Bartolomé Island & Santiago Island

An early morning walk took us to the summit of an eroded volcano. Three hundred and seventy four wooden steps took us to a wonderful view point where the surroundings opened up to our eyes as a beautiful array of capricious colors and shapes. Bartolomé Island is surrounded by great volcanic features and blue seas.

Once back on board we were fed an excellent breakfast and prepared for our next morning outing. This time, the highlight was marine turtles and swimming with penguins, sharks and colorful fish. We also took out the glass bottom boat, where a lot of our guests had the joy of watching a white tipped shark, sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins and different species of fish. While the National Geographic Endeavour was moving towards our next destination, we encountered a group of playful dolphins that accompanied us as we ate lunch.

Once on Santiago Island we visited a site called Puerto Egas. We wet landed at the black sandy beach where a juvenile Galápagos Hawk was waiting for us. Some of our guests enjoyed an exciting snorkeling experience, while others walked along the shores of the area. We shared the afternoon with big marine iguanas, lots of shore birds, fur sea lions and Galápagos sea lions.

Before dinner, we had a farewell cocktail offered by the Captain himself. A couple of guests played the piano and sang Christmas Carols. We all had a fabulous Christmas dinner. Happy Holidays!