Bartolomé & Santiago
As the sun rises on this early morning, the island of Bartolomé starts to take shape. This jagged satellite island of Santiago appears to be lifeless with its spatter cones and lava flows, however looks can be deceiving…
We start our day early with a hike up the steep steps of Bartolomé and as we climb this island begins to take life, a small grey mat plant to our left, a Galápagos Spurge plant to our right. Lava lizards and painted locusts cross our path as we gain altitude to witness the volcanic cones that created this incredible place on earth. 100, 200, 300 steps bring us to a view incomparable to any place on this planet.
As we make the summit we start to count the islands around us, over 20 as the morning mist rises. We are able to see far north to Marchena Island and Pinta, the birthplace of Lonesome George. After catching our breath we return to our ship to regain some energy with a bountiful breakfast. Then we are off again to Bartolomé but this time to explore the underwater habitat. Penguins swim among us as we round the pinnacle rock. White tipped sharks, flounders, turtles, diamond rays, and an octopus send us on our way.
Navigation around the northern coast of Santiago brings us to our next site, James Bay. This site is known for its human history with pirates, buccaneers, Darwin with his observations, and recently, a salt mining operation that had operated until the 1960’s.
Water, water everywhere…. time to snorkel once more, searching for (and finding) sharks, rays, turtles, sea lions, and smiles. As the water activities continue, some of us make our way along the coast at low tide. Exposed tidal pools bring us a plethora of life with crustaceans, shorebirds, and marine iguanas feeding on the uncovered algae. Crystalline water is exposed by collapsed lava tubes allowing a peek into the sheltered life of the Galápagos fur seal which relaxes along the inside walls of the tubes.
We return to our landing beach and an incredible sunset. As we return to our vessel we can see the contemplation of new adventures in the faces of all on this last day of our Galápagos cruise.
