Bartolome & James Island
The first day of the 2007 started very early with a lovely hike to the summit of Bartolome Island and before the excursion we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise.
We observed the first birds: a flock of white vented storm petrels near by the dinghy were dancing very close to the surface of the sea and when we were close to the landing area several frigate birds, brown pelicans and blue-footed boobies showed up to welcome us. Right by the landing spot two marine iguanas were so focused on basking in the sun and absorbing heat that they didn’t move, not even for one second as we passed by them.
After we reached the summit, there was a perfect sun light providing us an excellent view on the most famous scenery in the Galápagos and when we were walking along the shore we found several green sea turtles in the water very close and some of them were mating. We also saw an American Oystercatcher all by itself, very busy trying to catch a ghost crab hidden in the sand; at the end of the beach we saw two sea lions sleeping very comfortably in the shade and causing great expectation among all our guests who spent some time taking many pictures of these Pinnipeds.
In the afternoon we landed on a black sand beach called Puerto Egas, the beach looked beautiful with low tide. There was a common sea lion sleeping under a tree. It looked so cute!
Walking by the interior of the island we saw mockingbirds and small ground finches which caused sensation among the guests and when we visited the tidal pools we found several endemic sea lions which provided an excellent opportunity to talk about differences between both common and endemic sea lions.
Walking by the shore we saw plovers, wandering tattlers and ruddy turnstones walking very fast around the tidal pools. There were also very big marine iguanas posing for us on the lava rocks.
By the time we were about to finish the visit, mother nature gave us a present: a beautiful sunset and three cute baby sea lions looking for their mothers.
What a great day!!! Can’t wait to take more photos tomorrow.
The first day of the 2007 started very early with a lovely hike to the summit of Bartolome Island and before the excursion we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise.
We observed the first birds: a flock of white vented storm petrels near by the dinghy were dancing very close to the surface of the sea and when we were close to the landing area several frigate birds, brown pelicans and blue-footed boobies showed up to welcome us. Right by the landing spot two marine iguanas were so focused on basking in the sun and absorbing heat that they didn’t move, not even for one second as we passed by them.
After we reached the summit, there was a perfect sun light providing us an excellent view on the most famous scenery in the Galápagos and when we were walking along the shore we found several green sea turtles in the water very close and some of them were mating. We also saw an American Oystercatcher all by itself, very busy trying to catch a ghost crab hidden in the sand; at the end of the beach we saw two sea lions sleeping very comfortably in the shade and causing great expectation among all our guests who spent some time taking many pictures of these Pinnipeds.
In the afternoon we landed on a black sand beach called Puerto Egas, the beach looked beautiful with low tide. There was a common sea lion sleeping under a tree. It looked so cute!
Walking by the interior of the island we saw mockingbirds and small ground finches which caused sensation among the guests and when we visited the tidal pools we found several endemic sea lions which provided an excellent opportunity to talk about differences between both common and endemic sea lions.
Walking by the shore we saw plovers, wandering tattlers and ruddy turnstones walking very fast around the tidal pools. There were also very big marine iguanas posing for us on the lava rocks.
By the time we were about to finish the visit, mother nature gave us a present: a beautiful sunset and three cute baby sea lions looking for their mothers.
What a great day!!! Can’t wait to take more photos tomorrow.
