Our day started at 6:30 a.m. with a beautiful sunrise as we landed at Espumilla Beach, Santiago Island. 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 some 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 guests ashore that went on a nature hike where they learned about the importance of mangrove ecosystems, saw Galapagos flycatchers and Galapagos hawks.
By 10:30 am we had finished breakfast and the National Geographic Islander had changed her position to our destination, Buccaneers Cove. Here the guest had different options of activities from which to choose. During the remaining part of the morning we had a group of guests that went for an snorkeling outing 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. We also had a group that went on a kayak expedition along the coast of Santiago Island where they were able to observe a few Galapagos fur seals and a nice flock of Nazca boobies perched on an offshore rock. It was time for lunch so we headed back onboard.
Right after lunch the guest of the National Geographic Islander had the chance to ask questions about photography, as they had a session with one of our photo instructors. They could also attend a talk given by one of the members of the exploration team about Charles Darwin and the foundations of the theory of evolution.
The action began again at 15:45 pm with two groups of nature hikers that went ashore to explore the trail at Puerto Egas. The highlight of this activity were the Galapagos fur seals that the guest found on the rocky shores of this coastline. As the day was coming to a close the sun generated 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.
