Today we started our day on the western side of Santiago Island. After an early wake up call, the sea conditions were very rough; so rough that it was impossible to disembark at Espumilla’s beach. Due the conditions we decided to go for a panga ride instead. Another group went for a demanding kayaking excursion along the north shore of Santiago Island. The dramatic landscape together with the rough seas made this activity a real adventure that everyone enjoyed.
Later on still in the morning we visited Buccaneer Cove. Here we had a number of activities such as kayaking, enjoying the impressive landscape here and snorkeling. During the snorkeling we spotted surgeons fish, king angel fish, Moorish idols, parrot fish, snappers, grunts, Galapagos sea lions, white-tipped reef sharks, eagle rays, and many others species of reef fishes. The water visibility was over 30 feet and water temperature around 80F. What a great combination.
On our way to our next destination we had a heavy rain that helped cool off the weather and make the islands greener. In the afternoon we landed on the black volcanic sandy beach; some of our guests went snorkeling and the rest for a hike along the coast of James, Santiago Island. Here we had the chance to walk along the coast where we found some interesting lava formations known as grottos, fur seals and sea lions laying on them, different species of shorebirds as semi-palmate plover, sanderlings, ruddy turnstones, lots of marine iguanas, American oyster catchers, and much more. After witnessing an incredible sunset we headed back to the National Geographic Islander.
Just another day in paradise!
