It was 6:30 a.m. and we already had several people equipped for action. Most went for a faster pace hike, to enjoy the early morning hours exploring a holy tree forest for a breathtaking view. A few guests joined our photo instructor Celso Montalvo to photograph diving pelicans and boobies, hawks in flight, and turtle tracks along the beach. And a very small group stayed at the landing site, surrounded by mangroves and pretty active ghost crabs, learning to sketch and paint from our artist-in-residence Carlyn Iverson. I joined the sketchers, and I enjoyed every minute dedicated to pay attention to detail, trying to mirror pure beauty into a piece of paper. Even if the result wasn’t a precious piece of art, it echoed my feelings, and my awareness of being then and there.
The snorkeling outing was outstanding. The best water temperature in the company of white tipped reef sharks, a couple of rays, and dozens of different species of reef fish. My favorite part was the cave, where I looked for the lost treasures of Buccaneers Bay—not in vain as that’s the name of our after breakfast visitor site!
Once on board we had workshops on photography, making pearls from recycled paper, and sketching. We learned about Darwin in the Galapagos from Vanessa, and then went for the afternoon hike along the coast of Puerto Egas. It was like if all the species of this archipelago had had a meeting, from fur sea lions to boobies, from lava flows to tuff rocks, from barren cactus to morning glory flowers. I loved every minute of my day on San Salvador Island!
