Galápagos : Ready to Samba

M/S Samba, a 46-year old, 78 feet sail boat

I had signed up for an 8-day "Pristine and born of fire" trip, which covered the North and Western Galápagos islands on board M/S Samba.  

We sailed with our naturalist guide Martha, who had more than 15 years of experience and Captain José and his wonderful crew of 5 who took care of our every need and safety and fed us very well.

Route
Source: Martha Chica, Samba

Standing (from left): Martha, El Capitán José, Ricardo, Enjal, Chef Enjal, Sefriedo, Keith
Sitting (from left): Jana (partly hidden), Michal, Ruslan, Adam (in red), Shani, Krisztina, Jack, Leila, Joe (in white), Bernhard (in grey), Jenny (in white), Sari (in black), Bryan 

I met our guide and the rest of the passengers at the Baltra airport and made our introductions. We had a diverse group from Austria, Czech Republic, England, Israel, Switzerland and the United States of America. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of everyone (including the crew) on the boat and we got on very well over the next few days, learning about each other's countries, profession and travels. Special thanks to Sari for allowing me to use her underwater shots for my next few blog entries - they have been invaluable.

Our first stop was Playa Las Bachas, a beach located at the northern part of Santa Cruz Island. Out boat stopped off the coast and we transferred into 2 dinghies to get to the beach. A black tip reef shark was first to greet us in the water.

Sally lightfoot crabs littered the black lava rocks by the beach. The adults are red and turquoise blue while the juveniles are black (for camouflage).

Sally lightfoot crab

From the beach, we approached a pond where migratory flamingos could be found. We also saw the ruddy turnstone, black-necked stilts and a marine iguana.

Greater flamingo

Great blue heron

We strolled down the beach as a brown pelican flew close over our head and then dived into the water with common noddies in tow, trying to steal its food. 

Video: Pelican and noddies

Eagle rays swam near the shore and wrapped up our short, but meaningful day.

Eagle ray

First sunset on the boat