Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
Our last morning dawned overcast – a relief, knowing what was ahead of us. A climb to the top of 359-foot Bartolomé was made before breakfast, before the heat of the day and well-worth the effort. Anyone who has seen the view from the top of this barren, lunar island would recognize it as possibly the most iconic landscape of the archipelago. Seen from the top looking down, the deposits of sand between tuff cones and cinder cones on either end of the island over time have created what is known as a tombolo formation. These in turn now have a healthy forest of verdant green mangroves growing down the center, squeezed between two golden crescent beaches.
Swimming and snorkelling from the northern beach was a delight. The exceptionally low tide of this morning compressed the marine life into a shallower depth, so everything was more intense. If fish could duck their heads, they would have had to this morning.
The afternoon was yet another world to explore. Snorkelers went out and saw sea lions and octopi, then with the other walkers saw a coastline with breakers pounding the shore; American oystercatchers were protecting a nest, and russet-colored marine iguanas were basking in the afternoon sun. Fur seals were out on shore, their pointed noses, broad foreheads and smaller size distinguishing them from the Galápagos sea lions. A of couple females had very young pups nearby.
It was a grand finale for a memorable week with good friends, both four-legged and two.
Our last morning dawned overcast – a relief, knowing what was ahead of us. A climb to the top of 359-foot Bartolomé was made before breakfast, before the heat of the day and well-worth the effort. Anyone who has seen the view from the top of this barren, lunar island would recognize it as possibly the most iconic landscape of the archipelago. Seen from the top looking down, the deposits of sand between tuff cones and cinder cones on either end of the island over time have created what is known as a tombolo formation. These in turn now have a healthy forest of verdant green mangroves growing down the center, squeezed between two golden crescent beaches.
Swimming and snorkelling from the northern beach was a delight. The exceptionally low tide of this morning compressed the marine life into a shallower depth, so everything was more intense. If fish could duck their heads, they would have had to this morning.
The afternoon was yet another world to explore. Snorkelers went out and saw sea lions and octopi, then with the other walkers saw a coastline with breakers pounding the shore; American oystercatchers were protecting a nest, and russet-colored marine iguanas were basking in the afternoon sun. Fur seals were out on shore, their pointed noses, broad foreheads and smaller size distinguishing them from the Galápagos sea lions. A of couple females had very young pups nearby.
It was a grand finale for a memorable week with good friends, both four-legged and two.
