Bartolomé & Santiago
Six thirty in the morning sounds too early to go on a walk while being on Holidays, but this time is Bartolome, one of the middle aged islands of the Galápagos.
Bartolomé is such a small island, one and a half square kilometers in size, but loaded with geological formations all together in one place, from the smallest spatter cones to the largest tuff cones, reminders of the constant volcanic activity of these islands. It deserves the description of moon landscape.
The altitude we have to cover is 450 feet high, or about 370 regular steps – a very energetic morning excursion. Certainly we deserved breakfast afterwards, and then we moved on as snorkeling was waiting. This was the first snorkel of the whole week ahead of us, so there were high expectations.
Some of the groups were experienced snorkelers, others wanted to learn, and everybody was soon on their way to discovering that there is another world under water that is also called Galápagos. This world will let us have a greater understanding of the islands, such an odd collection of wildlife. In just one morning of snorkeling, we saw penguins, sharks, and tropical fishes.
The afternoon came with a wet landing on Puerto Egas, located on the northwestern side of Santiago Island. We made a landing on a black sandy beach with some remnants of a colonizing attempt back in the 60’s. Nobody lives there now, just the usual inhabitants of the islands
This place has such a beauty, lava flows that sometime in the past encountered the ocean, causing explosions that changed them into ash and this one turning into tuff ( ash formations) now eroded so that we can see the layers shaped up by the wind and ocean. These formations are at the same time a shelter for a variety of wildlife. At the beginning it is not so easy to notice, but all of a sudden something appears in front of your eyes. Marine iguanas that look like lava, or fur seals that blend in between the rocks, or stunning red crabs that are so noticeably red that they makes us wonder if there is a predator for them.
This beautiful coast is a place that invites to stay, but it is close to sunset and we must leave. The National Park is closed and we must get onto the Zodiacs to head back on board. Just a second before, a turtle unexpectedly appears on the beach and disappears again with the waves. We can go.
