Today’s first outing was to a long, greenish sand beach, where we took a relaxing walk to observe the ecosystem in the mangrove along the shoreline. This area is an important sea turtle nesting site. When we arrived, we found turtle tracks on the sand. Sea turtles lay eggs during the night and go back to the water as the sun rises. We walked the beach and found many nests and even a newly hatched egg. Galapagos hawks are the top land predator, and they are always in search of activity on the beach. These hawks are completely fearless. They were unbothered by our presence and perched along the branches. Blue-footed boobies fished in the bay and joined us on our walk. After these amazing encounters, our groups continued to explore the area via kayak and Zodiac. Later, we went snorkeling at the same site. We enjoyed both the land and marine worlds of this peaceful bay.
In the afternoon, we visited Puerto Egas, a black sand beach. We took a two-mile walk on compacted ash. The shoreline was full of life, including nursing baby sea lions, marine iguanas, shore birds, and beautiful geological formations. The forest is green and full of life, too, with lots of butterflies and land birds mating. A small rain refreshed us and fed the land as we wrapped up a wonderful day.
