Early this morning we began our day with an invigorating walk to the top of Bartholomew Island. As we began to climb up the wooden steps we noticed that it had rained, and several lava lizards had emerged, trying to get some of the fresh water accumulated on the wooden boards. From the summit we admired the most famous view in the archipelago. In the distance, some of our guests spotted the spout of a lonely whale, which was later identified as a Bryde’s whale. After the walk we returned to the beach to head back to the ship for breakfast, and found a Galapagos sea lion comfortably sleeping on a Zodiac. It looked up at all the groups returning to the ship, but it did not immediately leave.
Later in the morning we headed ashore for snorkeling from the shore and found a Galapagos shark slowly swimming along the coast, as well as a diamond stingray resting at the sandy bottom. Some of our guests went for a deep water snorkeling excursion from the Zodiacs. These guests had the incredible opportunity to swim with Galapagos penguins. This species has a very small population in the archipelago and we saw a few fishing while a couple were resting along the coast. Our guests also had also the option of taking rides on the glass bottom boat around Bartholomew Island.
During lunch time National Geographic Endeavour II began to navigate towards Sombrero Chino on the southeastern end of Santiago Island. This afternoon we had different options to explore this colorful area. The first excursion this afternoon was to snorkel in deep waters—the water was very clear and several species of fish were identified. The other option was to go paddle-boarding in the peaceful waters of the channel between Chinese Hat and Santiago Island. Some of our guests went to a nearby beach to enjoy the afternoon there.
As we finished the water activities, we returned aboard and went on a Zodiac ride along the coast of the same calm channel, and for a second time today, we saw Galapagos penguins resting on the shore. There were also female Galapagos sea lions resting and nursing their young, while a large male patrolled his territory.
Another incredible day is over in our expedition around the Galapagos Islands.
