Bartolome & Santiago Islands
Today is the seventh day of our expedition to the Galápagos on board the National Geographic Endeavour, yet we keep on discovering new things in this marvelous archipelago. We boarded our fleet of Zodiacs early in the morning for a pre-breakfast visit to Bartholomew Island. As we head towards our landing spot we get an overview of our destination located 345 feet above sea level!
During our walk, we had the chance to observe most of the geological features of the Galápagos Islands all concentrated right there. There is no doubt that this island really is an open book of geology! Walking over the volcanic material gave us the sensation we were visiting a different planet. We achieved our goal by climbing about 370 steps to arrive to the highest place on the islet to enjoy a breathtaking view of Bartholomew’s famous Pinnacle Rock.
Later in the morning we also explored the southern part of the island by walking along a beautiful golden sandy beach where we came across lots of white-tipped reef sharks as well as frigate birds and brown pelicans. Upon returning to the northern side of the islet, we enjoyed swimming and snorkeling opportunities, where penguins and lots of fish were seen.
In the afternoon, on our way to our next visitor’s site, we navigated along the northern coast of Santiago Island enjoying a wonderful view of places that used to be popular anchorage sites for pirates and buccaneers back in the late seventeen hundreds. We dropped anchor at Puerto Egas at around 3pm and lowered our fleet of Zodiacs to go ashore once more.
At this place, we went on a hike and found a great diversity of wildlife. Our highlight was to come across both endemic species of sea lions sharing the same habitat: the Galápagos sea lion and the Galápagos fur seal, as well as a great number of shore birds!
As we were heading back, a rainbow showed up on the horizon: this marvelous natural phenomenon, together with the sunset, gave us a great show. At the same time, it was letting us know that our day has come to an end. We all came back on board full of memories that we’ll never forget. The Enchanted Islands will always remain in our hearts.
Today is the seventh day of our expedition to the Galápagos on board the National Geographic Endeavour, yet we keep on discovering new things in this marvelous archipelago. We boarded our fleet of Zodiacs early in the morning for a pre-breakfast visit to Bartholomew Island. As we head towards our landing spot we get an overview of our destination located 345 feet above sea level!
During our walk, we had the chance to observe most of the geological features of the Galápagos Islands all concentrated right there. There is no doubt that this island really is an open book of geology! Walking over the volcanic material gave us the sensation we were visiting a different planet. We achieved our goal by climbing about 370 steps to arrive to the highest place on the islet to enjoy a breathtaking view of Bartholomew’s famous Pinnacle Rock.
Later in the morning we also explored the southern part of the island by walking along a beautiful golden sandy beach where we came across lots of white-tipped reef sharks as well as frigate birds and brown pelicans. Upon returning to the northern side of the islet, we enjoyed swimming and snorkeling opportunities, where penguins and lots of fish were seen.
In the afternoon, on our way to our next visitor’s site, we navigated along the northern coast of Santiago Island enjoying a wonderful view of places that used to be popular anchorage sites for pirates and buccaneers back in the late seventeen hundreds. We dropped anchor at Puerto Egas at around 3pm and lowered our fleet of Zodiacs to go ashore once more.
At this place, we went on a hike and found a great diversity of wildlife. Our highlight was to come across both endemic species of sea lions sharing the same habitat: the Galápagos sea lion and the Galápagos fur seal, as well as a great number of shore birds!
As we were heading back, a rainbow showed up on the horizon: this marvelous natural phenomenon, together with the sunset, gave us a great show. At the same time, it was letting us know that our day has come to an end. We all came back on board full of memories that we’ll never forget. The Enchanted Islands will always remain in our hearts.
