I set my alarm for 6 that first morning, and by the time I was up with teeth brushed, the light of dawn was breaking. Still in my pajamas (those colorful Otavalo pajama pants and a matching Ecuador t-shirt), I rushed up to the dining lounge to grab a cup of coffee before heading on up to the top deck. Lynn appeared up there right after I did, and we snapped away as the sun rose over Sullivan Bay on Isla Santiago! It was a warm and glorious morning, and we both remarked on how surreal it all felt.
Isla Santiago Sunrise - 21 February
Breakfast was at 7 and by 7:45, everyone was dressed and ready for a wet landing. Since we would be snorkeling after our exploratory walk, I decided to wear my bathing suit and a rash guard/sunscreen shirt plus my Keen water shoes. Before setting off in the Pangas, we were outfitted with snorkels, fins and masks. Wetsuits were also fitted on those who felt they needed them. With the water temperature more or less what it had been in Hawaii the previous winter, I opted out of a wetsuit.
We landed on a small beach area just below a huge field of "pahoehoe" or wavy lava dating from an eruption 100 years prior. We dropped our gear bags on the beach and took off for a long walk over the lava searching for lava cactus, lizards and other strange plants that take hold in fresh lava flows. It was beautiful in a very unusual and stark way. We were thankful for an early start due to the rising heat under a cloudless sky. Unfortunately I had foolishly left my camera in the gear bag so could not take any pictures of the unusual beauty of the Isla Santiago lava fields.
Already in the water and watching others take those first steps, although the white tip shark swimming in the area had some of them more reluctant than they had been just a moment before.
Loved this group swimming by. Young Parrotfish can always be found in the middle of a school of Yellow Tail Surgeonfish.
This solitary bottom feeder swam into my view.
Snapping an underwater snorkel selfie is a challenge.
"Follow me!" she seemed to be saying!
At around 11 we reboarded the Pangas and headed around majestic Pinnacle Point to a crescent shaped red sand beach for another snorkeling expedition. The beach sloped steeply into the water, and for the first time, we had to deal with some real waves. That made it somewhat difficult to get the fins on my feet, and somehow during the process, my new water proof camera parted company with me and disappeared into the water. I immediately started swimming about the area looking for it but without any success. I was very upset! There were many beautiful fish to see there plus two more white tip sharks, but I was focused only on finding my turquoise camera. It was still nowhere to be found when Hanzel said it was time to return to the Tip Top II for lunch.
Feeling completely bummed, I took off my fins and returned to the beach to pack my gear bag. As I walked back down to the water to board our Panga with Mario at the helm, I glimpsed a turquoise glimmer in the now calm water. I dashed in to investigate, and lo and behold, it was my camera!! I was ecstatic. It was crusted with sand, but when I tried to turn it on, it came on as readily as it had before. The sea had returned my camera to me, and all of my photos were still there! Hurray!
Pinnacle Point
Watching the other Panga crowd disembark on Red Beach, site of the lost camera caper. The waves came up right after we docked. I later wondered if some earth tremors had been the source of the strange waves.
This little one decided to rest on one of the Pangas until we were ready to hop back in!
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