Bartolomé & Santiago Island
Today we got up very early in the morning, full of enthusiasm and ready to explore the new wonders of nature that Galápagos had ready for us. As soon as we disembarked we were welcome by a refreshing but short amount of rain which by the way accompanied us during the first 20 minutes of our hike. Bartolomé Island was just like going back in time; it was incredible to see all those moon-like geological features, giving us the idea of how the islands were in the beginning of this paradise.
As we climbed more than 300 steps along the outfitting parasitic cones of Bartolomé Island, more of the basaltic lava formations would amaze us, just like walking on the moon but down on earth. Once we got to the top of the island we could enjoy the incredible view of one of the most famous landscapes of the Galápagos Islands, the pinnacle rock and the beautiful beaches that cover the north and south of the island, it was just dream-like; but in reality this is the Galápagos again.
During the afternoon we first had a very relaxing time on the beach of Puerto Egas on Santiago Island, right after an hour and a half of enjoying the refreshing waters with few sea turtle, we started our hike on Puerto Egas. Along the trail one could observe a huge variety of endemic and native plants to the islands, and some of the remains of what once it was a salt mine. As we moved forward inside the island, the beautiful lava fields covering all the shore line were holding many species of shore birds such as: ruddy turn stones, plovers, lava herons, oystercatchers and many others that would get our complete attention as soon as we spotted them .
At the end of the trail we saw the impressive grottos, wonderful geological features with one of the species of sea mammals of the Galápagos which we were expecting to see… the Galápagos fur sea lions easily seem around the grottos, here we could compare the differences in size and physical appearance with the Galápagos sea lions, which were quite big if we looked carefully. As we walked back to the beach where we started, we spotted some Galápagos doves, mockingbirds and even scorpions.
The afternoon was outstanding, our last visit could not have been better; heading back to the National Geographic Polaris once again, the Galápagos had impressed us once again.
Today we got up very early in the morning, full of enthusiasm and ready to explore the new wonders of nature that Galápagos had ready for us. As soon as we disembarked we were welcome by a refreshing but short amount of rain which by the way accompanied us during the first 20 minutes of our hike. Bartolomé Island was just like going back in time; it was incredible to see all those moon-like geological features, giving us the idea of how the islands were in the beginning of this paradise.
As we climbed more than 300 steps along the outfitting parasitic cones of Bartolomé Island, more of the basaltic lava formations would amaze us, just like walking on the moon but down on earth. Once we got to the top of the island we could enjoy the incredible view of one of the most famous landscapes of the Galápagos Islands, the pinnacle rock and the beautiful beaches that cover the north and south of the island, it was just dream-like; but in reality this is the Galápagos again.
During the afternoon we first had a very relaxing time on the beach of Puerto Egas on Santiago Island, right after an hour and a half of enjoying the refreshing waters with few sea turtle, we started our hike on Puerto Egas. Along the trail one could observe a huge variety of endemic and native plants to the islands, and some of the remains of what once it was a salt mine. As we moved forward inside the island, the beautiful lava fields covering all the shore line were holding many species of shore birds such as: ruddy turn stones, plovers, lava herons, oystercatchers and many others that would get our complete attention as soon as we spotted them .
At the end of the trail we saw the impressive grottos, wonderful geological features with one of the species of sea mammals of the Galápagos which we were expecting to see… the Galápagos fur sea lions easily seem around the grottos, here we could compare the differences in size and physical appearance with the Galápagos sea lions, which were quite big if we looked carefully. As we walked back to the beach where we started, we spotted some Galápagos doves, mockingbirds and even scorpions.
The afternoon was outstanding, our last visit could not have been better; heading back to the National Geographic Polaris once again, the Galápagos had impressed us once again.
