The first light of the morning found us anchored in front of Bartholomew Island. We departed the ship before breakfast for an invigorating hike to the top of a cinder cone. Along the way, we looked at the different volcanic formations of Bartholomew. The lava is so intact that except for its red color one could believe these volcanic eruptions just happened yesterday. A light breeze accompanied us as we climbed the 372 wooden steps to the summit of Bartholomew, where we enjoyed the most spectacular view at the top. After the climb we returned aboard to have breakfast, and later on we headed towards the beach so we were able to go snorkeling along the coast. We found different types of fish and even an octopus being chased by a group of angry fish! Some of our guests observed a white tipped reef shark, parrot fish and lots of marine invertebrates. This morning we also had some outings onboard our glass bottom boat while others just marveled at the incredible scenery around us.
We left Bartholomew right at noon and navigated to Chinese Hat which has an impressive volcanic landscape; this islet is also famous for the great snorkeling. So as we arrived to Chinese Hat, we geared up and went exploring the underwater realm of this area, and got to see many different species of fish and found some Galapagos penguins on the rocks. After this great outing, we returned aboard once more to get ready and went on a Zodiac ride along the coast of Santiago Island and Chinese Hat ; here we found a lonely great blue heron, striated heron, a couple of Galapagos hawks, and also found some Galapagos sea lions resting on the beach or on the lava rocks.
The day ended with a great sunset right behind Santiago Island and more adventures wait for us tomorrow.
