Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
Today is the fifth of November, and yesterday we visited Guy Fawkes Island. What a coincidence! This is a good time to think about changing the world into a better place. Maybe you could escape blowing up the Parliament like Guy Fawkes attempted in 1605, but consider taking other lasting actions. Among many good ideas is the education of your local children. With this reflection in mind, I went to work this morning in the Galápagos Islands.
We dedicated the last morning of our expedition to Bartolomé Island. With a bright sunny morning, we started an early walk to enjoy one of the most spectacular views in the islands, right in the middle of the archipelago. During this outing we saw a lot of geological features in these, volcanically speaking, active and young islands. We identified some pioneer plants and lava lizards.
After breakfast we boarded our Zodiac fleet and landed at the northern beach of Bartolomé Island. It turned out to be an amazing experience, both above and underwater: We observed Galápagos sea lions, penguins, pelicans, and lots of fish in the still, refreshing waters, typical of the cold season that is coming to an end. At this time in the week everybody is used to the water’s temperature and it was difficult to get our guests out of the water, for they were having a lot of fun.
In the afternoon the wind was blowing from the southeast, and the sun reminded us that we are in the tropics. Snorkelers found many sea turtles and several white-tipped reef sharks in the shallows, while our walkers found oystercatchers, fur sea lions, marine iguanas, green sea turtles breeding in the surf, semi-palmate plovers, pelicans, frigate birds and blue-footed boobies diving for food.
On our last day we had the chance to really understand one of the least known aspects of the nature of the Galápagos Islands: death and desolation as factors to help to shape the intricate mechanisms of survival in harsh conditions. We found the carcass of a marine iguana as a relic of the inevitable forces of life. We found lots of live ones too; they will struggle for survival, perpetuating their species in a hard environment. The day was finally over; we came back to the ship with lots of new memories that will stay with us forever.
