Bartholomew and Santiago Islands
Today we had a lot of fun! We began this wonderful day climbing the famous steps of Bartholomew. It was quite an excursion, but when we reached the top of this very impressive cinder cone, the view was incredible. The islet of Bartholomew is covered with pioneer plants, spatter cones, pahoe-hoe lava, small lava tubes and when added all together they make for an extraordinary, desolate landscape. In the distance we admired the well known “pinnacle rock.”
We came aboard after climbing Bartholomew for a much deserved and delicious breakfast, served on the teak deck. Once we had our energy back we headed to the island again to take part in various activities. Some of our guests went for a walk across the golden sand dunes to a lovely beach where Pacific green sea turtles nest. Others signed up for outings on the glass bottom boat (a.k.a GBB) or went snorkeling. Galápagos penguins joined some of the snorkelers, others spun and splashed with friendly sea lions and we all had a great time viewing the many different types of fish that were around the pinnacle rock.
In the afternoon we made a wet landing on Santiago Island where this picture of a Galápagos fur seal was taken. Some of our guests went on a final, very enjoyable snorkel outing and swam again with sea lions and sea turtles. Our last walk was amazingly quite different and extremely interesting. We found Galápagos fur seals and sea lions, blue-footed boobies, lava herons, and several migratory birds that are visiting the Galápagos at this time of the year. Since the tide was low we poked around in the tidal pools and a sharp-eyed guest found two octopi. We watched as a school of very little fish successfully avoided being eaten for dinner. Our dinner was a scrumptious farewell affair that was the perfect end to a very rewarding, and successful day.
Today we had a lot of fun! We began this wonderful day climbing the famous steps of Bartholomew. It was quite an excursion, but when we reached the top of this very impressive cinder cone, the view was incredible. The islet of Bartholomew is covered with pioneer plants, spatter cones, pahoe-hoe lava, small lava tubes and when added all together they make for an extraordinary, desolate landscape. In the distance we admired the well known “pinnacle rock.”
We came aboard after climbing Bartholomew for a much deserved and delicious breakfast, served on the teak deck. Once we had our energy back we headed to the island again to take part in various activities. Some of our guests went for a walk across the golden sand dunes to a lovely beach where Pacific green sea turtles nest. Others signed up for outings on the glass bottom boat (a.k.a GBB) or went snorkeling. Galápagos penguins joined some of the snorkelers, others spun and splashed with friendly sea lions and we all had a great time viewing the many different types of fish that were around the pinnacle rock.
In the afternoon we made a wet landing on Santiago Island where this picture of a Galápagos fur seal was taken. Some of our guests went on a final, very enjoyable snorkel outing and swam again with sea lions and sea turtles. Our last walk was amazingly quite different and extremely interesting. We found Galápagos fur seals and sea lions, blue-footed boobies, lava herons, and several migratory birds that are visiting the Galápagos at this time of the year. Since the tide was low we poked around in the tidal pools and a sharp-eyed guest found two octopi. We watched as a school of very little fish successfully avoided being eaten for dinner. Our dinner was a scrumptious farewell affair that was the perfect end to a very rewarding, and successful day.
