Located just off the east coast of Santiago Island, Bartolome is one of the most famous islands in the Galápagos archipelago. It received its name after naturalist and lifelong friend of Charles Darwin, Sir Bartholomew James Sullivan, who was a lieutenant aboard the HMS Beagle.
With soft winds and the first beams of sun we headed to Bartolome with the mission to get to the summit of the island in order to enjoy one of the most spectacular views in Galapagos. Compared with the main islands, Bartolome is quite small, but its geological formations along the wooden steps that lead to the top are really impressive. At certain points we had the impression of being on another planet due to its surrealistic landscape, but at the same time we were able to understand how these oceanic islands were created. After breakfast we continued our morning expedition landing on the golden shore. We had a chance to snorkel from the beach where we observed white tipped reef sharks, sting rays, a great number of colorful fish such as burrito grunts, dusky chubs and a huge school of small salemas hiding among the rocks.
