Santiago Island is an island that brings us hope for the success of the Galapagos archipelago. This island is probably one of the largest areas to be restored on our planet. The story was not the same just two decades ago.
Thousands of goats and feral pigs were completely eradicated from the whole Island. What’s even more impressive, it is the fact that just after a few years of recovery, the flora and fauna of this island is returning to what it was like hundreds of years ago, when Galapagos was first discover in 1535.
This morning for our first activity of the day we disembarked in a black sandy beach, which is a very important nesting ground for turtles. As soon as we set foot on this visitor site, known as Espumilla Beach, we were so impressed to see how lush the vegetation was in comparison to Fernandina Island. This was possible only with the hard work from the Galapagos National Park and Charles Darwin Station.
The famous Darwin finches, Galapagos hawks, mockingbirds, fly-catchers, and sea birds were right there for our guests’ delight. That was the best evidence of the restoration program’s success.
Later in the morning we continued in a different location known as Buccaneer Cove. Even though the morning was very windy, this protected bay gave us a great opportunity for deep water snorkeling, glass bottom boating and kayaking. From the distance this visitor site looks barren, but close up this place is full of marine life.
Making this expedition extra special, this week is a family oriented trip, where kids, parents, grandparents and friends come to Galapagos together to learn and enjoy the wonders of this enchanted archipelago. So to continue our afternoon exploring together, we sailed to a different site known as Egas Port.
We offered an early afternoon activity at a beautiful black sandy beach with Galapagos sea lions and beautiful landscapes, where our all of our guests had a wonderful time before our last activity of the day.
This hike provided us a great opportunity to see and compare the two species of Galapagos sea lions we have here and enjoy many other interesting sightings as well.
The formation of tidal pools, their grotto formations and a soft light made this afternoon a perfect ending for a perfect day in paradise.
