Santiago Island, 5/26/2022, National Geographic Islander
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander
Galápagos
During the night, we navigated from the western side of Isabela (Tagus Cove) to the northwestern side of Santiago. We crossed the equator two times in the late hours of the night. Finally, National Geographic Islander dropped its anchor at Espumilla Beach at 6:00 a.m. Most guests went for a pre-breakfast outing to explore a coastal ecosystem full of mangroves and nests of Pacific green sea turtles.
After breakfast, our agenda for the rest of the morning included deep water snorkeling and Zodiac explorations. These activities took place as we enjoyed marvelous weather with plenty of sunshine and beautiful turquoise waters. We had the company of sea lions, big schools of fish, and reef sharks.
In the afternoon, we landed at Puerto Egas for a couple options. The first was an exploration walk along the shoreline. At the site, we observed a rare colony of Galapagos fur seals. We found colonies of marine iguanas resting on the rocks after diving in the shallow waters. We also had the opportunity to spend time with Galapagos sea lions, as this place seems to be one of their favorites for resting and breeding. We enjoyed spending time on the fabulous beach at Puerto Egas where we snorkeled and rested a little before exploring the site.
At the end of the walk, we enjoyed an amazing sunset and a wine tasting on the observation deck as we admired the views. This place is part of history, as the great naturalist Charles Darwin explored the area and spent several days here studying and collecting samples.
Juan Carlos was born in Quito, Ecuador. He spent part of his elementary schooling in the province of Cotopaxi, a beautiful area in the Ecuadorian Andes ringed by volcanoes. In 1989 his family moved to the Galápagos and settled in the highlands of San...
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We woke up to super calm waters off the northern coastline of Floreana Island. Perfect conditions for a bit of kayaking among the offshore islets near Post Office Bay! Brown pelicans, egrets, green sea turtles, and red, black, and white mangroves…a peaceful environment for an hour or so before breakfast. Some guests went straight to the beach to walk a few yards through saltbushes and found themselves facing the famous “barrel” of Post Office Bay. It’s been over a century since the barrel was first placed here for use by whalers to exchange correspondence and carry back letters of business, or perhaps letters to loved ones. Today, postcards fill the barrel, but the turnover is fast. Each day, some of the postcards are taken for delivery while others are left behind in hopes that someone will continue the tradition and hand-deliver them in the weeks to come. Between breakfast and lunch, we played in or on the water around Champion Islet, just to the northeast of Floreana Island. We didn’t make a landing but explored by Zodiac, including a birdwatching circumnavigation followed by deep-water snorkeling in incredible waters with parrotfish, angelfish, pufferfish, damselfish…all kinds of fish! Sea lions buzzed by, desperate to draw attention and get a reaction out of us, which they did. Squeals and shrieks were heard. After an instructional briefing on iPhone photography and a presentation on Charles Darwin in the afternoon, we went ashore on the main island of Floreana. There has been quite a drought this year and not much rain the previous year either. The land was dry, the vegetation was brittle, and dead leaves were everywhere. But all that is fine for the native and endemic species; after all, they’ve been through this before, over the millennia, and survived. The stress is on the introduced species who depend on higher amounts of freshwater for survival. While their defenses are down and populations are stressed, now is the time to really push for programs to eradicate introduced species. Floreana Island is ready for restoration. The National Park and collaborating NGOs are preparing Floreana to receive native species that were once thought doomed for extinction. Giant tortoises, Floreana mockingbirds, and racer snakes may yet survive and prosper with the help of these organizations. We spent the afternoon following an easy trail from a dark-colored beach of mineral origin and over the isthmus to a white, organic beach where green sea turtles were riding the breakers offshore. The turtles are not quite ready to come ashore and lay eggs, as temperatures are still too low for another month or so. But a great blue heron and frigatebird were checking out the scene, just in case someone tried for an early nesting. It will be a couple months before hatchlings try to race to the ocean in the dark of night. We returned to our base of operations as the sun set low on the horizon. National Geographic Islander II was waiting for us with hot water and the comforts of home.
In the early morning, National Geographic Islander II visited Bartolome Island, one of the most iconic places in the Galapagos Islands. We made it all the way to the top to get panoramic pictures of the pinnacle view. Then we headed back to the ship for breakfast and to get ready for the beach, where we planned to practice with our snorkeling gear for the first time. Afterwards, some of our guests enjoyed deep-water snorkeling, and others took tours in the glass-bottom boat. During the afternoon, we visited Cerro Dragon on Santa Cruz Island to look for land iguanas, and we found them posing for us on the trail. It was an amazing day aboard National Geographic Islander II !
