We started our day right at sunrise with a hike up to the top of Bartholomew Island. We started our climb to the top of this extinct volcano, and the light along the trail was perfect for photography. This island is famous for its spectacular landscapes and its geology; several pictures of these landscapes have been published in books.
Volcanic features can be seen throughout Galapagos, weather is quite similar during the entire year and consequently preserves current geological features well for thousands of years. We had a brisk-paced walk to the summit and had a great time photographing lava flows, craters, the Pinnacle Rock, and also observing flying fish as well as frigatebirds and boobies flying around.
We returned to the National Georgraphic Endeavour II for breakfast, and we went right back out again. This time we went to a small golden colored beach; where we snorkeled with penguins, rays, and many different species of fish. We also took our glass-bottom boat for a ride along the coast of this nice calm bay, where we could experience the underwater life without getting wet.
We repositioned our ship to Chinese Hat Islet and went snorkeling there with sea lions, sharks, stingrays, and penguins. After this activity we returned aboard and got ready for a second outing this time for a Zodiac ride along the coast of Chinese Hat Islet, where we observed Galapagos hawks, sea lions, penguins and the amazing landscape so characteristic of this area.
