Bartolomé and Chinese Hat Islands
This morning a purple-and-red streaked sky welcomed us as we readied ourselves for an invigorating pre-breakfast hike to the top of Bartolomé Island. This island looks drab with little vegetation however the volcanic spatter cones that litter this island give it a rough personality. It has been described as walking on the moon or mars due to its brown to red ash and lava flows. As we reached a little over 400 ft. above sea level and above our anchorage, we counted over 25 islands in the distance giving us one of the best views in the archipelago.
As we headed back to the ship for a hearty breakfast (well earned of course), we saw the beach area where we would continue our exploration later on in the morning. Snorkeling from the beach or from the Zodiac brought us eye-to-eye with penguins, white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions and large schools of colorful fish. It was hard to believe that it was still morning since we’d already done so much activity.
Our captain raised the anchor and for a short sail along the east coast of Santiago Island, interweaving our navigation with small islands that were formed by recent volcanic activity in the last few thousand years. At our anchorage we were surrounded by cinder cones that make up the Bainbridge Islands.
Conditions looked phenomenal as we headed out to Chinese Hat Island, a parasitic volcanic cone that is just a hundred yards from the coast of Santiago Island. The channel that separates the two islands is 30-40 feet at its deepest with a sandy bottom.
During our visit some headed to a small beach to relax among the sea lions as others headed to the coast of Santiago to snorkel. The first great sighting was a large marine iguana diving underwater to a depth of five feet to grab a submerged bolder and start scraping algae off with its sharp teeth.
All were amazed by the diving behavior of an iguana – nowhere else on earth would you find such a show of survival from a similar species. As the snorkelers continued, they found themselves to be quite an attraction to a Galapagos penguin. It was chasing small fish and accidentally swam into the mask of a very surprised snorkeler. White tipped reef sharks, large marbled stingrays, and a very small florescent blue nudibranch allowed us to understand that this intertwined world under the surface of the ocean is such an intricate part of a healthy dynamic planet. The sun set, unveiling a sky that is incomparable as constellation after constellation appeared before our adjusting eyes. We’ll sleep well tonight knowing that this unique place on earth can continue on its path, and we are very lucky to be part of this exploration.
