We had a smooth and peaceful navigation all night long and just before dawn dropped anchor off the large central island of Santiago. Our pre-breakfast outings were kayaking, a beach hike and a fast climbing hike, and everyone who rose early and joined in the activities enjoyed themselves! The kayakers paddled below the dramatic cliffs of Buccaneer Cove and spied many leaping rays, sea turtles and a few fur seals. Aura took her camera and led the beach walk. Her group took photos of ghost crabs and mating sea turtles, leaping rays, and hawks and had a lovely walk. Celso had a group of hikers who ducked into a tunnel through the mangroves and then hiked under the surprisingly green branches of a palo santo forest and enjoyed the vegetation and the birds – especially a large billed ground finch and a hawk! Back at the ship by 0830, those who went out this morning were ready for a hearty breakfast!
Following breakfast there was time to catch our breath, sort and edit photos, or sit and chat with our new friends. Then we chose between a scenic Zodiac cruise along the coast or one final snorkeling outing from the Zodiacs. Those on the Zodiac ride enjoyed the spectacular rock formations, perching seabirds, and several resting fur seals. Entering into a shallow cave was also lots of fun! The snorkelers swam into the cave and they saw sharks, a huge marbled sting ray, and many colorful tropical fish. There were fur seals and especially noteworthy was a tiny pup!
After lunch and siesta I gave a presentation with photos of my PhD research, done many years ago, when I camped for a year and a half on Volcan Alcedo and studied the competition between the giant tortoises and the introduced donkeys. Then we prepared for our afternoon hike at Puerto Egas, South James Bay.
We made a wet landing on soft black sand and put our shoes on for the walk. We followed a trail that went inland and then looped out along the coast. The coastal terrain was beautiful- lava flows, grottos and bridges and everywhere there was wildlife! We watched a feeding frenzy of sea birds, two sea lions thinking about a serious fight (but then changing their minds) more marine iguanas, shore birds, and fur seals in the grottos. The sun set in a glow of pink and orange and although the hike was a challenge for some of us, we all made it back before dark and were delighted with all we had seen. It has been yet another different, interesting, and really fantastic day in las islas encantadas of Galapagos.
