Española & Rabida Islands
Today was the second day of our expedition, and it seems we have already spent weeks here based on the amount of species, places, and landscapes we have seen so far. So many things that it seems we have entered another world!
Early this morning we climbed (in the company of three young Galápagos hawks) to the top of Bartolomé Island (named after Bartholomew Sullivan, 2nd lieutenant on the HMS Beagle), a lovely volcanic islet just off the east coast of Santiago Island. Few plant species can withstand the drought conditions that occur on this tiny island, such as the Tiquilia nesiotica or the lava cactus. The volcanic moonscape of rust-colored "spatter cones” was fascinating. Large pale tuff cones and sooty lava flows, eroded over time, created graceful features in the soft volcanic ash. In the distant, several beaches made of gold tinged broken down tuff are bordered by green mangroves adding further color to this scenic landscape mosaic, one of the most famous of the entre archipelago.
Once on the beach, the conditions were perfect for exploring the underwater world, and we spent a lovely morning enjoying the water, the colorful fish, and a couple of young Galápagos hawks that came to visit us.
At midday, we were delighted with an Ecuadorian buffet lunch, with all sorts of new flavors and recipes that were highly celebrated. Immediately after lunch, our captain weighed anchor and we sailed west towards Rabida Island (formerly known as Jervis), where we arrived by mid-afternoon.
Rabida is unusual in many respects. It has one of the most incredible beaches we will visit this week. It has red sand made from lava with high iron oxide, and it is the focus today of a campaign for the eradication of the destructive, introduced black rats. In 1975 the Galápagos National Park Service successfully eradicated introduced goats from this island, so this next step could restore the island to its original balanced ecosystem.
We explored the island not only by foot, on a wonderful walk where we had the chance to see a few flamingos, but also its unique landscape and fauna while kayaking and snorkeling.
This is the world that Charles Darwin visited in 1835, and which shaped evolutionary science forever by inspiring his then novel concept of natural selection and survival of the fittest.
