With the first light of the morning, the National Geographic Endeavour II anchored at Espumilla Bay. This is a scenic area with very green, salt tolerant vegetation along the shore, very dry incense trees in the back, and rolling volcanic hills in the background. Our guests prepared for pre-breakfast activities, from hiking to the inner part of the island to a very interesting photography walk along the beach.
Our guests returned for breakfast and right after, the ship repositioned to another site. Buccaneer´s Cove is an excellent place for kayaking, snorkeling, paddle-boarding and glass-bottom boat rides. The snorkelling was fantastic, with colorful fish and a massive manta ray, and the kayakers were able to get very close to seabirds and the volcanic landscape. We all returned back to the ship with big smiles.
After lunch, we learned more about Charles Darwin and his visit to the Galapagos islands in a talk given by naturalist Juan Carlos, and after this we prepared for another adventure, this time at a site called Puerto Egas. This was a small, ultimately unsuccessful human settlement in the 1950s, named after the first inhabitant Hector Egas. Today, one hundred percent of the island is protected by the Galapagos National Park. Our hike took us along a very volcanic shoreline inhabited by marine iguanas, Galapagos fur seals, Galapagos sea lions and many varieties of shore birds.
What an incredible day on islands full of contrast of colors, human history and wildlife.
