Today, we visit Santiago, also called James or San Salvador Island. Our visit takes us to one of the islands' most popular sites, Puerto Egas, where a salt mining operation existed until the 1960s. And we're off to our first excursion: Option 2: Short Walk/Optional Snorkel - wet landing for a short walk on mostly sand and a few flat rocks.
During our hike along the grottos, we saw ground finches, lizards, Galapagos hawk, herons, Sally Lightfoot crabs, marine iguanas, yellow warblers, and my personal favorites, Galapagos fur seals and sea lions with one week old pups! Lucky us, we witnessed a sea lion puke and a hawk poop after attacking a heron!
Back on board, I recorded our amazing morning for future blog posts since we have NO Internet while out on our verandah as we sailed to our next destination, Rabida. We arrived around 3:00 PM, and our Option 2: Zodiac Ride and Snorkel departed at 3:45 PM. Each Zodiac held 16 folks and the drivers were AMAZING! They maneuvered the Zodiac into the tightest places, then made sure that each side had optimum photo opportunities. The landscapes here are visually stunning. The island is the top of an old volcanic cone bathed in crimson. The rocks and sand are hued brilliant red and sit amid coves of clear blue water. We had a wet landing on the beach, complete with our wet suits, fins, masks, and snorkels. We had been told that the water was chilly, but the sun was so warm that the water felt pretty nice. While snorkeling, I felt something brush my tush, and I thought that it was Rob being fresh, only to discover that it was a playful, curious sea lion. Turns out, both sea lions in the cave came out to play with all the snorkelers. After our swim, as we were getting ready to leave, this adorable guy came up onto the beach and actually posed for pictures!
Each evening around 7:00 PM, a briefing for the next day's activities was held in the Discovery Lounge.( One bit of information, which I had not received prior to our trip, was that we should avoid wearing bright colors such a red, orange, pink or yellow, because it confuses the pollinators!) After the briefing, we'd sign up for either Option 1 or Option 2 for both the morning and afternoon excursions. Option 1 was usually a bit more strenuous than Option 2, and a third possibility was simply taking a Zodiac ride after all the folks for Option 2 had departed. What a day!
The meals are DELICIOUS! The food is fresh, beautifully presented, and sized appropriately. Wonderful South American wines are served daily. Our new buddies, Ed and Kathy, have also introduced me to chocolate martinis. Uh - oh!
No comments:
Post a Comment