Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
We awoke this morning anchored off Bartolomé, a geologist’s dream island! The volcanic rocks here are so well exposed, as the island is so dry that only a few pioneer plants are able to eke out an existence. As we climbed the 282 steps to the top of the island, it was as if we were reading a geology text book on volcanoes! Bartolomé is a tuff cone that formed from the explosive interaction of seawater and erupting magma, which sent columns of ash into the air that subsequently fell around the vent solidifying as tuff cones. Spatter cones, which were formed later, dot the surface of the tuff cone. These were created when lava fountains threw globs of molten magma into the air which slightly cooled and piled up as splatter building cones. Rivers of lava had run down from the volcano’s top, cooling at the surface and making lava tunnels through which the molten lava could race down the hill. And the view from the top was well worth the climb as we looked out at the shield volcano of Santiago and its parasitic cones and the wonderful Pinnacle rock. Incredible!
Our early morning excursion was followed by a fantastic breakfast served by our fabulous crew on the outside deck with all this amazing scenery around us. We then returned to Bartolomé to hike over the beautiful sand dunes to a long beach. Here we discovered white-tipped reef sharks cruising in the surf and a pelican with chicks in their nest. Several of us snorkeled around Pinnacle rock observing more sharks and great schools of fish while others investigated the undersea world through the glass bottom boat.
In the afternoon, our adventures on Santiago were the perfect way to end the week for our National Geographic Expedition. After sharing the water with numerous sea turtles during our last snorkeling, we set off across the island in the golden rays of the late afternoon sun to get our last memories and photos of this special place. It was fitting that we saw many of the animals we had come to love and admire during our stay on this final walk such as sea lions, fur seals, marine iguanas and several of the birds.
What an incredible week and what a special expedition this has been. All the incredible up close and personal encounters we have had with the wildlife of the Galápagos have touched us and changed us forever. How fortunate we are that a place like this archipelago still exists. I have taken pleasure in sharing it with you and your families and hope we will all work to ensure that these islands remain unchanged for future generations to experience.
We awoke this morning anchored off Bartolomé, a geologist’s dream island! The volcanic rocks here are so well exposed, as the island is so dry that only a few pioneer plants are able to eke out an existence. As we climbed the 282 steps to the top of the island, it was as if we were reading a geology text book on volcanoes! Bartolomé is a tuff cone that formed from the explosive interaction of seawater and erupting magma, which sent columns of ash into the air that subsequently fell around the vent solidifying as tuff cones. Spatter cones, which were formed later, dot the surface of the tuff cone. These were created when lava fountains threw globs of molten magma into the air which slightly cooled and piled up as splatter building cones. Rivers of lava had run down from the volcano’s top, cooling at the surface and making lava tunnels through which the molten lava could race down the hill. And the view from the top was well worth the climb as we looked out at the shield volcano of Santiago and its parasitic cones and the wonderful Pinnacle rock. Incredible!
Our early morning excursion was followed by a fantastic breakfast served by our fabulous crew on the outside deck with all this amazing scenery around us. We then returned to Bartolomé to hike over the beautiful sand dunes to a long beach. Here we discovered white-tipped reef sharks cruising in the surf and a pelican with chicks in their nest. Several of us snorkeled around Pinnacle rock observing more sharks and great schools of fish while others investigated the undersea world through the glass bottom boat.
In the afternoon, our adventures on Santiago were the perfect way to end the week for our National Geographic Expedition. After sharing the water with numerous sea turtles during our last snorkeling, we set off across the island in the golden rays of the late afternoon sun to get our last memories and photos of this special place. It was fitting that we saw many of the animals we had come to love and admire during our stay on this final walk such as sea lions, fur seals, marine iguanas and several of the birds.
What an incredible week and what a special expedition this has been. All the incredible up close and personal encounters we have had with the wildlife of the Galápagos have touched us and changed us forever. How fortunate we are that a place like this archipelago still exists. I have taken pleasure in sharing it with you and your families and hope we will all work to ensure that these islands remain unchanged for future generations to experience.
