Bartolome and Santiago Islands
Today, it was an early start for a new expedition. Bartolome’s outline under the rising sun looked very inviting, so still sleepy but very cheerfully, we landed on the island to start a hike to the summit of this small island. The prize for the effort: the magnificent view of the wonderful landscapes of Bartolome slopes and the nearby islands. Some of us got to the summit faster, others a little slower, but the feeling was the same amongst all of us: we made it and it was worth it! All the volcanic features were condensed before our eyes on this tiny island. When it was time to go, it was very hard to leave Bartolome behind!
On our way back to the Polaris, the clouds started giving way to a beautiful blue sky, which was just what we needed for our forthcoming activities: it was beach time! On our second landing of the day, a short walk introduced us to an amazing beach full of Galápagos wildlife: Pacific green sea turtles resting in shallow waters, white-tipped reef sharks patrolling the beach, dozens of sally-light foot crabs painting the rocks with their beautiful colors, a formidable explosion of colors. At the swimming beach, a family of sea lions delighted us with their curiosity and playfulness.
After a short navigation, we arrived at the last land visit of the week: Puerto Egas, on Santiago Island. A lonesome Galápagos hawk kept the baywatch from the top of tuff cliff. The low tide of the afternoon had uncovered beautiful tide pools, where sea lions pups played to pass the time while waiting for their mothers to come back and nurse them. We could observe several coastal and migratory birds along the intertidal zone: a pair of American oystercatchers, semi-palmated plovers, turnstones, a wandering tattler.
The visiting groups moved smoothly along the trails of Puerto Egas, trying to take in as much of the beauty and serenity of the surroundings as they could. As the sun gently approached the horizon, we made our way back on board, realizing that soon we would be leaving the Galápagos Islands, but the Galápagos we experienced would never leave us.
Today, it was an early start for a new expedition. Bartolome’s outline under the rising sun looked very inviting, so still sleepy but very cheerfully, we landed on the island to start a hike to the summit of this small island. The prize for the effort: the magnificent view of the wonderful landscapes of Bartolome slopes and the nearby islands. Some of us got to the summit faster, others a little slower, but the feeling was the same amongst all of us: we made it and it was worth it! All the volcanic features were condensed before our eyes on this tiny island. When it was time to go, it was very hard to leave Bartolome behind!
On our way back to the Polaris, the clouds started giving way to a beautiful blue sky, which was just what we needed for our forthcoming activities: it was beach time! On our second landing of the day, a short walk introduced us to an amazing beach full of Galápagos wildlife: Pacific green sea turtles resting in shallow waters, white-tipped reef sharks patrolling the beach, dozens of sally-light foot crabs painting the rocks with their beautiful colors, a formidable explosion of colors. At the swimming beach, a family of sea lions delighted us with their curiosity and playfulness.
After a short navigation, we arrived at the last land visit of the week: Puerto Egas, on Santiago Island. A lonesome Galápagos hawk kept the baywatch from the top of tuff cliff. The low tide of the afternoon had uncovered beautiful tide pools, where sea lions pups played to pass the time while waiting for their mothers to come back and nurse them. We could observe several coastal and migratory birds along the intertidal zone: a pair of American oystercatchers, semi-palmated plovers, turnstones, a wandering tattler.
The visiting groups moved smoothly along the trails of Puerto Egas, trying to take in as much of the beauty and serenity of the surroundings as they could. As the sun gently approached the horizon, we made our way back on board, realizing that soon we would be leaving the Galápagos Islands, but the Galápagos we experienced would never leave us.
