During the early hours of the morning the National Geographic Islander sailed into the protected anchorage on the northern side of Bartholomew Island. We awoke as the sun first illuminated the eastern sky and our ship gently rode its anchor in the calm waters.
This morning our plan was to start the day with an invigorating pre-breakfast hike to the summit of the highest peak of Bartholomew Island. Bartholomew Island is a perfect example of the geology of this volcanic archipelago and as we hiked up the boardwalk that has been built to protect the easily eroded volcanic ash, we stopped often to have a closer look at the many volcanic aspects of this “lunar” landscape.
As we reached the summit the view was a grand prize for our effort. After taking in the view of the two opposing bays on both sides of Bartholomew Island and its famous Pinnacle Rock with the surrounding waters of Sullivan Bay and Santiago Island in the background, we made our way back to the ship for a very well deserved breakfast.
Not long after breakfast it was time to explore the shoreline of the island both above and below the water in search of Galapagos penguins and other wildlife. And not long after our wet landing on the beautiful northern beach we found ourselves surrounded by several Galapagos penguins that had driven small schools of fish into the shallows. Visibility was good and the water was a very comfortable temperature.
After our first exploration below the surface we returned to the ship where Photography Instructor, Jonathan, gave his first presentation of the trip which was followed by a traditional Ecuadorian feast.
Following the customary Ecuadorian “siesta” we set off to explore the shoreline of Rabida Island where our ship had transited to during lunch time. We would explore the shoreline from our zodiacs, paddle boards, kayaks, or while snorkeling.
As we rode our Zodiacs back towards our ship it became clear that most of our guests were starting to recognize some of the more familiar wildlife that is found both below and above the waves. In addition we had some new and unexpected sightings of White reef sharks, Marble rays and our first Green sea turtles of the trip.
As the sun dropped toward the volcanoes of Isabela Island to the west, we landed one last time on the dark red beach for a relaxing sunset walk that gave us excellent opportunities for both “mental” and digital photography.
