Bartolome and Santiago Islands
Our journey began today visiting Bartolome Island which has often been described as an “open text book of geology” because of the many volcanic features one is able to find on this location. During our early morning walk we discovered the many different shapes of pahoe hoe (ropy) that the lava flows may adopt as it cools down. We also observed the ah ah lava flows type (broken, sharp lava). These names were adopted from the inhabitants of Hawaii who used several terms to describe the geological formations around them.
One of the main attractions of Bartolome is the wonderful landscape one can see from the summit of the pinnacle rock; craters and islands all around us.
After breakfast we returned to Bartolome, this time was to have some water activities where penguins, sea lions, black tipped sharks and white tipped reef sharks swam among large schools of fish; to have all these species around the same area was just incredible!
For the afternoon we headed towards Santiago Island where we had swimming, snorkeling and a wonderful walk along the shore line. We all had a great show looking at the rare and endemic Galápagos fur seal swimming in the grottos, rolling its body in the water, jumping and lifting its fins high in the air while we all looked attentively at it, wishing we could share a swim together.
In the late afternoon we encounter several marine iguanas returning after foraging on the algae exposed by the low tide. These iguanas were looking for a place to rest comfortably with other iguanas, compiling large groups often forming mountains of lizards one on top of the other.
One of the most outstanding moments of the afternoon happened when we found a new born Galápagos sea lion still with its umbilical cord attached, while its mother tried to get the baby in water for a quick swim on a small tide pool. A Galápagos hawk stood a few yards away waiting for the placenta to be ejected from the mom’s body and allowed us get very close to him.
We were all very happy and amazed by all the wonderful things we saw and once on board we had a great time sharing our experiences during recap time.
Our journey began today visiting Bartolome Island which has often been described as an “open text book of geology” because of the many volcanic features one is able to find on this location. During our early morning walk we discovered the many different shapes of pahoe hoe (ropy) that the lava flows may adopt as it cools down. We also observed the ah ah lava flows type (broken, sharp lava). These names were adopted from the inhabitants of Hawaii who used several terms to describe the geological formations around them.
One of the main attractions of Bartolome is the wonderful landscape one can see from the summit of the pinnacle rock; craters and islands all around us.
After breakfast we returned to Bartolome, this time was to have some water activities where penguins, sea lions, black tipped sharks and white tipped reef sharks swam among large schools of fish; to have all these species around the same area was just incredible!
For the afternoon we headed towards Santiago Island where we had swimming, snorkeling and a wonderful walk along the shore line. We all had a great show looking at the rare and endemic Galápagos fur seal swimming in the grottos, rolling its body in the water, jumping and lifting its fins high in the air while we all looked attentively at it, wishing we could share a swim together.
In the late afternoon we encounter several marine iguanas returning after foraging on the algae exposed by the low tide. These iguanas were looking for a place to rest comfortably with other iguanas, compiling large groups often forming mountains of lizards one on top of the other.
One of the most outstanding moments of the afternoon happened when we found a new born Galápagos sea lion still with its umbilical cord attached, while its mother tried to get the baby in water for a quick swim on a small tide pool. A Galápagos hawk stood a few yards away waiting for the placenta to be ejected from the mom’s body and allowed us get very close to him.
We were all very happy and amazed by all the wonderful things we saw and once on board we had a great time sharing our experiences during recap time.
