Although it is sometimes hard to get up and going early in the morning, it is oh-so worth it! Today Captain Garcés brought the National Geographic Islander into her anchorage just off the long, brown beach of Espumilla which is inside James Bay on the west coast of Santiago Island. Through binoculars I surveyed the beach, watching the pounding waves coming in with the solid swells we have had all week. I also noted at least five marine turtle tracks leading up the beach and into the mangroves lining the length of Espumilla. They’ve started. “Double-decker” turtles were also spotted floating off shore. The breeding and nesting season has begun.
I set off with only a few of the intrepid guests. By kayak we paddled serenely to the east along tall cliffs and boulder shores all the way to Buccaneer Bay. Fur seals screeched and were spotted lying in the cracks between the rocks, a few even visible clearly in silhouette before ducking down once more. The walkers hiked back past ancient white mangrove trees into a mature forest of palo santos. Large individuals, these incense trees allowed us a better feel for the interior of these islands. A Galapagos hawk perched in good view, the top predator in its element. The photographers in the group hung out with Walter on shore, enjoying the relaxed and unhurried pace of a “photographer’s walk” (move 20 feet and stand for ½ hour) with the photo instructor at their side. It was pretty fabulous with a marine turtle buffeted by surf, half in and half out of the water, caught (on purpose, to escape the attentions of the ardent suitors further out) between land and sea.
After breakfast we took Zodiac rides or snorkeled in Buccaneer Bay. No treasure of gold or silver found, but plenty of fish that glinted metallically (steel pompanos) and shimmered like jewels (guinea fowl puffers and juvenile damselfish).
The afternoon told me that folks had not yet had enough of the ocean….quite a few took the early option to go ashore at Porto Egas and tried out swimming and snorkeling once more, this time off a dark sandy beach. Sea lions turned out to be the stars of the show – some in the water, but in particular three winsome pups that couldn’t leave each other alone. Not much over a month of age, their mothers were obviously out foraging and these youngsters had time to play. Very roly-poly, they were well fed and healthy-looking. Along the shoreline of James Bay, the afternoon light was golden. A new-born pup, possibly only hours old, was seen on the outer coastline. Shorebirds, oystercatchers, turnstones and plovers reflected in the mirror-calm tidal pools. Galapagos fur seals were seen at the far end of the trail where a small colony lived with easy access to deep fissures and pools.
By sundown we were all home and preparing for a barbecue dinner on the top deck, under a star-studded sky.
It’s great to live in the moment.
