Bartolome and Santiago Islands
Happy Halloween from Galápagos! This morning we had a pre-breakfast hike to the top of Bartolome Island. The Naturalists provided us with a geology lesson as we climbed 370 wooden steps, passing close to collapsed lava tubes, barren cinder, and splatter cones. Patches of slender green and yellow Brachycereus cactus colonize some sections of the reddish brown lava. The view from the summit was spectacular: with a lovely contrast of the bright colors of the blue ocean, crescent beaches of gold and white, brown and black lava fields and vibrant green mangroves.
Back on the ship, we enjoyed a delicious and well earned buffet breakfast and then tried on and borrowed snorkeling gear. Around 10:00 a.m., we disembarked on the golden sand and climbed a small dune to a longer beach where we watched several white-tipped reef sharks swimming in the shallows as well as shorebirds and crabs running along the rocks and sand. We returned to the landing beach and donned our masks and fins. Taking excited breaths through the snorkels, we plunged into the submarine world. For some of us, this was our first try at snorkeling; others were quite expert at the sport. But we all had a blast, swimming and splashing among huge schools of fish, trying to catch a glimpse of a fast moving penguin, and joining a friendly sea lion in a graceful aquatic dance.
In the afternoon, we had the choice of snorkeling and a faster walk or taking a more leisurely walk along the eroded coastline of Puerto Egas, on the northwest shore of Santiago Island. The snorkeling was great. Quite different than in the morning, but many of us found slow moving sea turtles and schooling fish. The coastal walk, along lava flows that form grottos and turquoise inlets, was also spectacular. We spied many species of shorebirds, found dozens of iguanas, photographed our first fur seals, and admired the new born sea lions and some slightly older pups that were full of curiosity at our passing.
When we entered the lounge in the evening for recap and cocktail hour, we found it wildly decorated with spider webs, bats, pumpkins and witches. The staff paraded in, dressed in costumes of medieval knights, pirates and ladies, witches and fairies, and I was as always, Snow White so I could invite 7 of the shortest of our crew along dressed as the 7 dwarves. Captain Pablo Garces came as King Neptune and Esteban, the Hotel Manager was Count Dracula. Dinner was served to us tonight by Spiderman, a Roman Prince and a Clown! Good fun had by all and our fabulous trip continues….
Happy Halloween from Galápagos! This morning we had a pre-breakfast hike to the top of Bartolome Island. The Naturalists provided us with a geology lesson as we climbed 370 wooden steps, passing close to collapsed lava tubes, barren cinder, and splatter cones. Patches of slender green and yellow Brachycereus cactus colonize some sections of the reddish brown lava. The view from the summit was spectacular: with a lovely contrast of the bright colors of the blue ocean, crescent beaches of gold and white, brown and black lava fields and vibrant green mangroves.
Back on the ship, we enjoyed a delicious and well earned buffet breakfast and then tried on and borrowed snorkeling gear. Around 10:00 a.m., we disembarked on the golden sand and climbed a small dune to a longer beach where we watched several white-tipped reef sharks swimming in the shallows as well as shorebirds and crabs running along the rocks and sand. We returned to the landing beach and donned our masks and fins. Taking excited breaths through the snorkels, we plunged into the submarine world. For some of us, this was our first try at snorkeling; others were quite expert at the sport. But we all had a blast, swimming and splashing among huge schools of fish, trying to catch a glimpse of a fast moving penguin, and joining a friendly sea lion in a graceful aquatic dance.
In the afternoon, we had the choice of snorkeling and a faster walk or taking a more leisurely walk along the eroded coastline of Puerto Egas, on the northwest shore of Santiago Island. The snorkeling was great. Quite different than in the morning, but many of us found slow moving sea turtles and schooling fish. The coastal walk, along lava flows that form grottos and turquoise inlets, was also spectacular. We spied many species of shorebirds, found dozens of iguanas, photographed our first fur seals, and admired the new born sea lions and some slightly older pups that were full of curiosity at our passing.
When we entered the lounge in the evening for recap and cocktail hour, we found it wildly decorated with spider webs, bats, pumpkins and witches. The staff paraded in, dressed in costumes of medieval knights, pirates and ladies, witches and fairies, and I was as always, Snow White so I could invite 7 of the shortest of our crew along dressed as the 7 dwarves. Captain Pablo Garces came as King Neptune and Esteban, the Hotel Manager was Count Dracula. Dinner was served to us tonight by Spiderman, a Roman Prince and a Clown! Good fun had by all and our fabulous trip continues….
