The day started with a beautiful sunrise as we landed at Espumilla Beach, James Island, at 7:00 in the morning. The shoreline where we landed showed a few 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 had laid their eggs. The light was great for photography, so a group of guests went ashore on a dedicated photography walk searching for the best compositions. At the same time, we had another group of guest ashore that went on a nature hike where they learned about the importance of mangrove ecosystems, saw Galapagos flycatchers and a Galapagos hawk. We also had a group that went on a kayak expedition along the coast of James Island where they were able to observe a Galapagos fur sea lion colony and a nice flock of Nazca boobies perched on an offshore rock. It was 8:30 am and everybody returned to the ship for breakfast.
After breakfast the National Geographic Islander had changed her position for our new stop at Buccaneers Cove. Here the guests had different options to choose from. During the remaining part of the morning, two groups of guests went for panga (Zodiac) rides where they were able to observe Galapagos sea lions, Nazca boobies and a couple of Galapagos hawks. As well, we had a couple of groups that went for a snorkeling outing and encountered good size schools of yellow tailed surgeonfish, king angelfish, a couple of white tipped reef sharks, a number of streamer hogfish, and of course a few guests had the chance to play with sea lions. It was time for lunch so we headed back onboard.
Right after lunch the guests of the National Geographic Islander had a chance to ask questions about photography, as they had a session with one of our photo instructors. They also attended 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 3:30 pm with three groups of nature hikers that went ashore to explore the trail at James Bay. The highlight of this activity was the Galapagos fur seals that the guests found on the rocky shores of this coastline. As the day was ending the sun came out of the clouds and generated a great light for photography, so on the way back to the landing site the guests dedicated their time to photograph landscapes and wildlife. It was already 6 pm and we returned to the National Geographic Islander.
