Santiago Island
This is the third largest island in Galápagos, and it is also the adopted island of Lindblad and National Geographic. This island used to have non-native feral goats that were seen everywhere, they were eradicated thanks to the efforts of several institutions, including us. Since then, the island’s recovery has gone well. Early in the morning we landed at Espumilla Beach, where we found some turtle tracks leading to nests that were made last night. We walked through mangroves to reach an area with palo santo trees on the way we see mockingbirds, Galápagos doves, Galápagos hawks, and lava lizards.
Back onboard we had breakfast while the captain moved the ship to Buccaneer Cove, where we had the chance to enjoy snorkeling and Zodiac rides. The Zodiac ride was a great we got to see many birds: blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, brown noddy terns, frigate birds, swallow-tailed gulls, and lava herons. The snorkeling was very good with a lot of different fish and sea lions, plus some manta rays.
In the afternoon we went to Puerto Egas where we had a wet landing on black beach. Some travelers chose to stay at the beach and relax and snorkel, while the rest went for a hike along the shore, which is a unique mix of sand, tuff (ash), and lava formations. We spotted birds, sea lions, lava lizards until we reached a famous area for fur seals, where we stayed for a while to observe their behavior. Along the way back we got to see some Galápagos hawks, frigate birds, mockingbirds, and lava lizards.
The sun set with a magnificent coloration as it disappeared over the horizon, and now dinner is almost ready while I finish this report. Fellow guests are learning from the traditional Recap followed by the briefing on next day activities—and that’s how another day of adventure ends in the Galápagos Islands.
