Today our exploration began with a visit to one of the most iconic of the Galapagos Islands: Santiago. After a comfortable navigation, we woke up early this morning at Playa Espumilla, and the first excursion was an exploration of the coastline area of the beach. Galapagos hawks, mangrove warblers, Galapagos mockingbirds, and a spectacular mangrove forest, were some of the highlights of the morning. Buccaneer Cove would be our next destination, and as soon as we were ready, we got into the Zodiacs in order to explore the Galapagos Marine Reserve. When we jumped into the water, a marvelous underwater world was revealed to our eyes. Reef fishes of different colors were spotted along the rocky reef, as Galapagos sea lions showed off some of their acrobatic underwater moves, as if welcoming us to their home. We were awe-inspired by a beautiful white-tipped reef shark—it was like swimming in a giant aquarium. At the end of our deep water snorkeling excursion, we entered a cave that was hiding a baby Galapagos sea lion which delighted us for several minutes.
Once we had returned to the National Geographic Endeavour, it was time to explore this marine site from a different perspective: from a kayak. We leisurely paddled along the coastline of Buccaneer Cove, where we discovered many the different kinds of sea birds along the cliffside. Blue-footed boobies resting on rocks, brown noddies nesting on the cliffs, and brown pelicans plunging from the trees were spotted by our fortunate kayakers during the activity. Once the afternoon arrived, we pulled anchor in order to start navigating to our next destination.
In the afternoon, we visited one of the most emblematic places of the Galapagos Islands: Puerto Egas. After a comfortable wet landing on a black sand beach, we entered a world that is home to several Galapagos species. As usual, Galapagos sea lions formed the welcome committee. Further inland, the landscape began to change drastically from what we have seen so far, and soon we were surrounded by giant tuff cones, making us feel as if we had entered a different world. As we reached the furthest point of our hike, we experienced the highlight of this visit: sightings of Galapagos Fur seals. On our way back to the shore, we encountered marine iguanas, and shore birds that called to each other, creating a perfect symphony of nature. The Galapagos Islands paradise is going to be part of our memories for a lifetime.
