Egas Port and Rábida Island: Our Final Day in the Galápagos

The night leading into our final full day in the Galápagos was rough.

The Ecogalaxy moved around the northern end of Santiago Island overnight, and the motion was noticeable enough to wake us up. By morning, we were ready to get off the boat for a while, even if it was just to stand on something that wasn’t moving.

Our first stop was Egas Port on the western side of Santiago Island. After a wet landing, we set off on an easy walk along a mix of lava rock and sandy shoreline, with plenty of wildlife along the way.

Sea Lions at Egas Port on Santiago Island

The lava here crested some interesting blow holes. The sea lions seemed to find them interesting too.

 

 

After the walk, we returned to the beach for more snorkeling. We opted out because our wetsuits were pretty stinky by this point. A group of sea lions lingered near the shoreline watching the snorkelers. When no one engaged, they quickly lost interest and wandered off. For a moment I wished I’d gone snorkeling, but then remembered the funky smell of the wetsuit.

Instead, we walked around the point and watched birds hunting crabs along the rocky shoreline.

Rábida Island and Its Red Sand Beach

Before lunch, the Ecogalaxy repositioned to Rábida Island, with some great birding along the way.

The afternoon began with another snorkelling option, which we also skipped. Instead, we waited for the wet landing on Rábida’s distinctive red sand beach. The colour of the sand alone makes Rábida feel completely different from the other Galápagos Islands we’d visited.

The shoreline was lined with sea lions, many of them nursing pups, and it was easy to spend time just watching their interactions.

From the beach, a short walk inland brought us to a small lagoon where several flamingos were feeding.

Most of the group continued along the trail to a higher viewpoint, but we stayed behind to photograph the flamingos.

Once everyone else disappeared up the trail, it became strangely, and awesomely, quiet.

Our Farewell Dinner on the Ecogalaxy

That evening, we had our farewell dinner aboard the Ecogalaxy.

We had been told to wear white, although only about half the group actually did, and no one ever really explained why it was requested.

We now owned white shirts that we hadn’t planned on bringing to the Galápagos, which felt like a small and slightly confusing souvenir from the trip.

The meal itself, however, was excellent. The chef had clearly spent much of the day preparing it, with a spread that included beef, turkey and scalloped potatoes. It was easily one of the best meals we’d had on board.

Unfortunately, the calm didn’t last very long.

The Roughest Night of Our Galápagos Cruise

As soon as the Ecogalaxy pulled up the anchor, the conditions changed. What followed was by far the roughest night of our Galápagos cruise.

The motion became intense enough that things started moving around the cabin. A chair flipped over. The sofa moved across the floor until it pressed against the bed. We heard loud crashes as anything that hadn’t been secured found its way somewhere it wasn’t supposed to be. At one point, my toothbrush ended up in the toilet and everything else in the bathroom flew into the bin.

I thought catamarans were supposed to be more stable, but clearly that depends on the direction of the swell. Whatever angle we were sitting at that night, it was definitely not the right one.