Bartolome Island
We began so early today that the sun hadn’t risen yet when we left the ship. We could only see the profile of a strange rock, which, depending on how you look at it, resembles a witch on one side and a pelican on the other. We were not sure if the island ahead was made up of lava, ash or cinder. Were we arriving on the moon? The ocean seemed really deep, and there was nothing green around. We landed, we walked, we got to the top, and right on time the light of the equatorial sun illuminated Bartolome, our visitor site, enlightening the world, unveiling its real colors and shapes.
The many spatter cones on the flanks of the main volcano were painted in bronze; the layers of ash brighten up the scene with various shades of yellow. The lush green of the mangroves lining the beach warmed up the view. It became such a clear morning that we could even spot sea turtles still nesting on a far shore. The mysteries shrouded by the darkness had been revealed: we realized then that we were on one of the volcanic islands of the Galapagos. An island that had transported us to the very beginning of the archipelago, when it was only lava, with few life forms just starting to colonize the new rocks.
We began so early today that the sun hadn’t risen yet when we left the ship. We could only see the profile of a strange rock, which, depending on how you look at it, resembles a witch on one side and a pelican on the other. We were not sure if the island ahead was made up of lava, ash or cinder. Were we arriving on the moon? The ocean seemed really deep, and there was nothing green around. We landed, we walked, we got to the top, and right on time the light of the equatorial sun illuminated Bartolome, our visitor site, enlightening the world, unveiling its real colors and shapes.
The many spatter cones on the flanks of the main volcano were painted in bronze; the layers of ash brighten up the scene with various shades of yellow. The lush green of the mangroves lining the beach warmed up the view. It became such a clear morning that we could even spot sea turtles still nesting on a far shore. The mysteries shrouded by the darkness had been revealed: we realized then that we were on one of the volcanic islands of the Galapagos. An island that had transported us to the very beginning of the archipelago, when it was only lava, with few life forms just starting to colonize the new rocks.
