Bartolome & Santiago Islands
We navigated to the central area of the archipelago during the night. The first thing we saw in the morning, as we were disembarking at 6:30, was the spectacular pinnacle rock of Bartolome Island in front of our ship.
The first visit was challenging because to arrive to the summit of Bartolome we had to climb 372 steps. But, as we were hiking up, we could observe and understand the Geology of the Islands. There were spatter cones surrounding the landscape, lava tubes reaching the surface of the Island, and colorful rocks oxidized by time.
From the top, the view left us breathless. We could observe Santiago Island in front of us; at the eastern side of the archipelago we recognized the Islands of Baltra, North Seymour and Santa Cruz.
Our first snorkeling was a remarkable activity! Starting from white tip reef sharks up to penguins, all kinds of different fish and underwater life were the stars of the show!
In the afternoon we enjoyed kayaking close to the shore of Santiago Island. The hike was very nice, with the sunset colors on the trail. Every form of life was interesting; every bird was very active at the tide pools, lava lizards were all over! Marine iguanas were confused with lava rocks!
At the end of the trail we found some fur seals. Even if their population is in good health, they are harder to see than the Galápagos sea lions as they look for places with shade. The lavas tubes that had reached the ocean provide a lot of caverns for these sea lions to hide form the Ecuadorian sun.
The evening we were all tired because of the long day, but we were all very happy and excited to see what is coming for tomorrow!
We navigated to the central area of the archipelago during the night. The first thing we saw in the morning, as we were disembarking at 6:30, was the spectacular pinnacle rock of Bartolome Island in front of our ship.
The first visit was challenging because to arrive to the summit of Bartolome we had to climb 372 steps. But, as we were hiking up, we could observe and understand the Geology of the Islands. There were spatter cones surrounding the landscape, lava tubes reaching the surface of the Island, and colorful rocks oxidized by time.
From the top, the view left us breathless. We could observe Santiago Island in front of us; at the eastern side of the archipelago we recognized the Islands of Baltra, North Seymour and Santa Cruz.
Our first snorkeling was a remarkable activity! Starting from white tip reef sharks up to penguins, all kinds of different fish and underwater life were the stars of the show!
In the afternoon we enjoyed kayaking close to the shore of Santiago Island. The hike was very nice, with the sunset colors on the trail. Every form of life was interesting; every bird was very active at the tide pools, lava lizards were all over! Marine iguanas were confused with lava rocks!
At the end of the trail we found some fur seals. Even if their population is in good health, they are harder to see than the Galápagos sea lions as they look for places with shade. The lavas tubes that had reached the ocean provide a lot of caverns for these sea lions to hide form the Ecuadorian sun.
The evening we were all tired because of the long day, but we were all very happy and excited to see what is coming for tomorrow!
