Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
Our expedition took us to the photogenic island of Bartolomé. We started here, with an early wake-up call, our first full day in the Galápagos. At 6:30am we disembarked for walking on a wooden stair way to the summit of Bartolomé Island. 372 steps up to get a reward: one of the most beautiful sceneries of the Galápagos Islands, Pinnacle Rock and its surroundings.
The highlight of the morning was the time spent on a golden beach next to our very famous Pinnacle Rock. We walked first on the dunes of sand to discover about 20 white-tipped reef sharks swimming very close to the shore. The water temperature was very warm for our guests, who went to swim or to snorkel. We saw many different species of fish and we swam with Galápagos penguins, marble sting rays and playful sea lions.
Back aboard ship, we enjoyed a delicious Ecuadorian lunch to recover our energies and get ready for the afternoon’s activities. We landed on Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. Our visit took us to the grottos where the Galápagos fur seals live. We found one of these pinnipeds sleeping inside a lava fissure to be protected from the sun light. Marine iguanas were all over the shore, and birds were surprising us with their confidence about coming so close to us!
Coming back home onboard the National Geographic Islander, we witnessed a colourful sunset. At the same time, we enjoyed a cocktail to celebrate our first full day in this wonderful place!
