Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
Clear skies at dawn yet again. A few low clouds hanging on the horizon, but the color blue was dominant both in sea and sky. Warm rusts, browns and beiges surrounded us, and the tuff cones of Bartholomew and Santiago caught the warm glow of the rising sun.
The walk to the top left us breathless, then the view from the top took away what remained. Golden crescent beaches separated by green forest lay below; a pinnacle of rock pointing to the heavens on the north shore. Beyond – Darwin’s favorite island because he was allowed nine days entire to explore and ponder the odd inhabitants.
Soon enough we were down there ourselves. A landing on the soft, sticky sand of the north beach was made after breakfast, and the “dunewalkers” who crossed over to the southern beach were rewarded for their extra effort by the sight of a green sea turtle female dragging herself UP the beach. This was around 9:30 a.m., and her tracks indicated she had tried several areas along the beach and had not yet settled on the perfect spot. Soon enough she head down to the water and the cooler temperatures while the day was already feeling significantly warmer.
Snorkeling, swimming and trips in the glass bottom boat occupied the rest of the morning until noon. Just when we got well under way, a small pod of bottle-nose dolphins appeared – but so close to shore it would have impossible to turn the ship around…so onward we sailed to Santiago and her western coast, James Bay and Puerto Egas.
The profile of Isabela Island was sharp and the wind was blowing. The outer coastline showed whitecaps and kept everyone cool. Galápagos sea lions courted; fur seals crawled out of reach of the crashing surf; a Galápagos hawk took a lava lizard within a few feet of one group.
More dolphins cruised past in front of the setting sun, and the coming darkness brought us back to light, home and friends.
