Bartolome and Santiago Island
It was a beautiful day, an absolutely beautiful day!
Our expedition started with an early visit to Bartolome Island, home to the Galápagos penguin which is the northernmost member of this group of southern birds.
This barren island is just the perfect place to have a fit idea of how complex geologic processes give rise to an oceanic island that is later colonised by organisms that will arrive by chance.
When you set foot on a place like this you go back in time, to the very beginnings of planet Earth. Rocks everywhere, hardy little plants that thrive in a daily struggle against the droughts, and the first representative of the animal kingdom like lizards and painted locusts give the visitor the privilege to be part of a unique environment.
Bartolome is not only this barren looking place but also a place blessed with a shoreline teeming with marine life like iguanas, oystercatchers, many migrants among them the whimbrels that winter in the Galápagos after a long voyage from the Canadian prairies. The pinnacle rock, the penguins and the snorkeling site were a life time experience.
In the late afternoon, after a long boat ride enjoying the volcanic landscapes and bottlenose dolphins riding the bow wave, we disembarked at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. This island is among the largest ones in the Galápagos and a fascinating place to go for a walk along the shore and do some birding because here you’ll find most of the migratory species of birds that come from the north to feed on the shore while over-wintering.
Puerto Egas can be a remarkable place due to the number of Galápagos sea lions, marine iguanas and a colony of Galápagos fur seals that are a little shy and less numerous.
It’s been a truly unforgettable day full of activities and sightings of strange creatures.
It was a beautiful day, an absolutely beautiful day!
Our expedition started with an early visit to Bartolome Island, home to the Galápagos penguin which is the northernmost member of this group of southern birds.
This barren island is just the perfect place to have a fit idea of how complex geologic processes give rise to an oceanic island that is later colonised by organisms that will arrive by chance.
When you set foot on a place like this you go back in time, to the very beginnings of planet Earth. Rocks everywhere, hardy little plants that thrive in a daily struggle against the droughts, and the first representative of the animal kingdom like lizards and painted locusts give the visitor the privilege to be part of a unique environment.
Bartolome is not only this barren looking place but also a place blessed with a shoreline teeming with marine life like iguanas, oystercatchers, many migrants among them the whimbrels that winter in the Galápagos after a long voyage from the Canadian prairies. The pinnacle rock, the penguins and the snorkeling site were a life time experience.
In the late afternoon, after a long boat ride enjoying the volcanic landscapes and bottlenose dolphins riding the bow wave, we disembarked at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island. This island is among the largest ones in the Galápagos and a fascinating place to go for a walk along the shore and do some birding because here you’ll find most of the migratory species of birds that come from the north to feed on the shore while over-wintering.
Puerto Egas can be a remarkable place due to the number of Galápagos sea lions, marine iguanas and a colony of Galápagos fur seals that are a little shy and less numerous.
It’s been a truly unforgettable day full of activities and sightings of strange creatures.
