We began our day with an optional early wake up call to explore Espumilla for photography. During this calm and leisurely outing, we saw a Galapagos flycatcher who was very inquisitive with our guests. We had an opportunity to practice using our gear with different settings, and even our iPhones were very useful. As a matter of fact, all the pictures you are now seeing are from our smart phones! Some of us opted for a walk inland, where we were very lucky to find the top predator of the islands, the Galapagos hawk.
We repositioned our ship to our next visitor site Buccaneer’s Cove.
The morning was very active, with snorkeling among sharks, sea lions and fishes, and also kayaking and paddle-boarding. At this site, geological formations, like the praying monk, captured our attention. In addition, if that was not enough, we had a few rounds of glass-bottom boat outings, a fabulous tool that allowed us to have a clear view of the fish without getting into the water.
Afterwards we were treated to a well-deserved lunch and a talk about human history with our naturalist Gaby Bohorquez and photo instructions with naturalist Socrates Tomala.
Soon after we were disembarking in Egas Port, where we had a unique black beach for ourselves to swim, relax, and snorkel. To end the outings of the day, we went for a walk around the shore and intertidal pools of Santiago with sittings of land, marine iguanas, sea lions, shore birds, and Galapagos fur seals.
After cocktail hour and recap, a barbeque in the upper deck for dinner was followed by a special musical performance by our captain. Our expedition has reached its peak, and now this wonderful feeling of coexistence and respect for one another, like a family, influences us.
