Bartolome and Santiago Islands
We started the day with amazing energy; I would say very creative energy. Early in the morning we walked up the several steps of Bartolome Island to enjoy a magnificent view, one of the best sceneries in the Galápagos archipelago. The trail has been designed by the Galápagos National Park to minimize the physical impact on the island, and most of the boats respect it, as they respect all the Galápagos trails that bring us up close and personal to its wildlife. However this morning we noticed that some people, we don’t know from which other boats or when, have walked over the volcanic ash of Bartolome slopes leaving terrible footprints behind. This is such a delicate place, with only a few pioneer plants, the first ones able to colonize this young volcanic setting. We noticed as well some pieces of cement left behind since the last maintenance given to the steps months ago. Inspired by the beauty, faithful to our duty as Galápagos naturalist guides, we decided to start a small campaign “Bartolome Free of Footprints.” Ernesto Vaca, one of our naturalists, came up with this great idea. And while our guests enjoyed breakfast, Ernesto and Daniel Sanchez went back to Bartolome and erased the footprints outside the trail. We are going to set a sign on the island with our new slogan “Bartolome Free of Footprints” and hopefully from now on, every other boat that visits this island will also get the inspiration of protecting and respecting this path and every other path in the Galápagos. As the reward to our action, the island presented us with Galápagos penguins in the water, lots of fish and incredibly calm seas.
The afternoon snorkeling in Santiago was spectacular as well, and the sightings of the very last walk brought tears to many people’s eyes. The sun is setting and we feel, once more, proud of being part of a team, the Lindblad Expeditions team, a company that cares for these islands and every nature destination we visit.
We started the day with amazing energy; I would say very creative energy. Early in the morning we walked up the several steps of Bartolome Island to enjoy a magnificent view, one of the best sceneries in the Galápagos archipelago. The trail has been designed by the Galápagos National Park to minimize the physical impact on the island, and most of the boats respect it, as they respect all the Galápagos trails that bring us up close and personal to its wildlife. However this morning we noticed that some people, we don’t know from which other boats or when, have walked over the volcanic ash of Bartolome slopes leaving terrible footprints behind. This is such a delicate place, with only a few pioneer plants, the first ones able to colonize this young volcanic setting. We noticed as well some pieces of cement left behind since the last maintenance given to the steps months ago. Inspired by the beauty, faithful to our duty as Galápagos naturalist guides, we decided to start a small campaign “Bartolome Free of Footprints.” Ernesto Vaca, one of our naturalists, came up with this great idea. And while our guests enjoyed breakfast, Ernesto and Daniel Sanchez went back to Bartolome and erased the footprints outside the trail. We are going to set a sign on the island with our new slogan “Bartolome Free of Footprints” and hopefully from now on, every other boat that visits this island will also get the inspiration of protecting and respecting this path and every other path in the Galápagos. As the reward to our action, the island presented us with Galápagos penguins in the water, lots of fish and incredibly calm seas.
The afternoon snorkeling in Santiago was spectacular as well, and the sightings of the very last walk brought tears to many people’s eyes. The sun is setting and we feel, once more, proud of being part of a team, the Lindblad Expeditions team, a company that cares for these islands and every nature destination we visit.
