Bartolome and Santiago Island
It was a perfect morning when everybody woke up to walk all the way to the top of Bartolome Island. As soon as the first panga approached the shore, fast walkers went ahead to conquer the hill in order to enjoy the most beautiful view of the Galápagos. Bartolome is one of the perfect places in the archipelago to talk about geology. There are great examples of spatter cones and cinder, of lava tubes and volcanic ash. And of course one of the emblematic plants of the island is a pioneer plant called Lava Cactus (Brachycereus nesioticos) which is the smallest species of cactus living on the archipelago.
A couple of hours later we landed on the northern beach of Bartolome where we found a small colony of penguins. The pinnacle rock is one of the perfect places in the marine reserve of the Galápagos to snorkel with schools of black striped salemas, various reef fish, lot of sea stars and sea urchins.
During lunch we sailed to the western side of Santiago Island, our adopted Island. We anchored in Puerto Egas, on a black sandy beach, a different place to snorkel where we found sea turtles and friendly sea lions. Later on, during the hike we walked to look for the Galápagos Fur sea lions or Sea Bears, the smallest species of sea lion on the Archipelago. The wonderful volcanic landscape we found in the island is unique and exotic, which made it another majestic day on this beautiful paradise.
It was a perfect morning when everybody woke up to walk all the way to the top of Bartolome Island. As soon as the first panga approached the shore, fast walkers went ahead to conquer the hill in order to enjoy the most beautiful view of the Galápagos. Bartolome is one of the perfect places in the archipelago to talk about geology. There are great examples of spatter cones and cinder, of lava tubes and volcanic ash. And of course one of the emblematic plants of the island is a pioneer plant called Lava Cactus (Brachycereus nesioticos) which is the smallest species of cactus living on the archipelago.
A couple of hours later we landed on the northern beach of Bartolome where we found a small colony of penguins. The pinnacle rock is one of the perfect places in the marine reserve of the Galápagos to snorkel with schools of black striped salemas, various reef fish, lot of sea stars and sea urchins.
During lunch we sailed to the western side of Santiago Island, our adopted Island. We anchored in Puerto Egas, on a black sandy beach, a different place to snorkel where we found sea turtles and friendly sea lions. Later on, during the hike we walked to look for the Galápagos Fur sea lions or Sea Bears, the smallest species of sea lion on the Archipelago. The wonderful volcanic landscape we found in the island is unique and exotic, which made it another majestic day on this beautiful paradise.
