Bartolomé & Santiago Islands
We began our day climbing to the top of Bartolomé Island and admired the volcanic landscape from the summit. We loved the way the lava tunnels and flows were twisted and stretched across the island. The molten lava can adopt many shapes as it is flowing to the surface. The volcanic formations looked almost fresh except that the colors were red and orange; the typical colors of the old, rusty lava.
After breakfast we went ashore to snorkel, swim and to go for a ride on our glass-bottom boat. We watched sharks, and lots of fish of all sizes and colors passing swiftly underneath us. As the morning ended we headed towards Santiago Island for a final snorkel and walk.
As we arrived to Santiago we found a few remains of a small village built in the sixties; this place was known as Puerto Egas, and was abandoned before the end of that decade. No humans inhabit this island anymore, but Galápagos marine iguanas, sea lions and Galápagos fur seals make it their home.
This island is in the restoration process from a long presence of goats that depleted the endemic and native vegetation. There were also pigs and donkeys that directly or indirectly were seriously jeopardizing the local wildlife. All those introduced species were successfully removed from the island. Other islands in our archipelago have been cleared up of goats and, just like Santiago, are in the restoration process. It will take several years before the island will be fully recovered, but the most important step was taken, and makes us feel very proud that we were an active part of it.
