Bartolomé & Rabida Islands
“Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance,” Darwin said in The Voyage of the Beagle referring to disembarking on the basaltic lava fields of the Galápagos Islands.
Today we enjoyed geology firsthand by visiting Bartolomé Island. There is no time to lose in this paradise! That’s why we woke up at 6:00 to prepare for our landing on Bartolomé Island, which is often called an open book of geology. At 6:30 we started walking on this, as Darwin mentioned, uninviting environment. Lava rocks, ash, and very few pioneer species are the landscape at first sight. We climbed almost 400 steps while exploring this parasitic volcano. But with every step we realized of the beauty of the place. The strongest species are able to survive. Tiquilia plants and lava cactus cover the dry soil by adapting to the desert conditions. A couple of insects survive due to the little vegetation. Lava lizards prey on these other organisms, snakes wait for the opportunity to hunt one of these lizards…and there you go! An entire ecosystem of unique species survives here!
From the summit the scenery couldn’t be better! The day started to warm up, the sky was clear so we could enjoy the view of several islands from this little rock in the middle of the Pacific.
The sea currents play a very important role in the islands as well, cold and warm water get mixed to create this unique marine environment. We had two snorkeling visits today: Bartolomé and Rabida. We swam with penguins and parrotfish, marine iguanas and green sea turtles, this can only happen in Galápagos.
We ended our day at a red beach on Rabida Island. The purple-red coloring comes from the oxidized iron from the basaltic lava. We enjoyed a walk on the beach observing sea lions basking in the last light of the day. Nothing could be less inviting until you start understanding the beauty of this place; until you start sharing with the unique species, until you see the islands through the eyes of a nature lover. In fact Darwin mentioned as well: “The natural history of this archipelago is very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself.” Yes, the Galápagos Islands are a different world!
