Santiago Island: Buccaneer Cove, Egas Port, 3/22/2024, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Santiago Island has many visitor sites, and for the last few decades the Galapagos National Park has been restoring the Islands. This afternoon we had the sensation of walking on a pristine island as a result of their efforts.
Walter was born in a very small town on the mainland of Ecuador. His first trip to the Galápagos was when he was 12 years old, visiting friends and aunt, who had moved to the islands. From the first moment he saw the Islands, he fell in love with the...
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We started early in the morning with kayaking and paddleboarding excursions along the coast in the western region of Santiago Island at Caleta Bucanero. Later, some of us went for snorkeling and a glass bottom boat ride, too. We had a chance to enjoy the beauty of the sea with lots of Galapagos sharks, sea lions, and many colorful fish. After lunch, we navigated towards Puerto Egas where we offered our guests a couple of options- to spend the afternoon at the beach, or take a nature walk along the coast, and both options were fantastic. We found lots of marine and land iguanas, sea lions, and migratory birds. Today we visited an island like no other which is very rich in human history and also happens to be the last visited by Charles Darwin on his famous Voyage of the Beagle. Today was outstanding!
Our day began at Urbina Bay on Isabela Island. As we crested the dunes of the black beach, not ten paces into our hike, we bumped into an Alcedo giant tortoise walking towards us. We watched as he turned into the bush, leaving the trail clear for us to continue with our hike. Not a bad start to our day! The rest of the hike continued in the same vein with more tortoises, large colorful land iguanas, and finches and mockingbirds flitting around the dense vegetation. Also of note were the yellow Cordia bushes which were in full bloom. Some of us even enjoyed a dip in the ocean before returning on board. We sailed a couple of hours to Tagus Cove on Isabela Island for an afternoon full of activity, including kayaking, snorkeling, and an invigorating hike up to see the panoramic view of Darwin Lake.
Today we awoke to the announcement that there were common dolphins near our ship. After breakfast, we went ashore to explore Fernandina Island, the youngest island in the archipelago and home to one of the largest aggregations of Galapagos marine iguanas. Following a great hike, we returned aboard and then went snorkeling with marine iguanas, penguins, and green sea turtles. In the afternoon, we explored the coast of Isabela Island and encountered Galapagos penguins, Galapagos flightless cormorants, and sea turtles. Later, we crossed the equatorial line while enjoying a great sunset.
