Last night, we navigated 81 km from Isabela Island to Santiago Island. We woke up this morning to a beautiful landscape, surrounded by shield volcanoes and a calm ocean. As the sun rose, we took a peaceful pre-breakfast walk at Espumilla Beach. This area is located on the northern coast of Santiago Island. Many sea turtles were in the area not long before us, as we encountered many nests and tracks along the beach. While some guest explored by foot, others decided to kayak along the cliffs. The light was perfect for photographers this morning, and they enjoyed a session with our certified photo instructor. Blue-footed boobies feeding on the shore surrounded us. Everyone got the best of Santiago Island this morning.
The island is named Santiago in honor of the patron saint of Spain. It is also known as San Salvador. Located at the center of the Galapagos archipelago, Santiago is the fourth largest island with 585 square kilometers (226 square miles).
After breakfast, we relocated to Buccaneer’s Cove to explore that part of the island. We prepared many activities for our guests, including several rounds of kayaking, trips in the glass-bottom boat, and of course, deep water snorkeling. The temperature, visibility, and conditions couldn’t have been better, and we had a blast.
After a delicious breakfast aboard, the ship was relocated to Puerto Egas, a black beach due to the volcanic origins of the land. The area was a center for salt mining during the 1950s, and today it is an especially interesting place for those who love biology and geology. Our guest joined us in a hike along the coastline, where we found marine iguanas, sea lions, pelicans, finches, and more. The Global Explorers enjoyed a special hike with our naturalists so they could learn more about the area.
This was indeed another beautiful day in paradise aboard National Geographic Endeavour II.
