Bartolome & Chinese Hat Islands
Today we started disembarking just before sunrise for a climbing hike to view one of the most famous Galápagos landscapes: Pinnacle Rock. This week we have a photo group onboard and to get to the top in time was very important. The light was just perfect for photographing the unique golden beaches, with mangroves in between, Santiago Island in the background, and Pinnacle Rock was at its best. Everybody will remember this moment as part of their adventure in this paradise.
Later in the morning we finally set foot on this volcanic material beach for swimming, snorkeling, walking or just relaxing. The water temperature was refreshing, and the amount of marine life was very abundant, with tropical, cold and warm-water fish, but that was not all: Galápagos sea lions and Galápagos penguins were present, making this morning unforgettable.
For the afternoon activities we had to sail a couple of hours along the coast of Santiago Island; a group of tiny Islands were spotted in front of the ship, and one of them has a very interesting shape: Chinese Hat. After a presentation by one of our National Geographic photographers, we were ready to continue our adventure with water activities: sea lions, penguins, rays, sharks and many fish were spotted, to the delight of our guests. Some decided to disembark at a very small white sandy beach to relax and enjoy seeing Galápagos sea lion pups playing among themselves.
The Galápagos penguins caught everyone’s attention; it’s amazing how they were able to colonize and adapt to this different environment. This archipelago is set right on the equatorial line and this time of the year, we have very warm water that ranges from 78 to 82F. We observed dozens of them coming back from fishing in the Pacific Ocean. To make this even more impressive, they coexist with the Galápagos sea lions along the rocky shoreline, and each one has its own niche.
