Bartolomé and Santiago Island
This is the beginning of our journey in the Galápagos Islands. Today we anchored off Bartolomé Island in the central part of the archipelago. The weather was nice with a gentle breeze on our faces as we started our ascent of Bartolomé. As we climbed this small, barren island we discovered new life forms, fresh lava flows, volcanic ash and pioneer organisms that thrive under hard conditions like the droughts and high temperatures typical to this tropical desert.
The landscape is stunning with its lava flows, vast fields covered with volcanic ash and many volcanoes and craters dotting the landscape. It is a unique place in terms of landscapes, especially the iconic view of Pinnacle Rock and the golden beaches. The crystal clear water is teeming with marine life such as sea lions and tropical fish, including white-tipped reef sharks and sea lions. This was our first snorkeling activity and it was quite an experience!
Later in the day we moved to Santiago Island enjoying lunch and the sightings of dozens of manta rays breaching in the distance with sun shining and a gorgeous blue sky. A few minutes before reaching our destination we spotted a humpback whale with a calf breaching and tail lobbing. It was time to slow down the ship and do some whale watching. We all were very excited seeing these whales that kept us entertained for a moment until they headed westward, starting their monumental migration to the icy Antarctic waters.
