Bartolomé and Santiago Islands
Pinnacle Rock stands impassive, dominating the coastline of Bartolomé, a very small, central island of the Galápagos archipelago. Its structure of semi-cemented volcanic ash, known in geology as tephra, allowed the wind to decorate the walls of this boulder with an immense number of enigmatic shapes. The wind has proved to be a great sculptor.
We hiked to the top of “heartbreaker hill” - the highest point of the island – to take in the view of the magnificent landscape – its beauty accentuated by an extremely pleasant overcast morning.
After this hike, we prepared ourselves for a snorkeling adventure. Perhaps the most striking undersea sighting was that of a Galápagos penguin fishing amidst a school of black striped salemas – its main food! As the penguin passed swiftly and momentarily disappeared, a white tip reef shark also passed nearby, but it was not interested in the school of fish the penguin was eating.
After burning calories with a day of hiking and some astonishing wildlife sightings during snorkeling, we headed to another destination.
The ocean and wind were both serene in the afternoon. The black sandy beach at Puerto Egas was flat and its beauty charming. After a wet landing, we walked a path along the coastline that brought us to the fur seal grottos. There, the fur seals relaxed, completely oblivious to our presence as they were to the sea turtles swimming nearby.
The magic of this place becomes evident in many ways, the dramatic shapes and contours of the lava, the consistent presence of sea lions, the lava lizards – everything is new even though there have been around for millennia and will be around for some more millennia…
The importance of my role in Galápagos as a Naturalist is obvious to guests. But what’s becoming clear to them now is that everyone who visits the archipelago is important. The fragility of this environment means we need to strive for balance – balance to keep this place as it is now so that more people can feel its magic and be inspired to protect the earth’s wild places.
