Buccaneer Cove, Santiago

Buccaneer Cove is a colourful inlet on Santiago or James Island. It owes its name to some of the first visitors to the area: pirates. They came searching for water, tortoises, and some people say even places to hide their treasures. We don't know about any pirate's gold, but the area's landscape is a treasure. The geology combines some tuff red cones with impressive basalt lava dikes and sills. The erosion has carved caves and shaped some rocks into unique forms such as the Bishop's Rock. Palo Santo trees and some giant Prickly pear cactus cover the area, and at a distance, you can observe the impressive volcanos of Isabela Island. We will explore the area from our Zodiacs, searching for sea birds such as Nazca Boobies, Blue Footed Boobies, and Swallow-tailed Gulls. We can often find sea turtles and even reef sharks in this place. Also, in Buccaneer Cove, we can observe the two sea lions species: the Galapagos sea lion basking on the beaches and the fur seal looking for shade on the collapsed rocks along the coast.