Bartolomé and Rábida Islands
If there is one thing that remains quite clear after this day spent visiting Bartolomé and Rábida Islands, it is that the Galápagos land ecosystem looks barren and arid while the marine ecosystem supports an impressive variety of wildlife.
The day began early and the activities never really stopped until sunset. There is so much to see and so much to do on Galápagos that downtime is wasted time indeed. So in order to get the very best of that day, we decided to begin before breakfast with a walk up to the very top of Bartolomé Island. That barren landscape evokes a vision of a moonscape, where the rocks speak by themselves and relate their volcanic origin. We then dedicated the post-breakfast morning to water activities, and that means snorkeling! What a place Bartolomé is for an introduction to the rocky reefs of Galápagos. Large school of fish find food and shelter on the seascape made of rocks, chiseled by erosion. A couple of sting rays burrowed themselves deep into the sand in search of food, a leather bass mingled among a school of razor surgeon fish that were grazing the algae. A white tip reef shark gently crossed through and vanished into the blue, just as it came. This is when suddenly a group of some nine Galápagos penguins burst into a school of sardines and cause severe loss into the group. What an overwhelming experience to be able to see all this diversity in a single snorkeling outing!
Well! Lunch was also part of the experience today, and the Ecuadorian buffet was certainly not the most unpleasant part of the day.
The ship hardly arrived to Rábida Island before we were all ready and waiting to jump into Zodiacs for the afternoon water activities. That meant kayaks for some of us, snorkeling for the others. We had a swim with a fur seal and some sea lions. We observed our first turtle of the week and took a swim with a white tip reef shark.
What I think is the most impressive experience in Galápagos is to feel we are just another species among others, in mutual respect, and sharing the same right of being in this place and moment. It’s an extremely peaceful sensation.
We ended the day just as we began, having a walk along the red sandy beach of Rábida island, enjoying the spectacle wildlife and sunset offer to our senses.
