Today was our first full day in Galapagos and we started before sunrise. The landing was dry on a manmade jetty. The idea was to get to the top of Bartolome Island and in order to accomplish this task we had to climb 360 wooden steps. Once at the top, the price for this amazing accomplishment was a very rewarding, spectacular view of the Galapagos Archipelago.
From the top, we saw lots of Islands in the surrounding area and we even saw one of the volcanos of Isabela Island, where we will be heading tonight. We also enjoyed the interesting geological formations of Bartolome Island. On the way back down the naturalists guided us and explained all about the arrival and establishment of the archipelago’s flora and fauna.
Once we got back onboard we had a well deserved breakfast which was followed by a 30 minute meeting in the main lounge. We talked about safety guidelines for water activities in this paradise, such as kayaking and snorkeling. These activities are considered one of the best on our planet.
Once everyone was suited up with snorkeling equipment, we disembarked on a beautiful golden colored beach. This beach could not have been better for our activities because all levels of snorkelers had a chance to enjoy this site with penguins, sharks, rays, sea lions and lots of fish from different regions of our planet.
After lunch we navigated for two hours and dropped anchor. We went out for a second snorkeling excursion along with a round of kayakers. These two activities took place in the same location and both groups had a chance to see the same wild life in this area. Surely the highlight of these two activities was seeing the turtles popping their heads out of the water and interacting with very curious and playful Galapagos sea lions.
We finished our day of activities walking along a beautiful red sand beach. We shared the moment with Galapagos sea lions and an amazing sunset which reminded us that our planet is full of wonderful surprises.
