Santiago Island
James, San Salvador and Santiago are names given to this island. This place was well known by whalers, buccaneers and pirates because it has freshwater and giant tortoises, both very valuable for the Galápagos visitors in the 1700’s and 1800’s.
This visit to the fourth-largest island of the archipelago is very important for several reasons: it is the place where Charles Darwin spent the most time, 9 days in total, so many of his observations were made in here. It is Lindblad’s adopted island, so many of the programs that we support have taken place on Santiago and this was the first successful large island on the eradication of goats.
Today we visited Espumilla, a beautiful area behind mangroves, a forest of Palo Santo is home of several species of land birds. We spotted several Galapagos Hawks, Galapagos mocking birds, Galapagos Doves, and some ground finches. As well we explore the shores by kayaking, snorkeling and in a zodiac ride. The waves were strong but the landscape was beautiful.
In the afternoon we went to Puerto Egas. The lava tubes at the end of the hike are home for the Fur seals, endemic to the Galápagos. Many shore birds were found as well.
