Galápagos Islands: Santiago Island (Egas Port) on the northern cruise itinerary

A northern itinerary in the Galápagos Islands may take you to Santiago Island.

The main attraction on Santiago Island are the dense numbers of fur sea lions vs. Galápagos sea lions (see the short post on the difference between fur sea lions and Galápagos sea lions here).

The area around Egas Port was owned by a family of salt farmers or miners who evaporated sea water for its salt. Our stay was short but beautiful. The highlight was probably swimming with sea lions again.  Here is a link to one of the others guest videos of swimming with sea lions.

Here to memebers of our tour pose in front of the rock arch that makes Egas Port so famous.

Good information on true bird names can be difficult in the Galápagos Islands. My bird book said these were American Oystercatchers but my guide, Carlos, told me that they were Galápagos Oystercatchers.  He could be right but he was a little too creative with inventing new species and scientific terms.

Fur sea lion on the rocks, ain’t no big surprise.

Our Captain was always happy to help out the ladies with their Soduko problems.

As we cross the equator for the second time in one day, rum cocktails and tapas. 

Crabs and marine iguanas

One of my travel companions, Olivier, poses among the marine iguanas.

I guess I was not patient enough to wait around until the exact moment we hit the equator.

First mate, Miguel, keeps a close eye on the water.

Soon after this photo was taken we all went out on deck to watch the sunset on the equator en route to Isabela Island. There was beer, rum, wine, and cheery reviews of the day. A couple of dolphins appeared off the bow of the boat, then multiplied. Soon there were dolphins as far as you could see on the horizon and here is a short video of the action.

Here are some related articles about traveling to the Galápagos Islands:

Genovesa Island and the boobies

Tips for Galápagos Islands cruises

A checklist for Galápagos Islands travel

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover …” -Mark Twain