Santiago Island
We know many islands with peculiar names in the Galápagos, and some of them were named after important visitors of the early 1700s; lieutenants, dukes, kings. But Santiago, unlike Santa Cruz, has only three names: San Salvador, James and, of course, Santiago, the official Ecuadorian name.
There were whaling vessels and pirate ships that visited Buccaneers Cove for a quick maintenance during their long journeys on the Pacific Ocean. This was possible thanks to the particularly deep waters and lots of space along the shore; sailors repaired their wood hulls and also looked for giant tortoises. Others harvested their own oranges, lemons and even avocado trees in the highlands.
Eventually tortoises almost disappeared and these frequent visitors introduced goats, just like they did in many other small archipelagos around the world. The goats reproduced quickly and competed for food supply with our giant tortoises. Today there are many conservation programs dedicated to increasing the numbers of these endangered creatures.
The morning at Buccaneers Cove was exceptional; the snorkeling visibility conditions were great and the water temperature even better. Mobula and golden cow rays mysteriously appeared from the middle of nowhere, approaching our guests in an elegant ballet; first the golden rays and then the mobula followed by small schools of fishes taking advantage of their large size as a protection.
Some of our guest kayaked along the shoreline observing the interiors of collapsed tuff cones. Others preferred the great view from our glass-bottom boat. None of them missed the great visit.
In the afternoon our expedition leader Paula organized an early disembarkation to Puerto Egas Beach. Again the water was a nice temperature at this wonderful beach! Our guests needed to be coaxed out of the water because we were just about to hike along the lava flows looking for fur sea lions and shore birds. As a naturalist guide I enjoyed the knowledge of a guest (Linda) who had a particular interest on the flora of the Galápagos. What a time we had sharing some knowledge!
