There are various small but very interesting islets in the central part of the Galapagos Archipelago. One of them is Bartolomé Island. Located off the eastern coast of Santiago or James, this is one of the highlights of the Galapagos due to its beautiful volcanic landscapes. A pre-breakfast hike took us to its summit, after climbing over 370 wooden steps! The view from the top is absolutely stunning, the island has countless cones and craters of various sizes, and being covered in lava tubes and fields as well as volcanic ash make us feel like we have landed on Mars. After breakfast on board, we returned to Bartolomé and landed at the orange-tinged beach. The tranquil waters by the iconic Pinnacle Rock are the ideal snorkeling site. There was good visibility today so we were able to spot numbers of different fish, sea stars and other marine creatures. A couple of Galapagos penguins, an adult and its young, remained in the area, to everyone’s delight. For those guests who decided to relax and enjoy the charming and colorful beach, there was a surprise: a couple of American oystercatchers made an appearance. The rocky shore nearby is full of small crabs, sea anemones and sea urchins, all of which make the perfect meal for these very attractive birds.
Not far from Bartolomé lies Sombrero Chino. This unusual name, which means “Chinese Hat,” has been given to this small island because it resembles one: the walls of its summit are steep and it has a flat top, at the same time it is surrounded by a low and wide apron just like the brim of a hat. Sombrero Chino is very close to a very young black lava flow which dates back from 1897; a narrow and shallow channel of turquoise-coloured waters separates both islands. The area is the home to a small colony of endemic Galapagos penguins, which we decided to find this afternoon. First, we tried our luck by snorkeling in the area. As we arrived there, we realized that most of the penguins were in the water and rather busy, hunting the small fish that are their prey. In the same area there was a playful Galapagos sea lion. There were also colorful fish and some of our fearless snorkelers even encountered some reef sharks! Some brown pelicans observed the whole scene from the shore. Shortly before sunset we returned on the Zodiacs for a short ride, to try to find the penguins once more. And we did! We know we were extremely lucky, considering that the Galapagos penguin population is rather small, around 2000 individuals distributed throughout the archipelago. We had fun just watching a small group of young sea lions, playing in the tidal pools nearby. The colours of the afternoon turned pink and yellow as the sun set behind the lava hills. Another wonderful day in paradise was coming to an end; tomorrow will be a new day, and there will be a new, fantastic island to explore in the Enchanted Isles.
