Bartolome and Santiago Islands
Another early start today… We were off the Polaris by 6:30 am, and made our way to the summit of Bartolome, a little island near the eastern coast of Santiago. The morning colors were incredible; the whole range of ochres painted the hilly profile of both islands and behind was a blue, calm sea. When we conquered the top of the island, we were delighted by an encounter with a Galapagos Racer (Alsophis biceralis dorsalis). The snake was hunting for an early morning breakfast, and soon made its way out of sight between the layers of tuff rock. The view from the summit of Bartolome was truly spectacular! Looking down on it from above, we all dreamed of reaching the beautiful orange-tinged beach by pinnacle rock. And after breakfast that is exactly where we headed.
It was the perfect morning, to visit a perfect beach. The sky was blue, the sun warm on our backs. Many of our group took a short walk across a sand dune to a second beach where we found a school of white-tipped reef sharks in the shallow water. What an incredible surprise to see the sharks so close! The friendly Galapagos penguins were busy swimming after schools of fish. They were oblivious to swimmers and snorkelers and we were thrilled to see them in action.
In the afternoon, after a short navigation, we anchored at South James Bay, on the northwestern corner of Santiago Island. It was here, at some unknown spot on the large lava flow of this bay, that Charles Darwin once landed. During his visit to the Galapagos in 1835, he spent over a week camped on Santiago and among other things, he examined the cinder cones in James Bay. We too made a landing on the warm sand of a pitch, black beach. Blue-footed boobies were practicing their kamikaze dives not far from the shore. After swimming and snorkeling, we prepared for our last afternoon hike. Exploring the coastline provided a wonderful opportunity for one final look at the incredible creatures that have amazed us during this week: marine iguanas, sally-light foot crabs, Galapagos sea lions, fur sea lions, and several species of seabirds. The dramatic outline of the volcanoes of the distant island of Isabela created a mysterious, ultimate scene. This certainly has been a fantastic week’s visit to this famous archipelago!
Another early start today… We were off the Polaris by 6:30 am, and made our way to the summit of Bartolome, a little island near the eastern coast of Santiago. The morning colors were incredible; the whole range of ochres painted the hilly profile of both islands and behind was a blue, calm sea. When we conquered the top of the island, we were delighted by an encounter with a Galapagos Racer (Alsophis biceralis dorsalis). The snake was hunting for an early morning breakfast, and soon made its way out of sight between the layers of tuff rock. The view from the summit of Bartolome was truly spectacular! Looking down on it from above, we all dreamed of reaching the beautiful orange-tinged beach by pinnacle rock. And after breakfast that is exactly where we headed.
It was the perfect morning, to visit a perfect beach. The sky was blue, the sun warm on our backs. Many of our group took a short walk across a sand dune to a second beach where we found a school of white-tipped reef sharks in the shallow water. What an incredible surprise to see the sharks so close! The friendly Galapagos penguins were busy swimming after schools of fish. They were oblivious to swimmers and snorkelers and we were thrilled to see them in action.
In the afternoon, after a short navigation, we anchored at South James Bay, on the northwestern corner of Santiago Island. It was here, at some unknown spot on the large lava flow of this bay, that Charles Darwin once landed. During his visit to the Galapagos in 1835, he spent over a week camped on Santiago and among other things, he examined the cinder cones in James Bay. We too made a landing on the warm sand of a pitch, black beach. Blue-footed boobies were practicing their kamikaze dives not far from the shore. After swimming and snorkeling, we prepared for our last afternoon hike. Exploring the coastline provided a wonderful opportunity for one final look at the incredible creatures that have amazed us during this week: marine iguanas, sally-light foot crabs, Galapagos sea lions, fur sea lions, and several species of seabirds. The dramatic outline of the volcanoes of the distant island of Isabela created a mysterious, ultimate scene. This certainly has been a fantastic week’s visit to this famous archipelago!
