Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
The sun was just rising on the horizon and we have already had a dry landing on Bartolomé Island. Or goal was to make our way all the way to the top of the summit of this small volcanic island. Bartolomé has new volcanic formations all around, reminding us that this place is still very active and young. We had 372 steps that help us to reach our goal. This early morning walk was a great way to start the day. Once we reached the top a beautiful array of colors ranging from blacks, reds and browns contrast in a big way with the turquoise waters of the surroundings. With all that early exercise, our appetite was ready for a well deserved breakfast, re-energizing to continue on with all the activities of our last day of our expedition on the islands.
Later in the morning we disembarked at a golden beach. With the sun above our heads everything seemed to be much brighter and vivid. We had the chance to practice several activities like snorkeling and swimming. The glass bottom boat outings gave us a closer look to extraordinary underwater Galápagos wildlife.
In the afternoon we were on our way to Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. This island is one of the largest ones in the archipelago. The dry vegetation we could see from the ship told us that the dry season has just begun. The National Geographic Polaris anchored and we were ready to disembark once again. Puerto Egas, our disembarkation place, was at some point inhabited by people for a very short period of time. We observed the remnants of “the salt mines” that were exploited in the recent past. Everything seemed so dry, but at the moment we hit the path we rediscovered the peculiar fauna and flora of Galápagos. Palo Santo trees, Galápagos doves, Galápagos mockingbirds, Darwin Finches, Marine Iguanas, etc. All these species dealing with this harsh and dramatic environment where they carry on their lives. We went to the Grottos, natural pool formations, which provide shelter to a colony of Galápagos fur seals. These creatures came some time ago from the colder waters of the South. It was our time to say good bye to this paradise.
The sun was just rising on the horizon and we have already had a dry landing on Bartolomé Island. Or goal was to make our way all the way to the top of the summit of this small volcanic island. Bartolomé has new volcanic formations all around, reminding us that this place is still very active and young. We had 372 steps that help us to reach our goal. This early morning walk was a great way to start the day. Once we reached the top a beautiful array of colors ranging from blacks, reds and browns contrast in a big way with the turquoise waters of the surroundings. With all that early exercise, our appetite was ready for a well deserved breakfast, re-energizing to continue on with all the activities of our last day of our expedition on the islands.
Later in the morning we disembarked at a golden beach. With the sun above our heads everything seemed to be much brighter and vivid. We had the chance to practice several activities like snorkeling and swimming. The glass bottom boat outings gave us a closer look to extraordinary underwater Galápagos wildlife.
In the afternoon we were on our way to Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. This island is one of the largest ones in the archipelago. The dry vegetation we could see from the ship told us that the dry season has just begun. The National Geographic Polaris anchored and we were ready to disembark once again. Puerto Egas, our disembarkation place, was at some point inhabited by people for a very short period of time. We observed the remnants of “the salt mines” that were exploited in the recent past. Everything seemed so dry, but at the moment we hit the path we rediscovered the peculiar fauna and flora of Galápagos. Palo Santo trees, Galápagos doves, Galápagos mockingbirds, Darwin Finches, Marine Iguanas, etc. All these species dealing with this harsh and dramatic environment where they carry on their lives. We went to the Grottos, natural pool formations, which provide shelter to a colony of Galápagos fur seals. These creatures came some time ago from the colder waters of the South. It was our time to say good bye to this paradise.
