In the early hours of the day we landed on Bartholomew Island located in the center of Galapagos. This one is one of the best places to learn about the volcanic history of this archipelago and also has the most iconic landscape. After climbing several wooden steps we reached the summit of Bartholomew and from there we also observed some of the islands around this region as well as the craters that were active at some point in the volcanic history of this island.
Later when we returned aboard, we got snorkeling gear and headed to the shore to explore the underwater world. This morning we encountered sharks, rays, and even Galapagos penguins trying to mate. This island was our first chance to explore the marine world and its unique variety and combination of species found here. After snorkeling we returned aboard and in the afternoon we navigated to Rábida Island.
This afternoon we had a chance to go kayaking and snorkeling along the red cliffs of Rábida Island. After these two activities we landed on the shore and found a pair of mating green sea turtles and a Greater flamingo flying into a small brackish water lagoon where it spent some time feeding on brine shrimp. As we got to the shore we encountered some Galapagos sea lions resting on the bright red sand and we spent some time photographing and enjoying the colorful sunset from the shore.
