Bartolome & Santiago Island
At 6:00 a.m. we heard our Expedition Leader’s voice waking us up… “Good morning, we have arrived to Bartolome Island!”
That was early! But early mornings in the Galápagos mean many activities. We better take every opportunity we have! We had a challenging morning climbing up 372 steps to the summit of this island. Every step was worth it … the view left us breathless!
We went back to get breakfast, to get our snorkeling gear and once again we’re ready for the next visit, which included a hike on the beach, and our water activities.
We had a short walk to the other side of the beach and some pelicans were there to welcome us. The visitors who spent a longer time to wander found seven white tip reef sharks, turtle’s trails and a Galápagos Shark, at least 5 feet long, at the end of the bay! The snorkelers couldn’t complain, as they got to swim with penguins, sea lions, sharks, moray eels and all different types of very colorful fish!
Ecuadorian food for lunch, a little recovering siesta time… and the afternoon started. We disembarked on a black beach on Santiago Island. We snorkeled, enjoyed the beach, and then we all went to walk on the shore line of James Bay…This place is an important intertidal area; there are many tide pools very rich in food for marine iguanas, crabs and birds.
The end of the walk is a place where some lava tubes had reached the ocean; this is a good place to look for fur seals, the second species of sea lion on the Galápagos! We found two fur seals sleeping inside a crack. After finding them, it was time to go back to the National Geographic Islander.
Today was a full day for us – there were some many things to do! So many memories and pictures to bring home… that’s why we’d better take every opportunity we have!
