We began our day with an optional early photography walk to explore Espumilla. It was quiet and calm during this outing, and we saw baby turtles and tracks left behind from last night. We had an opportunity to use our gear with different settings, and even our iPhones were very useful tools for photography. As a matter of fact, all the pictures in this report were taken with smart phones.
We repositioned our ship to our next visitor site Buccaneer’s Cove, where we had a very active morning full of water activities. Some of our guests went snorkeling, and encountered many sharks, sea lions and fish, while others explored above the water in kayaks or on paddle-boards. Geological formations along the coastline, like the praying monk, captured our attention. In addition, we offered a few rounds of outings aboard our glass-bottom boat, a fabulous tool that allowed us to have a clear view of the fish without getting wet. An impressive highlight was to see dolphins and even orca whales. We were all very excited.
After a well-deserved lunch and a talk on Charles Darwin with our naturalist Lucho, we enjoyed some relaxation onboard the ship before disembarking in Egas Port, where we enjoyed swimming, relaxing, or snorkeling from the black sand beach. To end the outings of the day, we went for a walk around the shore and intertidal pools of Santiago, with sightings of marine iguanas, sea lions, shore birds, and Galapagos fur seals.
After cocktail hour and recap, we had a delicious barbeque in the upper deck for dinner, followed by our captain’s musical performance. Our expedition has reached its peak, and we have developed a wonderful feeling of coexistence and respect for one another, and for our environment.
