Bartolomé & San Salvador Islands
Today was like the end of a dream; I find that we are becoming integrated into this diverse landscape. We started our day at sunrise on Bartolomé Island. It was amazing when a big group of bottlenose dolphins came out early in the morning to greet us as we started our day's exploration. By the time they had already made our day, we climbed to the top of a volcanic cone to look upon these famous, volcanic rocks jutting out of the sea. From the top, we saw these dolphins leap out of the sea far below again. It seemed to us like they were the guards of Bartolomé, patrolling the area as we explored it.
Right after breakfast, we joined the wonderful beach on Bartolomé, and as we walked to the other side we were able to explore the nesting area of the green pacific sea turtle. It was amazing to see all this geological features as we walked along the beach; many nests looked as if they were made just last night.
We followed the example of the turtles and next explored an unfamiliar world to us, the ocean. With our snorkeling gear, we ventured into the colorful world of the sea. King angelfish and parrotfish crossed our paths while starfish and urchins covered the walls. We were of course not the only terrestrial vertebrates to enter the marine land interface, for this is a land ruled by marine iguanas.
We also got the chance to join the sea lions on the beach to take advantage of the warm sun. We have observed sea lions everywhere on this trip and they seem to have an affinity for the same places we are also attracted to: golden sand beaches with a beautiful landscape. Different from their cousins, the Galápagos fur sea lion prefers the added shelter of rocky crevices, while common sea lions don’t seem to care as they lie in the sun as if they were also enjoying our holidays.
Our visit ended on Santiago Island with a beautiful sunset. Iguanas formed massive piles under bushes and ledges to keep their body temperatures from dropping too low and sea lion pups searched out their mothers after playing in the tide pools. Some, like the swallow-tailed gull were just beginning their day. And watching the last greetings of the sea lions is how we got back to the National Geographic Polaris.
Today was like the end of a dream; I find that we are becoming integrated into this diverse landscape. We started our day at sunrise on Bartolomé Island. It was amazing when a big group of bottlenose dolphins came out early in the morning to greet us as we started our day's exploration. By the time they had already made our day, we climbed to the top of a volcanic cone to look upon these famous, volcanic rocks jutting out of the sea. From the top, we saw these dolphins leap out of the sea far below again. It seemed to us like they were the guards of Bartolomé, patrolling the area as we explored it.
Right after breakfast, we joined the wonderful beach on Bartolomé, and as we walked to the other side we were able to explore the nesting area of the green pacific sea turtle. It was amazing to see all this geological features as we walked along the beach; many nests looked as if they were made just last night.
We followed the example of the turtles and next explored an unfamiliar world to us, the ocean. With our snorkeling gear, we ventured into the colorful world of the sea. King angelfish and parrotfish crossed our paths while starfish and urchins covered the walls. We were of course not the only terrestrial vertebrates to enter the marine land interface, for this is a land ruled by marine iguanas.
We also got the chance to join the sea lions on the beach to take advantage of the warm sun. We have observed sea lions everywhere on this trip and they seem to have an affinity for the same places we are also attracted to: golden sand beaches with a beautiful landscape. Different from their cousins, the Galápagos fur sea lion prefers the added shelter of rocky crevices, while common sea lions don’t seem to care as they lie in the sun as if they were also enjoying our holidays.
Our visit ended on Santiago Island with a beautiful sunset. Iguanas formed massive piles under bushes and ledges to keep their body temperatures from dropping too low and sea lion pups searched out their mothers after playing in the tide pools. Some, like the swallow-tailed gull were just beginning their day. And watching the last greetings of the sea lions is how we got back to the National Geographic Polaris.
