Bartolomé
The best way to see Bartolomé is early in the morning. Our expedition leader woke up our dear guests, and the crewmembers were getting our Zodiacs ready for the adventure. When clocks hit six-thirty in the morning the groups were already disembarking. We began the day with a dry landing on a very young lava field. The scoria lava and its color give a different perspective offering a vivid view of these really new formations. The flanks of the island in the northwestern area are all decorated with pioneer vegetation. As you walk higher and gain elevation on this small island near the eastern flank of Santiago, the fourth largest island in the archipelago, you get a better view of what the island holds for the explorers. The lava tube and lava channel do resemble the shape of giant fingers, and as you reach the landings built into the boardwalk the spatter cones give you an idea of dynamic of the eruptions that took place in this special location.
When we all reached the summit at 380 feet the landscape view was just spectacular with Pinnacle Rock standing right in front and the two sandy beaches nicely decorated with colorful sand dunes that embrace a bit of the mangrove trees you expect to see in this area on the low ground of Bartolomé.
Back on the boat it did not take long for guests to get outfitted in their snorkeling gear. This time we prepared ourselves to explore the underwater environment, and we looked forward to enjoying all the color and variety of this really special part of the island. The visibility was great and the temperatures ideal. The tropical and reef fish at the cleaning station were all in great motion; we saw octopus, sea lions, and penguins—what a nice way to end the morning on Bartolomé.
Rabida
In the afternoon we arrived at Rabida, the red island. It was very windy and the first activity took place in the water. We set up to go snorkeling and went to the most westerly point of the island where the water here is calm and suitable for our adventure. We plunged in and were amazed to find a white-tipped reef shark and iguana. They were easy and relaxed abd ready for the pictures. Colorful fish were all over and the experience was fantastic—we spent over an hour in the water and it felt like fifteen minutes—and the adventure was not over yet. We returned to the boat to get changed and soon after that headed back to the island for nice walk along the beach.
The light of the late afternoon visit was amazing making this peaceful visit a dream come true. The sea lions lying on the beach seemed to be very relaxed and we were close enough for nice photographs. The scenery could not have been better and in this way we prepared ourselves to go back to the ship and talk about what Galápagos will be holding for us tomorrow. It will be another great adventure!
