It was an early start, but I had already warned everyone that we would get going and not stop until the day they leave for the airport…there is just too much to see and do here in the islands!
The pre-breakfast expedition began with a “non-stop-to-the-top” hiking group. That meant all the wooden stairs (over 360) to the top of Bartholomew in one go. The subsequent groups took their time, resting at different levels until they reached the same spectacular vista, possibly one of the most iconic of the entire archipelago. The hike was well worth it and the energy expended will justify the large amounts of wonderful food we will be eating later today.
Just before going ashore to the golden beach I gave a briefing to explain how all our water options would work for the week: kayaking and/or snorkeling every day! Once all were kitted out with equipment, we headed ashore to practice, or in some cases, learn how to float on the surface of the sea to gaze, almost voyeuristically, at an undersea world unfamiliar to most. It’s a bit like riding an airship in the clouds watching terrestrial beings live out their day-to-day life, but in our case we were looking down into the ocean.
Around noon the ship started her passage to the southwest, towards our afternoon destination of Rábida Island which is an unusual island because the red iron-oxide saturated rocks stand out in fiery difference from all the other islands in the group. Before landing on the flat, red beach for a sunset stroll, we explored the coast by kayak and yet another snorkelling outing, this time “deep-water”. The snorkelers set off in the Zodiacs for the next hour and saw parrotfish, damselfish, Galapagos sea lions, endemic salemas, green sea turtles (!) and many more fish. The kayakers covered a long section of coastline with the wind at their backs giving them a boost. They spotted diving blue-footed boobies, marine iguanas along the rocky red bluffs, the occasional brown pelican in breeding plumage (“What a wonderful bird…”) and frigates chasing terns. It was both stimulating and peaceful with the sound of the gentle surf on the sandy beach, moving under one’s own power, no engines, no man-made noise.
A quick change (VERY quick change), brought folks back to the loading area to once more (fourth time today) disembark for the late afternoon walk. The setting sun softened the light and made it easy to enjoy the moment, the present, the simple delight of being in the here and now in Galapagos.
