Yesterday we motored for few hours from the western part of the archipelago back again to the center Islands. We started our day on the western side of Santiago Island and after an early wake up call, we landed at Espumilla beach. It is a place covered with an interesting mix of volcanic ashes and tiny pieces of olivine crystals where we spotted tracks made by sea turtles and holes made by ghost crabs. After crossing a button Mangrove forest we walked through a dense vegetation tunnel made by branches and bark of Mangroves. Then we continued through an area covered by huge Palo Santos trees, the soil was a bit wet, giving a very enjoyable smell. Now is the cold, dry season in Galapagos, but still raining in some parts of the archipelago. The walk was fabulous and at the end, up in the sky, a single Galapagos hawk was marauding, and mocking birds were protecting their territory. Then on our way back to the beach we saw a beautiful rainbow on the clear horizon. It was a great finale for a unique morning walk.
Later we visited Buccaneer cove. Here we were divided for two activities that took place at the same time, which were snorkeling and kayaking along the coastline of this impressive cliff with volcanic formations. During the snorkeling, we spotted surgeon fish, king angel fish, Moorish idols, parrot fish, snappers, grunts, Galapagos sea lions, , eagle rays and many others species of reef fish. The water visibility was over 50 feet and water temperature around 74F, which was a great combination.
In the afternoon we landed on the black, volcanic, sandy beach of Puerto Egas, another visitor site not far from where we were in the morning. Some of our guests went for snorkeling and the rest for a hike along the coast of James, Santiago. Here we had the chance to walk along the intertidal zone where we found some interesting lava formations known as grottos, fur seals and sea lions laying on them, different species of shore birds such as willets, semi-palmated plovers, herons, ruddy turnstones, whimbrels, lots of marine iguanas, American oyster catchers, and much more.
