The day started with a beautiful sunrise as we landed at Espumilla Beach at 6:30 in the morning. The shoreline where we landed showed a lot a signs of sea turtle nesting activity, there were a number of tracks in the sand as well as numerous depressions where the green sea turtles have laid their eggs. The light was great for photography, so our first group of guests ashore went on a dedicated photography walk searching for the best compositions. At the same time we had other groups of guests ashore that went on a nature hike where they learned about the importance of mangrove ecosystems, saw Galapagos flycatchers and a female green sea turtle that was disorientated and was struggling to get back to the water. It was 8:00 a.m. and everybody got back on board for breakfast.
After breakfast, by 9:30 a.m., the National Geographic Endeavour had changed her position for our stop at Buccaneers Cove. Here, the guests had different options to choose from. During the remaining part of the morning four different rounds of glass bottom boat departures took place, as well as one departure for snorkelers. Everybody had a great time as they learned about the Galapagos sea life and encountered good sized schools of yellow tailed surgeonfish together with some king angelfish, a couple of white tip reef sharks, a number of streamer hogfish, and of course a few had the chance to play with sea lions. It was time for lunch, so we headed back on board.
Right after lunch the guests of the National Geographic Endeavour had the chance to ask questions about photography, as they had a session with one of our photo instructors, and also to attend a talk given by one of the members of the exploration team on Charles Darwin and his visit to the Galapagos Islands.
The action began again at 2:45 p.m. with two groups of nature hikers that went ashore to explore the trail at James Bay. The highlight of this activity were the Galapagos fur seals that the guests found on the rocky shores of this coastline. At the same time, other groups were enjoying the beach. Some relaxed and others used the opportunity to snorkel with a number of Galapagos sea lions. It was already 6:00 p.m. and we returned to the National Geographic Endeavour to enjoy the rest of the night onboard.
