Bartolome & James Islands
This morning some of us rose shortly after sunset for an invigorating climb up the 378 steps to a lookout atop Isla Bartolome. At the top, we discovered WWF’s panda mascot, who had been kidnapped the day before, resting quietly on a rock, the wind ruffling her fur, but otherwise unharmed. “Darwina” has now decided to stay aboard the Polaris having found life in the Galapagos wonderful. We returned to the ship for a wonderful breakfast on the Teak Deck overlooking Bartolome Bay. Afterward, more eager adventurers headed back to the island for a walk over the dunes to the other side. Greeting us was a young Galapagos hawk, sailing in place just over our heads while a parent perched on a low branch near the beach. We discovered more green sea turtles and a few sunbathing sea lions. The underwater world presented chocolate chip and geometric sea stars, king angels, black-tipped cardinals, and Galapagos grunts. A playful sea lion blew bubbles at us below the glass-bottom boat, seemingly as amused by us as we of her. This afternoon, we visited Isla Santiago where we had a rare glimpse of two male sea lions battling briefly on the lava beach. In the tide pools we discovered a tiny octopus, several blennies and minute hermit crabs, while on the sands above a solitary oystercatcher incubated her eggs. Fur seals lounged near blow holes, resting up for the coming night’s fishing. Snorkelers saw a Galapagos penguin in action, pursuing a school of fish for lunch, as well as grazing marine iguanas and green sea turtles. Tonight we set sail for Baltra, full of memories of an adventure that has far exceeded our expectations.
This morning some of us rose shortly after sunset for an invigorating climb up the 378 steps to a lookout atop Isla Bartolome. At the top, we discovered WWF’s panda mascot, who had been kidnapped the day before, resting quietly on a rock, the wind ruffling her fur, but otherwise unharmed. “Darwina” has now decided to stay aboard the Polaris having found life in the Galapagos wonderful. We returned to the ship for a wonderful breakfast on the Teak Deck overlooking Bartolome Bay. Afterward, more eager adventurers headed back to the island for a walk over the dunes to the other side. Greeting us was a young Galapagos hawk, sailing in place just over our heads while a parent perched on a low branch near the beach. We discovered more green sea turtles and a few sunbathing sea lions. The underwater world presented chocolate chip and geometric sea stars, king angels, black-tipped cardinals, and Galapagos grunts. A playful sea lion blew bubbles at us below the glass-bottom boat, seemingly as amused by us as we of her. This afternoon, we visited Isla Santiago where we had a rare glimpse of two male sea lions battling briefly on the lava beach. In the tide pools we discovered a tiny octopus, several blennies and minute hermit crabs, while on the sands above a solitary oystercatcher incubated her eggs. Fur seals lounged near blow holes, resting up for the coming night’s fishing. Snorkelers saw a Galapagos penguin in action, pursuing a school of fish for lunch, as well as grazing marine iguanas and green sea turtles. Tonight we set sail for Baltra, full of memories of an adventure that has far exceeded our expectations.
