As the eastern sky is illuminated by first light National Geographic Endeavour has already set anchor off Espumilla Beach on the West coast of Santiago Island. As we set off for an early morning excursion onboard our zodiacs the bay was calm with nothing more than a slight breeze and light scattered cloud cover above us. After a wet landing some groups went inland for an invigorating pre-breakfast hike while others stayed at the shoreline for a wildlife photography centered session with our Photo Instructor and Naturalist Aura.
Once we had returned for a well deserved breakfast we heaved anchor and sailed just over a nautical mile north towards an area known as Buccaneer’s Cove. As a place with notorious human history and complex geography, it would prove particularly interesting for us. Here we explored the waters along the coastline while snorkeling, from our glass bottom boat, by kayak and from our sturdy Zodiacs. The snorkeling session turned out to give us the best visibility yet during our expedition and great opportunities for spotting various species of fish, rays and even white tip reef sharks and one rare sighting of a hammerhead shark.
As the sun reached the highest point of its ecliptic in the sky we had made our way back to our floating home and started sailing south. National Geographic Endeavour’s next destination a few miles south was the anchorage at James Bay from where we would visit Puerto Egas at the southern end of the bay.
After our second snorkeling opportunity of the day and some time to relax on the black sand beach we set off for one last hike. This time we had a chance to explore the coastline of Santiago Island from land. With the low tide vacating the shoreline we explored the many tidal pools. Small fish patiently waited for the return of the waves while warblers and finches fed on the many brine flies attracted by the freshly uncovered rocky shore. Even the Galapagos sea lions seemed to enjoy the warm tidal pools as we found more than one reaching up for air every few minutes as they lay leisurely in less than a foot of water.
As the sun illuminated an orange sky and the silhouette of Isabela and Fernandina Islands to the west of us we made our way back to our ship where we would discuss our favorite moments of the day while enjoying an al-fresco dinner after an amazing day.
