Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
In the early hours of the day we started exploring the dramatic volcanic coast of Bartolomé Island located in the central realm of the archipelago. We headed ashore on our Zodiacs and climbed to the top of a large cinder cone. Along the way we found several volcanic features such as lava tubes, spatter cones, and rusty red lava flows; all of these illustrate the volcanic origin of this island and of the rest of the archipelago. We saw only a few species of pioneer plants beginning to grow out of the lava. This small island lies in the rain shadow of the large island of Santa Cruz which explains the dryness of the area. At the top we had a great view of the famous pinnacle rock of Bartolomé that looks like a sentinel watching over the islands and its creatures.
After our hike we returned aboard for a well deserved breakfast that replenished our energy. Then we headed back ashore to go snorkeling for the first time in the Galápagos. There was a large diversity of fish and marine invertebrates all over the rocks, and some of us were very lucky and had the company of a Galápagos penguin swimming next to us. Others found white tipped reef sharks slowly swimming below the pinnacle rock. The waters around this island couldn’t have been more perfect; the ocean was smooth as glass with very little wind, excellent visibility, and everybody had a great time.
As we left Bartolomé for our next destination on the western coast of Santiago Island we had the company of a huge pod of playful bottlenose dolphins. These sleek creatures leapt and splashed in our bow wake and raced along before us while we hung our heads over the edge and watched them with delight.
In the afternoon we disembarked at Puerto Egas, where the black sand contrasted with the blue waters bathing the coast. Here we went snorkeling for a second time with large schools of fish, Pacific green sea turtles, and sea lions. After this exuberating snorkeling experience we walked along a cindery trail through the dry coastal - adding color to the otherwise barren landscape.
On the rocky lava coast we found immense male Galápagos sea lions beginning to establish territories while females were resting on the warm black rocks. Several groups of marine iguanas were sunbathing, gathered close to the tidal area, while striated herons, yellow crown night herons, and American oyster catchers searched for crabs and small fish in the shallow tidal pools left by the receding tide.
To end this fabulous day, we experienced a wonderful sunset while sampling ceviche on the sky deck, and then attended recap where everyone had something different and exciting to share about this day in paradise.
