Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
This morning we started the day off with a wake-up call before breakfast, in order to visit one our most scenic islands in the Galápagos: Bartolomé. The lighting was fantastic, and a soft, refreshing, cool breeze hit our faces. We went all the way to the summit of this volcanic cone, climbing up 370 steps. We could see lava tubes and spatter cones along the way. At the summit, we had the greatest view of the central region of the archipelago; Pinnacle Rock and a golden beach at the south side of the island made the hike worthy.
After breakfast, we had the best snorkeling of the day, with white-tipped reef sharks, minnows and cardinal fish; the water was not as cold as expected. The sun came out and it made our day! The glass-bottom boat outings were so popular that Expedition Leader Carlos Romero had to add more outings. What a great morning!
Our afternoon was devoted to Puerto Egas, on Santiago Island, the third largest island in the archipelago. This island was adopted by Lindblad Expeditions in order to help with the successful eradication of introduced animals. The trail took us to the most beautiful shoreline you can imagine. We observed lava lizards and many Galápagos mocking birds. Several doves were looking for seeds just before reaching the water. Then we walked on a lava flow along the coastline; Galápagos sea lions, marine iguanas and shore birds were everywhere. When we arrived at the Grottos, we saw Galápagos fur sea lions dancing in the water and basking under the afternoon sun.
This great day was a golden finale for our expedition in this paradise!
