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Destination Galapagos: Santiago
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Galapagos: Santiago Island

Albany Rock on the Northwest end of Santiago Island is a small crescent shaped island. On both the west and east sides the points gradually slope down to a 150' sandy bottom. Large groups of pacific barracuda school in the currents. Sea lions playfully disrupt the polarity of schools of juvenile fish that seem to be everywhere.

The macro photographer will find this site rewarding as you might still find the tiny blennies that make their home in their abandoned barnacles. Wide angle photographers will also enjoy the sea lions, turtles, large schools of fish, and an occasional eagle ray.The large banded blenny with distinctive banded marking are common here

James Bay is the most visited point on the west side of the island. Puerto Egas carves out a corner of James Bay. It is named after Hector Egas, the owner of an ill-fated salt-mining company during the 1960s. You can see the salt lake crater beyond the shiny volcanic fields that make up the coast at Puerto Egas. Most visitors to this area of James Bay come to see the shoreline south of Puerto Egas, with its striated yellow, brown, and black cliffs of hardened volcanic ash, which has also been melded and polished by the sea into coves and elaborately patterned rocky beaches.

The dominant feature of the James Bay region is a volcanic cone called Sugarloaf, which rises almost 1,300 feet. Tidal pools reveal a profusion of octopus, starfishes, and other undersea life. The rare fur sea lions, once on the verge of extinction, swim through underwater tunnel between the open sea and two small, clear pools. You can often spot oystercatcher, blue heron, and yellow-crowned night herons. You can also visit Espumilla beach with its flamingo lagoons. On the eastern coast of James Island is Sullivan Bay.

There you can admire a large area of fresh pahoehoe (ropey) lava flows dating from an eruption in 1897. A walk over this glazed black rock gives the impression of the still-molten lava, as every ripple, swirl, and bubble in its surface has been preserved. Tiny fragile Mollugi plants can be spotted growing out of fissures as they begin to colonize the arid terrain.

Cousins Rocks
To the North of Bartolome, Cousins is an interesting wall dive. Here youÍll see huge moray eels, an occasional school of sharks and invertebrates. Visibility is just fair most of the year. GORDON ROCKS The best dive site in the Central Islands. It is a tough dive with heavy currents, large swells and deep water. One can find Hammerhead sharks, Amberjacks and other large fish.

On the north side of Santiago Island the cliffs are made up of many layers of volcanic rock that gives it a wafer like appearance. In some areas it may look like a stairway into the deep.

The currents that run around a sandy ridge at about 60’ attract many spotted eagle rays often in groups of up to fifty. Deeper on the sandy bottom at 150' starfish live in the volcanic rubble.

Cousin's Rock offers the opportunity to get close up with the sea lions and morays. Schooling hammerheads often visit this area so if you get too focused on the many species of hawkfish and other small creatures among the endemic black corals, make sure you turn around and look up occasionally. You'll likely encounter turtles and might even get to see a manta ray behind the many clouds of creolefish and barracuda.

Puerto Egas (James Bay)
Santiago is a dramatic island covered with recent lava flows (Pahoehoe and ropey AA), feral goats and wild pigs. At this landing, youÍll see the remains of a fish-drying enterprise. Walk along the coast toward the fur seal grottos, once thought to be on the verge of extinction. Here we can swim in deep pools of clear water. Marine iguanas graze on exposed green algae and interidal marine life is abundant. Note: Bring swimsuit, towel and snorkeling equipment.

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