Our expedition goes on navigating at the central part of the archipelago; this is an area which looks like it had volcanic activity not so long ago, both Bartolomé and Sombrero Chino Islands are young geologically speaking.
Most guests started the day at 6:30 am, going for a brisk walk to the top of Bartolomé, this invigorating hike is one of the most beautiful ones, since the island where it takes place is full of volcanic features, such as dry lava flows, tuff cones, giant spatter cones and lava tubes. There are nearly 400 hundred steps to the top and I think one barely feels them because there is so much to see.
After a well-deserved breakfast, we landed at a golden beach with crystal clear waters. The weather conditions were perfect for snorkeling, though some guests decided to just have a leisurely morning sunning at the beach, while others went for glass bottom boat rides.
In the afternoon, we dropped anchor at Sombrero Chino Island. This Island is the dream of a geologist, since is one of the largest spatter cones in the world and is situated off the eastern coast of Santiago Island. At this place we organized deep water snorkeling trips, beach outings and Zodiac rides. The flora and fauna of the area is well adapted to live on a desolated lava field where it seems life could not be possible, but the Galápagos demonstrates the most extreme habitats species can thrive. Some of the highlights in our visits were the penguins, sea lions as well as big schools of yellow tailed razor fish.
