We woke up this morning anchored next to Espumilla Beach on the western coast of Santiago Island. In the early hours of the morning we disembarked to go kayaking along the coast, while some of our other guests went on a walk through a button mangrove forest. Along the trail we enjoyed the warm sunshine filtering through the leaves of the trees around us. We climbed to the top of a volcanic cone and from there we admired the landscape of the area as well as some birds like the Galapagos hawk. After this walk everyone returned aboard and we navigated toward Buccaneers cove.
After the National Geographic Islander arrived at the cove, we snorkeled along the orange cliffs of this area. We saw several species of fish and one of the predators of the sea, a white tipped reef shark peacefully swimming underneath us. This area also has impressive volcanic landscapes, so some guests went on a Zodiac ride to admire the view and to look for Galapagos sea lions, fur seals, boobies and pelicans.
We began the afternoon with snorkeling from the black, sandy beach of Egas Port and later went on a coastal exploratory walk to observe the always impressive grottos. The coast was bathed by waves and Galapagos marine iguanas were actively feeding on algae, while a young Galapagos sea lion was taking a siesta next to a group of also sleeping marine iguanas.
We walked back to the black beach where a great blue heron was looking from the top of the cliffs down for food, while blue footed boobies were flying above, and we ended our walk on this incredible island.
