Bartolomé & Santiago Island
Our early morning outing was by itself a highlight already. The morning was spectacular, a deep blue sky and a soft breeze were premonitions of a great day. A cheerful group of Galápagos penguins welcomed us to our first landing of the day to climb the summit of this mythical small volcano. After climbing up and down a wooden stairway of about three hundred and seventy steps each way, we came back on board the National Geographic Islander to have breakfast. After a snorkeling briefing and once geared up we made a wet landing on the golden sandy beach located just at the base of pinnacle rock. We walked up a sand dune to a neighboring beach where we could see many marine turtles’ nests. After the walk we practiced water activities at one of the best snorkeling sites of the archipelago. The best experience of all was sharing these crystal clear waters with Galápagos penguins, sting rays, lots of different species of beautiful invertebrates like anemones, sponges and marvelous sea stars, sea turtles and fantastic colorful tropical fish. The geomorphology of the ocean floor here is absolutely spectacular as well, especially at the base of pinnacle rock.
The afternoon at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island was highlighted by the mighty tales of the naturalists that range from the humans who tried to establish themselves here in the archipelago to the unfortunate damage that the introduced animals have caused to the natural flora and fauna of the islands. A stroll along the sea shore was full of magnificent surprises. Huge and colorful marine iguanas, beautiful bird species such as oystercatchers, pelicans, plovers, ruddy turnstones, and phalaropes mixed together with the bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs, making our afternoon exciting. The sunset found us at the black beach of Puerto Egas where our fleet of Zodiacs picked us up to take us back home. The most beautiful full first day of our expedition in this paradise finally came to an end. The day left us with unforgettable memories.
Our early morning outing was by itself a highlight already. The morning was spectacular, a deep blue sky and a soft breeze were premonitions of a great day. A cheerful group of Galápagos penguins welcomed us to our first landing of the day to climb the summit of this mythical small volcano. After climbing up and down a wooden stairway of about three hundred and seventy steps each way, we came back on board the National Geographic Islander to have breakfast. After a snorkeling briefing and once geared up we made a wet landing on the golden sandy beach located just at the base of pinnacle rock. We walked up a sand dune to a neighboring beach where we could see many marine turtles’ nests. After the walk we practiced water activities at one of the best snorkeling sites of the archipelago. The best experience of all was sharing these crystal clear waters with Galápagos penguins, sting rays, lots of different species of beautiful invertebrates like anemones, sponges and marvelous sea stars, sea turtles and fantastic colorful tropical fish. The geomorphology of the ocean floor here is absolutely spectacular as well, especially at the base of pinnacle rock.
The afternoon at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island was highlighted by the mighty tales of the naturalists that range from the humans who tried to establish themselves here in the archipelago to the unfortunate damage that the introduced animals have caused to the natural flora and fauna of the islands. A stroll along the sea shore was full of magnificent surprises. Huge and colorful marine iguanas, beautiful bird species such as oystercatchers, pelicans, plovers, ruddy turnstones, and phalaropes mixed together with the bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs, making our afternoon exciting. The sunset found us at the black beach of Puerto Egas where our fleet of Zodiacs picked us up to take us back home. The most beautiful full first day of our expedition in this paradise finally came to an end. The day left us with unforgettable memories.
