Galápagos Islands - Day 5

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Unlike most islands in the archipelago which seem to have a dozen names, Santiago only has three: San Salvador, James and Santiago (the official Ecuadorian name)

The day started with a hike on Buccaneers Cove, a notorious hangout for pirates and whalers drawn to the area by the deep water bay and access to an abundant supply of land tortoises which could be kept alive for up to a year in the hull of a ship, providing an important source of fresh meat for the men; not so great for the tortoise. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 tortoises were taken off the islands for food.

The hike was excellent. The birds were out in force, including pelicans on the beach, yellow warblers, common egrets, Galapagos hawk, Galapagos dove, mockingbird, ducks and an abundance of many of Darwin’s finches. We hiked up through lush undergrowth to a dry river bed and waterfall. On our way down we hiked under dense mangroves with tangled roots. The mangroves cut out much of the light, creating eerie tunnels. Josh has been great as a photographic assistant helping with lens changes and lugging the heavy telephoto lens and mono pod, occasionally taking over duties behind the lens.

In the afternoon we disembarked to Puerto Egas Beach, the site of a failed colonization effort in the 1920's and again in the 1960's. The area was used for many years as a salt mining operation but little profit was made and the venture was abandoned. Old buildings and equipment were readily apparent. The highlight of the hike was the large lava flows where an abundance of life could be found. I had to walk carefully to ensure not to step on well camouflaged creatures on the rocks. A natural lava bridge over the sea leads to inlets where fur seals lounged (Gruta de las Focas).

A BBQ dinner was served on the stern. Off the side, the waters were teeming with life. The ships lights illuminated schools of fish with the intermittent appearance of sharks and sea lions.

After dinner, we had the opportunity of screening an episode of a new reality series to be known as Dangerous Waters: the creators of the show were on board and had just the week before inked a deal to air the series. The series chronicles five men as they make their way from Seattle, Washington up the Alaskan coast all the way to Russia on jet skis. The show was highly entertaining, but not quite The Deadliest Catch. I was however, impressed by Steven Moll, the central creator of the series. He evidently quit his job and mortgaged his house to pursue this dream. I am glad it is working out for him. He plans to eventually circumvent the globe on a jet ski.

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Photos

Galapagos (Lava) Heron
Found in the lava tidal pools.

Paper Wasps
The subject of much complaint on an earlier hike. This fellows have an annoy propensity to sting tourists.

Warbler Finch
One of Darwin's 13 finches.

Tangled Mangroves
Path through the dense mangroves