Bartolome and Santiago Islands
It is our first full day in the Galápagos Islands. When we woke up, the Islander was already anchored by Bartolome Island. Before breakfast, we set off on our first adventure of the day. A fabulous hike to the summit of Bartolome revealed to us the amazing views of the entire island and the nearby Sullivan bay. We could see wonderful colors in all of the different lava fields, cones and craters, old and new, that surrounded us.
Later on after breakfast, we landed at the sunny beach of Bartolome Island to have our first experience as snorklers and swimmers in the Galápagos. A friendly young sea lion was everyone’s delight at the beach, while the adventurous snorklers had an encounter with a sleeping Pacific green sea turtle that was lying on the sandy floor of the little bay. There were several beautiful species of fish to be seen underwater around the base of the Pinnacle rock, as well as numbers of sea stars dotting the floor. It was hard to leave, but the morning was over, and we had to return to the Islander. Soon, the captain would begin the navigation along the northern coast of Santiago Island, to reach our destination for the afternoon.
James or Santiago Island was the perfect hide-out place for buccaneers and was once visited by Charles Darwin. James bay with its dramatic coastline is our anchorage place. Our visit this afternoon would take us to Puerto Egas, which was once a settlement. Today, it forms part of the Galápagos National Park. At Puerto Egas we were lucky to enjoy a beautiful coastal walk. The low tide this afternoon exposed countless tidal pools. It was fun to watch the young sea lion pups playing in them! I don’t know how many photos were taken today of the endless numbers of marine iguanas, sally light-foot crabs and sea lions that were scattered all along this coast. Too much to see in one afternoon! But the sun setting behind the contour of the volcanoes of Isabela made us realize it was time to go back on board and prepare for our next day in this wonderful archipelago.
It is our first full day in the Galápagos Islands. When we woke up, the Islander was already anchored by Bartolome Island. Before breakfast, we set off on our first adventure of the day. A fabulous hike to the summit of Bartolome revealed to us the amazing views of the entire island and the nearby Sullivan bay. We could see wonderful colors in all of the different lava fields, cones and craters, old and new, that surrounded us.
Later on after breakfast, we landed at the sunny beach of Bartolome Island to have our first experience as snorklers and swimmers in the Galápagos. A friendly young sea lion was everyone’s delight at the beach, while the adventurous snorklers had an encounter with a sleeping Pacific green sea turtle that was lying on the sandy floor of the little bay. There were several beautiful species of fish to be seen underwater around the base of the Pinnacle rock, as well as numbers of sea stars dotting the floor. It was hard to leave, but the morning was over, and we had to return to the Islander. Soon, the captain would begin the navigation along the northern coast of Santiago Island, to reach our destination for the afternoon.
James or Santiago Island was the perfect hide-out place for buccaneers and was once visited by Charles Darwin. James bay with its dramatic coastline is our anchorage place. Our visit this afternoon would take us to Puerto Egas, which was once a settlement. Today, it forms part of the Galápagos National Park. At Puerto Egas we were lucky to enjoy a beautiful coastal walk. The low tide this afternoon exposed countless tidal pools. It was fun to watch the young sea lion pups playing in them! I don’t know how many photos were taken today of the endless numbers of marine iguanas, sally light-foot crabs and sea lions that were scattered all along this coast. Too much to see in one afternoon! But the sun setting behind the contour of the volcanoes of Isabela made us realize it was time to go back on board and prepare for our next day in this wonderful archipelago.
