Bartolome and Santiago Islands
It is only 6:30 a.m. but the Polaris is already humming with energy and excitement. Reception rings with loud squeals of delight and peals of laughter, the likes of which we don’t usually hear, at least not this early in the morning. But our guests this week are easily excited: they are just kids, between 8 and 12 years of age. These 64 school children are from the town of Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island and we are delighted to be touring their home islands with them! They were chosen by lottery and will be with us for two nights and a day.
Luck was with us this morning. We climbed to the summit of Bartolome Island, one naturalist leading each of the small groups of children with their adult chaperons. The naturalists were showing and teaching about lava, spatter cones and volcanoes as we hiked. At the top we discovered a breathtaking view and then, ORCAS! We hurried down the wooden steps and leapt into the Zodiacs and went off to follow the whales. What a show we had, what screams and shouts when the whales spouted and surfaced and lob-tailed! There were at least 10 of them, one a huge male with a very tall, slightly drooping dorsal fin. At one point 8 orcas surfaced all together. An incredible sight… The rest of the morning we spent hiking along two lovely golden beaches, examining the inter-tidal life, taking turns riding in our glass bottom boat, swimming and snorkelling.
In the afternoon, following a presentation on the Geology of Galápagos by Naturalist Paula Tagle, we disembarked on the coarse black sand of Puerto Egas, Santiago Island and hiked along the coast. Here the Naturalists explained the natural history of the marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, sally light foot crabs and many of the other creatures, some of which are part of the daily lives of these children, and some of which they have never seen. To the delight of our energetic young guests, we ended the day with more swimming and snorkelling. We are all extremely content with the out come of this short but enjoyable cruise. It is wonderful to have been part of the process of turning a group of exuberant kids into potential, future conservationists who will someday help to protect these Enchanted Islands.
It is only 6:30 a.m. but the Polaris is already humming with energy and excitement. Reception rings with loud squeals of delight and peals of laughter, the likes of which we don’t usually hear, at least not this early in the morning. But our guests this week are easily excited: they are just kids, between 8 and 12 years of age. These 64 school children are from the town of Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz Island and we are delighted to be touring their home islands with them! They were chosen by lottery and will be with us for two nights and a day.
Luck was with us this morning. We climbed to the summit of Bartolome Island, one naturalist leading each of the small groups of children with their adult chaperons. The naturalists were showing and teaching about lava, spatter cones and volcanoes as we hiked. At the top we discovered a breathtaking view and then, ORCAS! We hurried down the wooden steps and leapt into the Zodiacs and went off to follow the whales. What a show we had, what screams and shouts when the whales spouted and surfaced and lob-tailed! There were at least 10 of them, one a huge male with a very tall, slightly drooping dorsal fin. At one point 8 orcas surfaced all together. An incredible sight… The rest of the morning we spent hiking along two lovely golden beaches, examining the inter-tidal life, taking turns riding in our glass bottom boat, swimming and snorkelling.
In the afternoon, following a presentation on the Geology of Galápagos by Naturalist Paula Tagle, we disembarked on the coarse black sand of Puerto Egas, Santiago Island and hiked along the coast. Here the Naturalists explained the natural history of the marine iguanas, sea lions, fur seals, sally light foot crabs and many of the other creatures, some of which are part of the daily lives of these children, and some of which they have never seen. To the delight of our energetic young guests, we ended the day with more swimming and snorkelling. We are all extremely content with the out come of this short but enjoyable cruise. It is wonderful to have been part of the process of turning a group of exuberant kids into potential, future conservationists who will someday help to protect these Enchanted Islands.
