Bartolome and Santiago Islands
Today we started our activities quite early before breakfast with a brisk walk to the top of Bartolomé. There are no words to describe the beauty of the island from a look out point at 359 feet above sea level. All the spatter cones, lava tubes and the color of the rocks make you feel as though you are on a different planet.
After a well deserved breakfast we landed on the same island’s golden beach where we could hike the sand dunes, snorkel along the pinnacle rock, swim and lounge on the beach. We saw a variety of species on land and in the water such as sally light foot crabs, sea lions, lava lizards, pelicans, penguins and sharks, there is no doubt that this island is a magic place.
After all our morning activities we needed to recharge our batteries so we went back on board and had a very delicious lunch. Later we traveled to Santiago Island to a place called Puerto Egas where we disembarked on a black beach; it was very special for some of our guests to see black volcanic sand for the first time.
Here we had many options; some of us decided to fit in one more snorkeling adventure where they encountered a sea full of marine life, sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and many schools of tropical and subtropical fishes along with grazing sea turtles.
Other guests went on a trek along Puerto Egas where they saw land birds such as Darwin finches, Galápagos doves and a Galápagos hawk. In the intertidal zone of this site they also found dozens of marine iguanas forming large piles to keep warm, as well as a group of Galápagos fur seals resting on the rocks and a lot of sea birds and migratory birds feeding.
We ended the day in true Ecuadorian style with a pick up game of football on a black sand field, the majestic sun set told us the day and the expedition were coming to an end.
The evening, however, was filled with various celebrations: our new Zodiac drivers were presented with their licenses, handed over by the Captain with a handshake. The winners of our anonymous painting competition came to claim their fame and put their name on their artworks: Christopher Hill and his sea lion, Emily Thompson and her dancing booby, and Sienna Murphy with her Galápagos penguin. Finally, a wonderful play took place explaining simply and clearly the idea of arrival and establishment of living organisms in the islands.
Today we started our activities quite early before breakfast with a brisk walk to the top of Bartolomé. There are no words to describe the beauty of the island from a look out point at 359 feet above sea level. All the spatter cones, lava tubes and the color of the rocks make you feel as though you are on a different planet.
After a well deserved breakfast we landed on the same island’s golden beach where we could hike the sand dunes, snorkel along the pinnacle rock, swim and lounge on the beach. We saw a variety of species on land and in the water such as sally light foot crabs, sea lions, lava lizards, pelicans, penguins and sharks, there is no doubt that this island is a magic place.
After all our morning activities we needed to recharge our batteries so we went back on board and had a very delicious lunch. Later we traveled to Santiago Island to a place called Puerto Egas where we disembarked on a black beach; it was very special for some of our guests to see black volcanic sand for the first time.
Here we had many options; some of us decided to fit in one more snorkeling adventure where they encountered a sea full of marine life, sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and many schools of tropical and subtropical fishes along with grazing sea turtles.
Other guests went on a trek along Puerto Egas where they saw land birds such as Darwin finches, Galápagos doves and a Galápagos hawk. In the intertidal zone of this site they also found dozens of marine iguanas forming large piles to keep warm, as well as a group of Galápagos fur seals resting on the rocks and a lot of sea birds and migratory birds feeding.
We ended the day in true Ecuadorian style with a pick up game of football on a black sand field, the majestic sun set told us the day and the expedition were coming to an end.
The evening, however, was filled with various celebrations: our new Zodiac drivers were presented with their licenses, handed over by the Captain with a handshake. The winners of our anonymous painting competition came to claim their fame and put their name on their artworks: Christopher Hill and his sea lion, Emily Thompson and her dancing booby, and Sienna Murphy with her Galápagos penguin. Finally, a wonderful play took place explaining simply and clearly the idea of arrival and establishment of living organisms in the islands.
