Benevolent clouds cover the sky early in the morning. It’s as if nature knows that we have a hike through the cotton and poison apple forest of Urbina Bay. And indeed, we are welcomed by a cool breeze for the first part of our outing, while we encounter land iguanas, finches, and to our surprise, a couple of giant tortoises who are also enjoying the benign temperatures. Afterwards, the sun comes out, and we experiment the tropics in all its grandeur. By then, most of us are back to the beach to refresh in waters that host penguins and sea turtles.
The afternoon finds the National geographic Endeavour inside the heart of a tuff volcano. We have several options to choose from: kayaking, snorkeling, zodiac riding, hiking. And many of our guests do it all! It seems that most penguins of the Galapagos have chosen Tagus to spend their Tuesday afternoon—they are everywhere! Once we have returned to the ship, we have a barbecue on the pool deck, under the stars, and enjoy the sweet and soft voice of our naturalist, photo instructor, and resident musician, Christian Saa.
We have had many new and lovely experiences today. I particularly enjoyed learning about a creature which serves as a foundation species for marine life in the Galapagos—the pencil spine sea urchin. This unusual creature is abundant along the tidal areas, and down to depths of twenty meters and more, and their spines provide shelter to more than 20 species. Its total surface can host even more life than the rocks that they attach to. We see this sea urchin often, but thanks to Professor Roger Lauchman’s presentation (our guest lecturer from Oberlin College) I have learned a new interesting fact: it acts as a reservoir for Galapagos species providing substrate and refuge from predators.
