Bartolomé & Santiago Island
Our travels on board the National Geographic Islander brought us to Bartolomé Island. This small island is located east of Santiago. Bartolomé has a rather small area, but is very rich in volcanic geological formations: spatter cones, lava tubes amongst others. Today we had an early morning start, and as we disembarked on a rocky dock, we already began to experience the wonders of the Galápagos wildlife. A couple of blue-footed boobies displayed their stunning diving skills, and penguins had started looking for breakfast. Along we went on the boardwalk to conquer the summit after 376 wooden steps! At the very top we had breathtaking views of Bartolomé and nearby Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island, as well as other more distant islands and islets of the Galápagos. Later on, we landed on the orange-colored beach of Bartolomé, to explore the underwater world or just swim off the beach. Many of our guests snorkeled around Pinnacle Rock, where they encountered many species of fish and some were even lucky enough to swim with penguins!
By midday we weighed anchor and made our way towards James Bay, west of Santiago. Santiago Island is one of the large uninhabited islands of the archipelago. It was favored for a long time by buccaneers, privateers and whalers, as they could find water here and there was an abundance of giant tortoises. Our afternoon visit to Santiago gave us the option of snorkeling from the black landing beach and a walk along the coastline. Upon the walk, we were greeted by the ever-busy Galápagos mockingbirds, one of which kept on gathering nesting material from the trail! Dozens of pretty large marine iguanas were sunbathing both on the rock or sand, taking advantage of the last sunrays of the day. We encountered several sea birds, like brown pelicans and brown noddies. Several juvenile yellow warblers were busily hunting bugs in the intertidal zone, while a young American oystercatcher practiced its hunting skills under the supervision of one of its parents. At the end of the coastal walk we found more to see: a couple of Pacific green sea turtles were resting in the calm waters of the grottos, while several Galápagos fur seals had a rest on the shaded rocks, escaping from the heat of the day.
The magic of the Galápagos was all around us. We can’t wait to see more of it tomorrow!
Our travels on board the National Geographic Islander brought us to Bartolomé Island. This small island is located east of Santiago. Bartolomé has a rather small area, but is very rich in volcanic geological formations: spatter cones, lava tubes amongst others. Today we had an early morning start, and as we disembarked on a rocky dock, we already began to experience the wonders of the Galápagos wildlife. A couple of blue-footed boobies displayed their stunning diving skills, and penguins had started looking for breakfast. Along we went on the boardwalk to conquer the summit after 376 wooden steps! At the very top we had breathtaking views of Bartolomé and nearby Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island, as well as other more distant islands and islets of the Galápagos. Later on, we landed on the orange-colored beach of Bartolomé, to explore the underwater world or just swim off the beach. Many of our guests snorkeled around Pinnacle Rock, where they encountered many species of fish and some were even lucky enough to swim with penguins!
By midday we weighed anchor and made our way towards James Bay, west of Santiago. Santiago Island is one of the large uninhabited islands of the archipelago. It was favored for a long time by buccaneers, privateers and whalers, as they could find water here and there was an abundance of giant tortoises. Our afternoon visit to Santiago gave us the option of snorkeling from the black landing beach and a walk along the coastline. Upon the walk, we were greeted by the ever-busy Galápagos mockingbirds, one of which kept on gathering nesting material from the trail! Dozens of pretty large marine iguanas were sunbathing both on the rock or sand, taking advantage of the last sunrays of the day. We encountered several sea birds, like brown pelicans and brown noddies. Several juvenile yellow warblers were busily hunting bugs in the intertidal zone, while a young American oystercatcher practiced its hunting skills under the supervision of one of its parents. At the end of the coastal walk we found more to see: a couple of Pacific green sea turtles were resting in the calm waters of the grottos, while several Galápagos fur seals had a rest on the shaded rocks, escaping from the heat of the day.
The magic of the Galápagos was all around us. We can’t wait to see more of it tomorrow!
