In the early morning before breakfast we visited the small Island of Bartolomé. This optional hike is fascinating as it is a great opportunity to learn about the geology of the Galapagos archipelago. A manmade wooden trail lead us further inland as we climbed 372 steps to reach the summit and the reward was amazing! The views from the top were spectacular, a delight for photographers and a landscape with a great contrast of natural colors that was enhanced due to the great light of the morning hours. We went back on board for breakfast and after being fitted for snorkeling, our guests went for their first snorkeling outing. The waters around Bartolome are filled with colorful tropical fish, silvery fish, sea stars and Galapagos penguins. For the non-snorkelers a Zodiac ride around the picturesque Bartolome was offered. Today we had time to include a very interesting talk offered by our Photo Instructor, Jonathan Aguas, and to end a great morning our guests enjoyed a delicious Ecuadorian buffet.







The National Geographic Islander was repositioned toward the next visitor site, the Island of Rabida. Rabida’s particular attraction is the red color of the whole island and it is another great place to talk about the formation of the islands. This afternoon there were several options for our guests, from kayaking to snorkeling off the Zodiacs and also natural history walks and a short walk along the iconic red sandy beach to focus on photography. It was beautiful today. There were many Galapagos sea lions at the beach either resting or seemingly posing. A new born sea lion was looking for its mother and at the same time enjoying the time alone playing with whatever crossed his path. We got great photographs this afternoon, a soft light enhanced the color in the pictures. It was an awesome day, from the early outings till sunset, Galapagos is magic!







And the adventure continues tomorrow…