Bartolome and Santiago Islands
What a spectacular day! Days like the one we have had today are unforgettable and special. I will mention just two great events that made our day today. The first one occurred early in the morning, just after climbing to the top of the summit of Bartolome Island. A cheerful pod of bottle-nosed dolphins cavorted at their best. The dolphins were seen jumping out of the water at a very close range from the Zodiacs. Several juveniles were part of this pod. One of them was “caught in the act” by one of our guests in the spectacular picture of today. Marine mammal sightings are always exciting and motivating. Later in the day while chatting with a couple of guests that were still mesmerized with the dolphins told me “Can you arrange something better to top the dolphins?” I answered, joking and following their game, “I will work hard on it.” I invented funny imaginary situations. We all laughed hard but at the end I told them, “We still have the afternoon as well. The day is not over yet. Let’s see.”
In the afternoon, the walk held a big, big surprise for us. A Galápagos giant tortoise was spotted very close to the trail. My heart started pounding hard when I heard this great news by radio. It will be the first time I will have seen a wild tortoise there. Many naturalists have been working in these islands longer than me and have never seen one here. This sighting is extremely rare. When I finally saw the tortoise I felt I was in a dream. I remained in silence for a short period of time. In my mind I knew that this sighting was very important. Santiago Island has its own race of giant tortoise. This tortoise race was one of the most affected by human overexploitation of these majestic creatures in the archipelago. For me to see this tortoise represents a lot. It is a triumph for all the conservation efforts that have been taking place in Santiago over the last few decades. It is a light on the horizon that gives us hope to continue with these efforts. It is an indescribable satisfaction to realize that something good is being done. After giving a genuine and emotive explanation of the greatness of the sighting, we kept walking. We notified all the visitors passing by about the rare event. Among the people on the trail I called the attention of the guests with whom we were joking in the morning about improving the dolphins sighting. I told them we made it! We spotted a giant tortoise on the trail! What a joy! What a thrill! Wow!
What a spectacular day! Days like the one we have had today are unforgettable and special. I will mention just two great events that made our day today. The first one occurred early in the morning, just after climbing to the top of the summit of Bartolome Island. A cheerful pod of bottle-nosed dolphins cavorted at their best. The dolphins were seen jumping out of the water at a very close range from the Zodiacs. Several juveniles were part of this pod. One of them was “caught in the act” by one of our guests in the spectacular picture of today. Marine mammal sightings are always exciting and motivating. Later in the day while chatting with a couple of guests that were still mesmerized with the dolphins told me “Can you arrange something better to top the dolphins?” I answered, joking and following their game, “I will work hard on it.” I invented funny imaginary situations. We all laughed hard but at the end I told them, “We still have the afternoon as well. The day is not over yet. Let’s see.”
In the afternoon, the walk held a big, big surprise for us. A Galápagos giant tortoise was spotted very close to the trail. My heart started pounding hard when I heard this great news by radio. It will be the first time I will have seen a wild tortoise there. Many naturalists have been working in these islands longer than me and have never seen one here. This sighting is extremely rare. When I finally saw the tortoise I felt I was in a dream. I remained in silence for a short period of time. In my mind I knew that this sighting was very important. Santiago Island has its own race of giant tortoise. This tortoise race was one of the most affected by human overexploitation of these majestic creatures in the archipelago. For me to see this tortoise represents a lot. It is a triumph for all the conservation efforts that have been taking place in Santiago over the last few decades. It is a light on the horizon that gives us hope to continue with these efforts. It is an indescribable satisfaction to realize that something good is being done. After giving a genuine and emotive explanation of the greatness of the sighting, we kept walking. We notified all the visitors passing by about the rare event. Among the people on the trail I called the attention of the guests with whom we were joking in the morning about improving the dolphins sighting. I told them we made it! We spotted a giant tortoise on the trail! What a joy! What a thrill! Wow!
