Bartolomé & Santiago Islands

This morning we visited Bartholomé Island on an early expedition. We started climbing to the top of a large cinder cone. All along the way we found volcanic formations such as parasitic cones, lava tubes, and red old lava flows. Bartholomé Island is very famous for its stunning landscapes, especially the view from the top. We had a great view of the famous pinnacle rock of Bartholomé and the two golden- colored sand beaches, with bright green vegetation in between. After this great walk we returned aboard for breakfast, and with our energies replenished, we headed to the beach. Once ashore we hiked over a sand dune to the southern beach on Bartholomé. As we got to the other side of Bartholomé we were surprised; there was a Galápagos shark, and some white tipped reef sharks! These were swimming together along the coast; while pelicans and blue-footed boobies plunge-dived for fish. An American oyster catcher looked carefully for food around the intertidal pools. We returned to the northern side from where we snorkeled with turtles, penguins, sea lions and lots of fish.

We navigated to Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. Our afternoon was great as we had several alternatives. We went snorkeling, swimming and walking along the volcanic coast. Observation of shore birds, marine iguanas, sea lions and fur seals kept us delighted. We encountered a very young (three days old?) Galápagos sea lion pup with its mother; at the distance a large male guarded its territory.

After a great day we returned aboard, and enjoyed a delicious ceviche, while the sun began to set at the horizon, red glowing light bathed the mountains around, it was a perfect ending for a perfect day.