Bartolome & Sombrero Chino Islands
Considered one of the jewels of the Galápagos archipelago, Bartolome Island is a field guide of volcanic features. This island is dotted with numerous reddish cones and small craters, giving it a “Martian” appearance. A wooden staircase lead us to the summit of Bartolome, from which we could observe what may be the most famous landscape of the Enchanted Islands: Pinnacle Rock, the eroded remnants of a tuff cone, which stands tall in the middle of Sullivan Bay. The morning was quite a busy one and we moved on to the beach for snorkeling and swimming. The shoreline of Bartolome is extremely rich in marine life, so our fearless snorkelers could easily find large schools of razor surgeonfish, pink cardinal fish and even some flounders. A Galápagos penguin observed all this activity from its favorite rock at the base of the Pinnacle Rock. At the beach, a solitary juvenile American oystercatcher patiently waited for its parents, in the hope they would bring some food for him.
In the afternoon we reached Sombrero Chino islet, off the coast of the large island of Santiago. Alongside a massive, young lava flow we had a second opportunity to snorkel today. The underwater world here is quite varied, from small damselfishes to parrot fishes, puffers and even some white-tipped reef sharks. The unique marine iguanas, the only true sea-going lizard in the world and endemic to the Galápagos archipelago, feeds here too so a couple were spotted by some of us, as well as some fast-swimming Galápagos penguins, too busy hunting their prey to pay attention to us. After snorkeling we returned to our pangas for a ride along the rocky shore; we could then photograph the wildlife and at the same time enjoy the amazing volcanic landscapes that surrounded us. The peace of this serene environment made us feel isolated from the rest of the planet…what a special and unforgettable feeling!
