Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
As the day begins, we all noticed the presence of the persistent garúa mist that covers all the surroundings of the island of Bartolomé. The ghostly looking of the environment doesn’t take away the beauty of this island but instead increases its attractiveness. Once on land, we started to climb the almost 400 feet distance to the highest point of the island – in spite of its low altitude, it provides one of the most outstanding sceneries of the archipelago. Excitement comes in waves for, later on at the beach we discovered that the sea turtle nesting ground is still active with several nests of recent construction.
The snorkeling session was by far one of the most celebrated of the whole trip. The presence of several Galápagos penguins picking on an immense polarized school of fish was more than overwhelming. The water was transparent and pleasant adding to the experience.
James Bay on Santiago Island was in the past a very well visited anchoring. Today we were shown why that was. Amidst the strong wind that blows from the south east, this location is sheltered from the wind by the impressive presence of the Sugarloaf. The 1200 feet high cinder cone holds the secrets of many adventures and sagas that took place within the shores of James Bay.
The exploration brought us to the fur seal grottos where we found a couple of individuals eager to allow us to make a good identification. Some shorebirds were also present alongside the coast and we were able to recognize some cattle egrets that for some time have been around this location. During the walk back to the boarding beach, we had fabulous light upon the vegetation.
By the end of the afternoon came sunshine from the last minutes of the sun above the horizon. The iguanas stranded on the rocks started to disappear with the vanishing light. Most in shadows now, they will become part of the past, but one that will remain fresh in everybody’s mind.
As the day begins, we all noticed the presence of the persistent garúa mist that covers all the surroundings of the island of Bartolomé. The ghostly looking of the environment doesn’t take away the beauty of this island but instead increases its attractiveness. Once on land, we started to climb the almost 400 feet distance to the highest point of the island – in spite of its low altitude, it provides one of the most outstanding sceneries of the archipelago. Excitement comes in waves for, later on at the beach we discovered that the sea turtle nesting ground is still active with several nests of recent construction.
The snorkeling session was by far one of the most celebrated of the whole trip. The presence of several Galápagos penguins picking on an immense polarized school of fish was more than overwhelming. The water was transparent and pleasant adding to the experience.
James Bay on Santiago Island was in the past a very well visited anchoring. Today we were shown why that was. Amidst the strong wind that blows from the south east, this location is sheltered from the wind by the impressive presence of the Sugarloaf. The 1200 feet high cinder cone holds the secrets of many adventures and sagas that took place within the shores of James Bay.
The exploration brought us to the fur seal grottos where we found a couple of individuals eager to allow us to make a good identification. Some shorebirds were also present alongside the coast and we were able to recognize some cattle egrets that for some time have been around this location. During the walk back to the boarding beach, we had fabulous light upon the vegetation.
By the end of the afternoon came sunshine from the last minutes of the sun above the horizon. The iguanas stranded on the rocks started to disappear with the vanishing light. Most in shadows now, they will become part of the past, but one that will remain fresh in everybody’s mind.
