felt like staying right on the beach the whole morning, but our mission was to cover a mile hike in one of the most spectacular mangrove forests in Galapagos. Their enormous sizes are just breathtaking for a place so isolated, like this Archipelago. Along the trail we spotted different species of finches, Galapagos mocking birds, Galapagos flycatchers, Galapagos hawks, Galapagos doves and some migratory shore birds as well. This was just a glimpse of the amazing restoration program, ongoing in Santiago Island for over two decades now. Santiago Island is our adopted Island; we have been supporting it since the beginning and now we are very proud to see at its best.
Our morning was far from over and as soon as we returned back on board we started sailing towards Buccaneers Cove, which was a hiding place over a century ago, this place is very impressive for its geological features and the abundance of marine life. Those interested in Geology had an opportunity to explore the area onboard our kayaks, and those interested in marine life had the opportunity to go out for deep water snorkeling with tropical, pelagic and cold water fish together with the two endemic Galapagos sea lions. We also offered rides on the glass bottom boat for those that preferred to enjoy their time here in Galapagos in a more relaxing way.
For the afternoon, we sailed to Puerto Egas on the same Island and this time we had to make a difficult decision. The first option: staying at the beach to snorkel with turtles, rays, sharks, playful Galapagos sea lions and many others spectacular marine creatures, and the second option: a hike along the coast line to explore one of the best sites for tidal pool explorations together with marine iguanas, the two endemic Galapagos sea lions, migratory shore birds and many other amazing geological formations.
Everyone had different experiences of their favorite activity and it was nice to see everyone sharing their experience of the day in the main lounge.
