We came out early in the morning to explore one of the most famous places in Galapagos, Bartolome Island. This is an iconic spot which is decorated by several volcanic formations such as parasitic volcanoes, cinder cones, spatter cones, lava flows and the very well-known pinnacle rock, where penguins and boobies rest.

At 6:55 am we disembarked on a small jetty covered by reddish sally light-foot crabs and at the water’s edge a few caw-nose golden rays were swimming by. The wooden trail took us to the summit of a secondary volcano where you get an astonishing view of the surroundings. Everywhere you look is a dramatic and inhospitable landscape. “It seems like the place where life began.” Darwin said in his visit to Galapagos in 1835.

One side of the island you can see few craters while on the other side many craters, giving to the island an aspect of a moonscape. After our exploration we came back on board and had breakfast. Then we moved to the beach for swimming or just relaxing where the sand is golden. It is an inorganic beach, made of minerals and glass. The snorkeling is amazing as is the glass bottom boat. Both offer our guests the exploration of the Galapagos submarine world with many types of sea urchins, sea stars, coral reefs and multicolor fish observed through the glass. Penguins are also found here and are a unique, endemic species of the Galapagos. This aquatic bird that flies in the water catching fish is the only type of penguin found close to the equator and it is a privilege for us to see some this morning.

Later in the afternoon our captain motored not far, about 30 minutes to reach Chinese Hat, a very small islet on the coast of Sullivan bay at Santiago Island. Our guests are very happy to have the opportunity of snorkeling twice. The longer you stay in the water the more marine creatures you find. On this occasion we saw rays, white tip reef sharks, garden eels, lobsters, and more multicolor reef fish. The snorkeling was spectacular! It is hard to describe the experience because once you are in the water the world changes and time stops. Later we went on a Zodiac ride to spot more wildlife- sea birds, iguanas, and sea lions. Later that night we had a special barbeque dinner at the pool area. The comment I kept hearing from our guests was, “It was another great and beautiful day in paradise.”