Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Day 4

Wednesday, February 16

Our day began anchored near Puerto Egas on Santiago Island in the Galapagos. The Monserrat yacht motored half the night and I heard the anchor drop around 1:30am. I heard water running when I woke up and half expected our cabin’s bathroom to be flooded when I opened the door to check, but in fact it was raining outside and I was hearing the sound of a drain running off the side of the boat near our door.

Breakfast was served at 7:00am this morning in the dining room. Today, the kitchen staff prepared scrambled eggs with peppers, green plantain, fruit, sausage and bread & jam, as well as the usual cereal and yogurt available. Aden ate three bowls of cereal — he must have hungry after yesterday’s full day of excursions.

It was still raining outside, but that didn’t stop our group from exploring. We dressed in our rain coats and rode the dingy boats over to Santiago Island at 8:00am. The kids were not pleased that we had to walk around in the rain. “Do we really have to do this in the rain?” Tory said, annoyed. A little rain never hurt anyone, I told her. At least it was a warm weather rain and as the naturalists shared with us, the islands really need the moisture.

We’ve learned more about the weather phenomenons El Niño and La Niña this week. Our naturalists explained that meteorologists believe this may be El Niño year which is bad for many sea birds, fish and mammals who depend on the sea for survival. In an El Niño weather pattern, trade winds do not move the warm air over the Pacific Ocean as quickly as usual which means temperatures stay warmer and there is less rain on the islands. This means that fish move down to deeper, colder waters which makes it difficult for other animals to find fish to eat. Many birds, sea lions and marine iguanas can’t dive that deep, so they’ll eventually starve. El Niño is bad news for the people of the island as well who rely on rains for freshwater. An El Niño or La Niña weather phenomenon typically happen every 7-10 years, but there is no predictability to their arrival. Interestingly, El Niño and La Niña weather cycles also affect weather in the United States, bringing more rain to some parts and dry, warmer air to others causing more wildfires, flooding or hurricanes.

All this to say, this morning’s rain was a welcomed sight to people and animals in the Galapagos.

While we walked around Santiago Island, our naturalist shared information about the land iguanas, crabs and Galapagos fur seals that live on the island.

At 10:30am, we returned to the Monserrat and everyone changed into their swimming suits for snorkeling. Andi overheard one of the naturalists say the water might not be that clear from the rain. Our family probably only had one snorkeling session in us today, so Andi suggested we stay back on the boat while everyone else went swimming. Honestly, it was nice to have an hour of chill time! We’ve been going non-stop since we came aboard the boat three days ago. I laid on the top deck in the sunshine while Andi took a nap and the kids relaxed in their cabin with their iPhones.

When everyone else returned at Noon, it was time for lunch. The chef prepared ceviche, pork, salad, rice and ice cream with a cookie for dessert. The waiter was so proud when he delivered the ceviche to our table. Except, the sight of it made my stomach turn. Andi and I traveled to Mexico in December and got sick after we ate ceviche there. I gave my shrimp to Aden and then forced myself to eat pieces of white fish in the bowl. I couldn’t attempt the octopus. I felt bad for not liking it, but didn’t want to offend the kitchen staff.

While everyone at lunch, the Monserrat was already underway to Buccaneer’s Point on Santiago Island. We anchored there, and then took a dingy ride along the cliffs to see wildlife. There were a few blue-footed boobies on the rocks and Galapagos fur seals on the rocks, but not nearly as many as yesterday at Vicente Point Rock.

The cliffs are made of volcanic material which is very soft and fragile, so parts of the hill have given way overtime due to erosion. Jagged pieces of the cliff are left and some resembled shapes that looked like a monk praying and an elephant.

A few of the boat’s passengers kayaked and paddle boarded back to the Monserrat while the rest of us rode in the dingys. I’m glad they didn’t offer kayaking to us because it looked like a lot of work! The ocean was very choppy.

We all returned to the boat for snorkeling. Tory and Aden looked so cute wearing their wet suits and I was glad we had them — not only because the ocean water was cold, but because I forgot our swimming suits in Guayaquil and the wet suits hid the fact that we were swimming in our underwear.

Surprisingly, the water was a lot warmer around Santiago Island than it had been on the west side of Isabela Island. Tory cried once again because she was scared to snorkel, so Andi and I didn’t make her. She stayed in the dingy while Andi, Aden and I snorkeled around Buccaneer’s Point. We saw lots of schools of fish and Andi spotted a manta ray. Someone else in our group said they saw a small shark while they were swimming.

Back on the boat, we all shower and get ready for dinner. Suddenly we heard a bell ringing and everyone ran out onto the deck to see what was happening. The captain of the boat was alerting us to dolphins swimming alongside the boat. They put on quite a show for us all, jumping and swimming around us.

Andi and I sat on the top deck before dinner and shared a bottle of wine while we chatted with Charlie and Ola from London. We returned to the saloon at 6:30pm for our final briefing and a farewell message from the boat staff. They passed around a pineapple smoothie cocktail for everyone and toasted to a great week on the water.

Our last dinner on the boat was potato soup, choice of fish or beef, rice, salad, beets and a piece of birthday cake to celebrate one of the passenger’s upcoming birthdays. Both Tory and Aden were so tired, they barely made it through dinner.

We returned to our cabins after dinner and I put the kids to bed. Then, I returned to our cabin and started packing. We have an early call time tomorrow morning as we’re going on a nature hike before we depart the boat.