Bartholomew and James Islands
When the wake-up call came early this morning, we found we were peacefully anchored in Sullivan Bay, off the small but beautiful island of Bartolome. We made a dry landing on a cement dock and began the climb to the summit of the island. Hiking up the 370 + steps had us all breathing heavily, and the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking, too. Many pictures were taken from this high vantage point. During this morning’s outing we learned a lot about the geology of Galápagos and heard explanations about how the craters we saw were formed. We found few animals on the lava fields of Bartolome, but in the Zodiacs and with the help of our skillful panga drivers, we found penguins, herons, pelicans and the ever-present sea lions, along the coast.
After breakfast we loaded the Zodiacs and headed for a crescent, golden beach. Enroute, one of the Zodiacs picked up a juvenile booby (see today’s photo and look close to see the young booby perched on the Zodiac with us!) who apparently just wanted to go along for the ride. To complete the morning, we paddled off to snorkel in the cool Pacific waters at the base of Pinnacle Rock. There were huge schools of thousands of black striped salemas, resting sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and a few fast moving penguins.
In the afternoon, we all took a walk along the interesting eroded coastline at Puerto Egas, where the terrain is a mixture of basaltic lava flows and tuff stone. Along this trail we found an amazing variety of wildlife; we encountered lava lizards, marine iguanas, sea lions and several species of shore birds. Just before the trail turned inland, we found the second species of eared seals that inhabits these islands, the Galápagos fur seals. These endemic fur seals have magnificent thick coats and are found here in the equator only because of the cold ocean currents that bathe these islands.
On the hike back to the landing beach, we also spotted the most important avian raptor of the islands, the gorgeous Galápagos hawk. Back on our comfortable floating hotel, we gathered for a sunset cocktail on the sky deck, attended the evening recap and briefing and following dinner and a video enjoyed a most satisfying good night’s sleep.
When the wake-up call came early this morning, we found we were peacefully anchored in Sullivan Bay, off the small but beautiful island of Bartolome. We made a dry landing on a cement dock and began the climb to the summit of the island. Hiking up the 370 + steps had us all breathing heavily, and the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking, too. Many pictures were taken from this high vantage point. During this morning’s outing we learned a lot about the geology of Galápagos and heard explanations about how the craters we saw were formed. We found few animals on the lava fields of Bartolome, but in the Zodiacs and with the help of our skillful panga drivers, we found penguins, herons, pelicans and the ever-present sea lions, along the coast.
After breakfast we loaded the Zodiacs and headed for a crescent, golden beach. Enroute, one of the Zodiacs picked up a juvenile booby (see today’s photo and look close to see the young booby perched on the Zodiac with us!) who apparently just wanted to go along for the ride. To complete the morning, we paddled off to snorkel in the cool Pacific waters at the base of Pinnacle Rock. There were huge schools of thousands of black striped salemas, resting sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and a few fast moving penguins.
In the afternoon, we all took a walk along the interesting eroded coastline at Puerto Egas, where the terrain is a mixture of basaltic lava flows and tuff stone. Along this trail we found an amazing variety of wildlife; we encountered lava lizards, marine iguanas, sea lions and several species of shore birds. Just before the trail turned inland, we found the second species of eared seals that inhabits these islands, the Galápagos fur seals. These endemic fur seals have magnificent thick coats and are found here in the equator only because of the cold ocean currents that bathe these islands.
On the hike back to the landing beach, we also spotted the most important avian raptor of the islands, the gorgeous Galápagos hawk. Back on our comfortable floating hotel, we gathered for a sunset cocktail on the sky deck, attended the evening recap and briefing and following dinner and a video enjoyed a most satisfying good night’s sleep.
