Bartolome and Santiago Islands
After a couple of tiring days of travel to reach the islands, the chance to crawl between clean sheets in our comfortable cabins on the Islander, immediately following dinner, was welcome. It was an extremely early bedtime for many of us – but I think we will find that the fresh air, the good food, the snorkeling and the hikes will have most of us in bed earlier than we can imagine, all week long.
Besides, our wake up call came early: at 6:00 a.m. The wildlife is active in the cooler morning hours, hence to beat the heat and to maximize our wildlife encounters, we too will rise early most mornings. As the sun gathered force, and with surprising speed, climbed into the sky, we disembarked onto a small cement dock and followed a cinder path and a wooden boardwalk to the summit of Bartolome Island. Frigate birds soared on thermals and the day warmed up quickly. The sun lit the incredible volcanic landscape around us, and we instantly understood the benefits, yes, the glory, of rising early.
The view from Bartolome is almost magical; a fabulous contrast in colors and contours. Golden and white crescent beaches border jet black lava flows just over a hundred years old. The flows are dotted with volcanic cones of varying ages and colors ranging from beige to brick red. A swath of lush evergreen mangrove trees between the two beaches of Bartolome is the only green. A few finches, little lava lizards, red Sally lightfoot crabs and the soaring marine birds were the wildlife we observed on the pre-breakfast walk.
Following a snorkeling safety briefing and distribution of equipment, we took the Zodiacs into the beach. We soon realized that the greatest abundance of wildlife around this island is found underwater! We had fantastic calm conditions for our first snorkeling outing, and everyone was delighted with close up encounters with huge schools of fish, sharks, sea lions and a curious penguin who appeared to be eagerly checking us out, rather than the other way around.
Lunch and siesta were followed by a power point presentation where I attempted to explain why these islands deserve their name of “Islas Encantadas.” Actually, even after just one and a half days in the islands, I am sure our guests have already felt the enchantment.
At 3:30 p.m., in the relatively cooler afternoon hours, we swam and snorkeled off the black sand at Puerto Egas. Once, a couple hundred men and women lived here to mine salt; now only the remains of buildings and roads attest to their efforts. Now, the island has been over run with feral goats and pigs since the mid 1800’s. Happily the National Park has successfully eradicated pigs and will soon rid this island of goats as well. These introduced mammals have wrecked havoc on the fragile Galápagos, destroying both vegetation and animal life. Lindblad Expeditions and donations made by our guests have been instrumental in funding the project which will return the ecosystem of Santiago to a natural balance.
The walk, at low tide, along the ocean carved shoreline of lava tunnels which churned with foaming turquoise waves was an unforgettable excursion. Dozens of marine iguanas were sprawled on the lava, sea lions slept on the black sand and brilliant red Sally lightfoot crabs searched for tidbits of food which they stuffed with two handed eagerness into their mouths. We observed migratory shore birds: wandering tattlers, ruddy turnstones and semi-palmated plovers. There were also the resident or indigenous oyster catchers, brown pelicans and a few blue footed boobies. Near the end of our hike we found several endemic Galápagos fur seals. These pinnipeds were hunted to near extinction in the 1800’ s but have since recovered and are now completely protected. Thanks to the efforts of the National Park with the support of the Ecuadorian government, the Darwin Research Station and all those who have donated their time and money to preserving the Islas Encantadas, the island of Santiago is slowly returning to the pristine state in which Charles Darwin found it when he camped here in 1831, over 170 years ago.
After a couple of tiring days of travel to reach the islands, the chance to crawl between clean sheets in our comfortable cabins on the Islander, immediately following dinner, was welcome. It was an extremely early bedtime for many of us – but I think we will find that the fresh air, the good food, the snorkeling and the hikes will have most of us in bed earlier than we can imagine, all week long.
Besides, our wake up call came early: at 6:00 a.m. The wildlife is active in the cooler morning hours, hence to beat the heat and to maximize our wildlife encounters, we too will rise early most mornings. As the sun gathered force, and with surprising speed, climbed into the sky, we disembarked onto a small cement dock and followed a cinder path and a wooden boardwalk to the summit of Bartolome Island. Frigate birds soared on thermals and the day warmed up quickly. The sun lit the incredible volcanic landscape around us, and we instantly understood the benefits, yes, the glory, of rising early.
The view from Bartolome is almost magical; a fabulous contrast in colors and contours. Golden and white crescent beaches border jet black lava flows just over a hundred years old. The flows are dotted with volcanic cones of varying ages and colors ranging from beige to brick red. A swath of lush evergreen mangrove trees between the two beaches of Bartolome is the only green. A few finches, little lava lizards, red Sally lightfoot crabs and the soaring marine birds were the wildlife we observed on the pre-breakfast walk.
Following a snorkeling safety briefing and distribution of equipment, we took the Zodiacs into the beach. We soon realized that the greatest abundance of wildlife around this island is found underwater! We had fantastic calm conditions for our first snorkeling outing, and everyone was delighted with close up encounters with huge schools of fish, sharks, sea lions and a curious penguin who appeared to be eagerly checking us out, rather than the other way around.
Lunch and siesta were followed by a power point presentation where I attempted to explain why these islands deserve their name of “Islas Encantadas.” Actually, even after just one and a half days in the islands, I am sure our guests have already felt the enchantment.
At 3:30 p.m., in the relatively cooler afternoon hours, we swam and snorkeled off the black sand at Puerto Egas. Once, a couple hundred men and women lived here to mine salt; now only the remains of buildings and roads attest to their efforts. Now, the island has been over run with feral goats and pigs since the mid 1800’s. Happily the National Park has successfully eradicated pigs and will soon rid this island of goats as well. These introduced mammals have wrecked havoc on the fragile Galápagos, destroying both vegetation and animal life. Lindblad Expeditions and donations made by our guests have been instrumental in funding the project which will return the ecosystem of Santiago to a natural balance.
The walk, at low tide, along the ocean carved shoreline of lava tunnels which churned with foaming turquoise waves was an unforgettable excursion. Dozens of marine iguanas were sprawled on the lava, sea lions slept on the black sand and brilliant red Sally lightfoot crabs searched for tidbits of food which they stuffed with two handed eagerness into their mouths. We observed migratory shore birds: wandering tattlers, ruddy turnstones and semi-palmated plovers. There were also the resident or indigenous oyster catchers, brown pelicans and a few blue footed boobies. Near the end of our hike we found several endemic Galápagos fur seals. These pinnipeds were hunted to near extinction in the 1800’ s but have since recovered and are now completely protected. Thanks to the efforts of the National Park with the support of the Ecuadorian government, the Darwin Research Station and all those who have donated their time and money to preserving the Islas Encantadas, the island of Santiago is slowly returning to the pristine state in which Charles Darwin found it when he camped here in 1831, over 170 years ago.
