Bartolomé and Rabida
Today we start off early, before breakfast. We head out for a walk to the top of an old volcano, where a magnificent view awaits us. The sky is half cloudy and an early sun makes for nice scenery. We can see about twelve islands all around, but the most impressive are all the spatter-, tuff- and cinder cones and littering the slopes of Bartolomé Island. We see some colonizing plants, endemic to just this and a few other islands, standing strong in black hot volcanic sand. How they manage to stay alive, almost without any resources but a surplus of sunlight, is a small miracle. It is a showcase of how life always finds ways to adapt, even in the roughest conditions.
After a good breakfast back on board we get ready for beach time, or snorkeling. We see Galápagos penguins, blue-footed boobies plunge diving, many colorful reef fish and all this in the most delightful setting; a magic azure blue ocean, a golden sandy beach and towering, surreal eroded cliffs.
During lunch we sail to our next stop; Rabida Island. Rabida is very different from Bartolomé, both in shape and texture. It is covered with a dry forest of incense trees and cacti, which are again covered in lichens. Beautiful light greens mix with the grey and white of the tree barks. The island itself is made up of piles of cinder it seems, and the cinder is that far oxidized that it is entirely red. Together with the blue of the ocean this makes a spectacular scene. The red beach, where we again have the opportunity to swim and snorkel, is shared with sea lions. Later we hike up the small peninsula, seeing lava lizards, finches, warblers, flycatchers and mockingbirds. Jonathan even spots a Vermillion flycatcher, quite rare for Rabida. We leave the island while a sunset unfolds, happy to get a warm shower. Later we enjoy a special 4th of July dinner buffet.
After our first entire day in this archipelago it seems that we have already done so much, and seen so many animals, and this is just the beginning!