Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
We started our day with a spectacular sunrise. Early on we could tell that the day was going to be sunny, even though the month of June is the start of the garua season. We were very motivated this morning to hike the boardwalk and stairs of Bartolomé and see the beautiful moonlike landscape. It is an impressive little island, of volcanic desolation, just off the east coast of the larger Santiago Island. It has an array of volcanic features such as tuff cones, spatter cones, scoria formations, and black volcanic sand. A trail leads to the summit of the islet following a stairway made of local cedrela wood and constructed by the Galápagos National Park to halt erosion of this fragile visitor site. The view from the top of the cone is extraordinary. It was worth the early wake-up and disembarkation at 6:30 a.m. Back on board for a healthy breakfast, our second activity of the morning was an excellent snorkeling outing off the beach below the famous pinnacle rock. We saw a few fast swimming penguins and many schools of different species of tropical fish. Bartolomé is one of the best places to go snorkeling in Galápagos.
After this active morning we had a well deserved lunch and a short siesta followed by an interesting presentation entitled: “Feathered Mariners-Seabirds of Galápagos.” At 3:30 pm we headed to the beach for an afternoon of snorkeling and walking along a marvelous lava formation in James Bay. This island is also known as Santiago or James, although its official name is San Salvador Island.
Several species of mammals – notably donkeys, pigs, goats and rats - were introduced here; first in the 1700’s by the pirates, and then by pioneers who lived on James Island in the 1920’s and again in the 1960’s. These early colonists were involved in salt extraction from the crater of a tuff cone. Fortunately the larger mammals have since been eradicated through the hunting efforts of the National Park personnel.
During the afternoon, shorebirds were numerous, and included lava herons, oystercatchers, whimbrels, semi-palmated plovers, ruddy turnstones and wandering tattlers. We also saw Galápagos hawks soaring overhead, finches and mockingbirds along the trail. On the lava rocks at the tide line we found piles of marine iguanas and several baby sea lions. When we reached the fur sea grottos, sure enough there were several fur seals. From the smiles that graced our faces it was clear that everyone had a thrilling day!
We started our day with a spectacular sunrise. Early on we could tell that the day was going to be sunny, even though the month of June is the start of the garua season. We were very motivated this morning to hike the boardwalk and stairs of Bartolomé and see the beautiful moonlike landscape. It is an impressive little island, of volcanic desolation, just off the east coast of the larger Santiago Island. It has an array of volcanic features such as tuff cones, spatter cones, scoria formations, and black volcanic sand. A trail leads to the summit of the islet following a stairway made of local cedrela wood and constructed by the Galápagos National Park to halt erosion of this fragile visitor site. The view from the top of the cone is extraordinary. It was worth the early wake-up and disembarkation at 6:30 a.m. Back on board for a healthy breakfast, our second activity of the morning was an excellent snorkeling outing off the beach below the famous pinnacle rock. We saw a few fast swimming penguins and many schools of different species of tropical fish. Bartolomé is one of the best places to go snorkeling in Galápagos.
After this active morning we had a well deserved lunch and a short siesta followed by an interesting presentation entitled: “Feathered Mariners-Seabirds of Galápagos.” At 3:30 pm we headed to the beach for an afternoon of snorkeling and walking along a marvelous lava formation in James Bay. This island is also known as Santiago or James, although its official name is San Salvador Island.
Several species of mammals – notably donkeys, pigs, goats and rats - were introduced here; first in the 1700’s by the pirates, and then by pioneers who lived on James Island in the 1920’s and again in the 1960’s. These early colonists were involved in salt extraction from the crater of a tuff cone. Fortunately the larger mammals have since been eradicated through the hunting efforts of the National Park personnel.
During the afternoon, shorebirds were numerous, and included lava herons, oystercatchers, whimbrels, semi-palmated plovers, ruddy turnstones and wandering tattlers. We also saw Galápagos hawks soaring overhead, finches and mockingbirds along the trail. On the lava rocks at the tide line we found piles of marine iguanas and several baby sea lions. When we reached the fur sea grottos, sure enough there were several fur seals. From the smiles that graced our faces it was clear that everyone had a thrilling day!
