Bartolomé and Santiago Islands, Central Galápagos
Our last day in a rugged land of startling contrasts…
Contrasts between feelings of disappointment at the first sight of the archipelago and the feeling of elation that gradually replaces it during a week of startling discoveries…
Contrasts between our usual idea of what a volcano should look like, and the inverted-soup-bowl-shape of the Galápagos shield volcanoes…
Contrasts between the balanced faunas of mainland ecosystems and the strange, unbalanced fauna of these oceanic islands, predominantly home to unusual reptiles and graceful seabirds…
Contrasts between the fear animals in the rest of the world exhibit towards us humans and the refreshing ecological innocence of the Galápagos denizens…
Contrasts between temperate and polar inhabitants such as penguins and fur seals living among the ultimate tropical ecosystems, reef-building corals and mangrove forests…
Contrasts between hot, dry desert-looking landscapes and the cool, rich life-filled waters that lap the shorelines…
Contrasts between the browns and blacks of sculpted volcanic features and the brilliant greens of mangrove-lined shores, turquoise of booby feet and scarlet of inflated frigate gular sacs…
Contrasts between the dry lowland Bursera and prickly-pear cactus forests and the humid endemic cloud forests of the highlands…
And these are just to name a few. Many of these contrasts are embodied in the beautiful islands of Bartolomé and Santiago that we visited today, and we spent this last day remembering the wonder of the past week and exploring the ecosystems of yet another region of the archipelago by foot, by Zodiac, by glass-bottom boat and by donning snorkelling equipment.
A week exploring this unique and magical place certainly has given us a lot to contemplate…
Our last day in a rugged land of startling contrasts…
Contrasts between feelings of disappointment at the first sight of the archipelago and the feeling of elation that gradually replaces it during a week of startling discoveries…
Contrasts between our usual idea of what a volcano should look like, and the inverted-soup-bowl-shape of the Galápagos shield volcanoes…
Contrasts between the balanced faunas of mainland ecosystems and the strange, unbalanced fauna of these oceanic islands, predominantly home to unusual reptiles and graceful seabirds…
Contrasts between the fear animals in the rest of the world exhibit towards us humans and the refreshing ecological innocence of the Galápagos denizens…
Contrasts between temperate and polar inhabitants such as penguins and fur seals living among the ultimate tropical ecosystems, reef-building corals and mangrove forests…
Contrasts between hot, dry desert-looking landscapes and the cool, rich life-filled waters that lap the shorelines…
Contrasts between the browns and blacks of sculpted volcanic features and the brilliant greens of mangrove-lined shores, turquoise of booby feet and scarlet of inflated frigate gular sacs…
Contrasts between the dry lowland Bursera and prickly-pear cactus forests and the humid endemic cloud forests of the highlands…
And these are just to name a few. Many of these contrasts are embodied in the beautiful islands of Bartolomé and Santiago that we visited today, and we spent this last day remembering the wonder of the past week and exploring the ecosystems of yet another region of the archipelago by foot, by Zodiac, by glass-bottom boat and by donning snorkelling equipment.
A week exploring this unique and magical place certainly has given us a lot to contemplate…
