After navigating all night we have now reached the center of the archipelago. Today we are to spend the day in historic Santiago, an island that was a popular stopover to pirates and buccaneers in old times; here they could find safe anchorages, tortoise meat, and occasionally even some fresh water. The “Enchanted Islands” were the perfect hideout place to filibusters before or after raids to Spanish colonial ports in nearby South America.
Early before breakfast we set off to make the most of the beautiful morning light shining on Espumilla Beach. A pretty trail under large mangrove trees and old Palo Santos took us to impressive landscapes. The beach in particular was a favorite to several endemic Galápagos hawks, ever curious about who trespasses into their territories. Back on board we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and got ready for the second part of the morning. Our new anchorage was Buccaneer Cove, and it was here where we held all our water activities. Guests today were free to choose between joining the glass-bottom boat to explore the underwater world of the cove, kayaking along the coastline under the blue and clean Galápagos skies and/or snorkeling in the clear, albeit a little cold, Pacific Ocean waters. Our fearless snorkelers of today had a fantastic experience as there was a long list of marine creatures they encountered: Galápagos and fur sea lions, manta rays, octopus, marble sting rays, large schools of king angel and razor surgeonfish, several species of puffers and parrot fishes, creole and triggerfishes, and the list goes on and on. Simply wonderful!
By the early afternoon, we had already changed location several miles further to the west. This time we dropped anchor at James Bay, in order to visit Puerto Egas. During the 1900’s, there were a couple of attempts to colonize this place; both were unsuccessful so the area was formally incorporated into the National Park. The sand in Puerto Egas is black, and the beach is surrounded by natural beautiful formations of tuff rock, a type of sedimentary rock. The inhabitants here are a small colony of Galápagos sea lions; many of them just slept, while some of their young played in the tidal pools. Several brown pelicans were busy catching fish in their very expandable pouches, while the brown noddy terns sat on their heads waiting for leftovers. Bright red sally lightfoot crabs adorned the shoreline. The snorkeling here was excellent as there were many sea turtles in the area. What a wonderful experience this was for our young explorers! Then there was a walk along the shore; the tuff formations of Puerto Egas are simply stunning, and they offered plenty of great photo opportunities. A small colony of fur sea lions were found at the grottos, some natural pools in the shoreline. It was a marvelous afternoon enjoying the magic and serenity of the Galápagos Islands. It was an afternoon to remember, but we still have more adventures to live through during our coming days in this remote corner of our beautiful planet Earth.
