Our expedition continued today with an early walk on Espumilla Beach. We disembarked at a long white beach where sea turtle nest. We had two excursion options to begin the day- a long natural history walk and a shorter photography walk. The long walk led us to a thick mangrove forest and a fabulous view from the top of a little hill that crowns the trail, which is filled with a mature forest. Darwin finches were heard everywhere and a couple of majestic Galapagos hawks were viewed.
After our visit the National Geographic Islander was repositioned to Buccaneer Cove. Long ago this was a favorite location for pirates, buccaneers and privateers. Supplies of fresh water, firewood, and unfortunately plenty of tortoise meat, were found in the surroundings.
After breakfast we spent the rest of the morning snorkeling and kayaking. Both activities were excellent. Snorkelers spotted many colorful tropical fish, reef sharks, several rays and some Galapagos sea lions. Kayakers explored the rocky coast and had a blast under the impressive tuff cliffs and in the shallow caves of the area while observing several seabirds like Noddy Terns and Brown pelicans. We were all back by noon after spending a busy, but great morning exploring!
After lunch naturalist Jan Tido Post gave a talk about Charles Darwin. Immediately after, at around 1530, we disembarked at Puerto Egas. We had a couple of options- a long and peaceful walk along the coastline or spending the whole afternoon swimming, snorkeling and/or relaxing at the black landing beach.
Reluctantly we came back on board. Santiago Island was at its best today giving us a combination of wilderness, various weather conditions, amazing landscapes, and great encounters with the abundant and famous Galapagos fauna.
