KFC Travelblog: Ecuador Day 10 - Galapagos, Santiago Island

I had signed up for 6:15 kayaking slot this morning, but late last night, decided to cancel. I still woke up on time, but as some folks who went said it was pretty strenuous, I have no regrets. I opted for a kayak ride after breakfast instead, and we were treated to a display of manta rays feeding upside down in the rising current. They were super cool! One of the biggest fish in the Galapagos, they can reach a wingspan of up to 22 feet. The ones we saw were probably more in the 12 foot range - still pretty amazing. They are white on the bottom, and black with with polka dots on top. Sailers used to call them “devil rays”, but as plankton eaters, they are harmless to people. Their mouths are huge, with moveable side lobes to help scoop in food. They are related to sharks, and like them, give birth to live young. So they aren’t proper fish at all.

The group I didn’t snorkel with.

These aren’t shark fins, but the two wingtips of a flapping manta ray.

It looked as big as our zodiac!

The formation towards the right is known as The Monk (I thought it looked more like a Bali dances). Tradition holds that you can ask one favor of The Monk. (I think we all wished the manta rays would stick around long enough for us to snorkel to them.)

The cliffs are quite dramatic here, with edges of collapsed volcanoes and sea stacks.

I actually hadn’t planned to go deep-water snorkeling today, but after seeing the rays, I changed my mind. I ended up in the zodiac with Salvador, the scuba master for the trip.

He led us into a cave, a snorkeling first for me. When we turned around to come out, the blue water catching the light outside of the cave was incredible.

And then we looked for the rays. We weren’t super close, but that’s ok!

We swam over near the cliffs and saw the bubble plumes of a blue footed booby dive bombing for fish.

Every day here is better than the last - so many surprises and experiences!

This afternoon we had a wet landing at Puerto Egas and walked 1.8 miles along an inland trail and coastal return. Wonderful lava rocks and sea lion drama. First we saw a few fur sea lions swimming and basking on the lava outcrops.