Bartolomé Island and Chinese Hat
Today, the National Geographic Endeavour dropped anchor on a barren island situated in the central part of the archipelago. After a dry landing, we climbed about 370 wooden steps to the top of Bartolomé Island. As we were climbing the hills of Bartolomé, we could see all the parasitic cones around the path area and pioneer plants establishing on a new terrain. This was like going back in time to enjoy the early Galápagos during the erosion processes that created new landscapes for species to establish.
Bartolomé is a very young and pristine island; efforts have been made to eradicate the introduced rats, and so far the results are being seen. After breakfast we decided to explore the ocean and we went snorkeling around the famous Pinnacle Rock, where some of us had the chance to see Galápagos penguins and white–tipped reef sharks. The glass-bottom boat offered another opportunity for our guests to enjoy the marine fauna, and several outings were made.
During the afternoon we navigated towards Chinese Hat (a satellite islet of Santiago Island). Once we arrived, we went out for snorkeling along the young lava fields of Santiago. We encountered many species of fish and some reef sharks sleeping under the caves along the coast. Some Galápagos penguins were seen on the rocks, as they have finished their feeding. Some were getting ready to spend the night in the crevices.
After the snorkeling we had a Zodiac ride to look for endemic species along the coast of both islands. Our day ended with an outstanding equator sunset.
