Bartolomé & Santiago Islands

This morning we visited Bartolomé Island which is famous for its spectacular landscapes and geology. After a quick early risers' breakfast, we began with our climb to the summit of Bartolomé. Along the trail we observed some very interesting geological formations. These volcanic formations included several spatter cones, lava tubes, lava flows and cinder cones. This island has few species of plants, most of these are salt resistant and are found behind the beach. As we climbed a wooden stairway we saw a few species of pioneer plants - lava cactus, gray mat plants, and Chamaesyce. We also encountered a few animal inhabitants on the island - lava lizards, Galápagos painted locusts and some Darwin finches.

When we reached the summit of Bartolomé, we were amazed by the gorgeous landscape below us; the famous pinnacle rock and two crescent beaches of golden colored sand. In the distance we observed expansive lava flows from a volcanic eruption on Santiago which took place in 1897. After our visit to this wonderful place we returned on board for breakfast and, having replenished our energies, back we went ashore once more.

We hiked over a sand dune to the southern beach on Bartolomé. Here we saw white-tipped reef sharks swimming slowly along the coast, and pelicans and blue-footed boobies fishing together. We returned to the northern coast of Bartolomé for swimming and snorkeling from the beach. Everyone was enthusiastic about the snorkeling; we observed many huge schools of colorful fish, sting rays, sea lions and sharks. Several of our guests saw fast moving penguins and our first snorkel outing was both successful and unforgettable!

While we had lunch and a siesta, we navigated to Puerto Egas, on the northwestern coast of Santiago Island. This island, known by pirates and buccaneers to be a good hiding place, was also a source of fresh water and giant tortoises for early sailors. For us, it was another great snorkeling site. We swam among Pacific green sea turtles, rays, and sea lions. One very large male sea lion – the current beach master- who was jealously guarding a female that had recently given birth, tried his best to keep us off his beach and out of the water!

On the afternoon walk along the picturesque lava shore, we encountered newborn Galápagos sea lions, hundreds of basking marine iguanas and bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs. As this incredible day came to an end, we returned - contented and smiling - to the ship where we enjoyed a lovely sunset and a bowl of ceviche on the sky deck.