Bartolomé & James Island
Our last day in the wonders of Galápagos started at 6:30am in order to see the soft light that the early morning has to offer. We hiked 375 steps to the summit of Bartolome. It was beautiful, and not too hot, which made things easier for the guests.
Some groups went fast and some took it easy. We made several stops to talk about the beauty of Bartolomé. Its landscape is unique, and looks like Mars – very moonscape like.
On the way back, breakfast was waiting for all of us. After breakfast we landed on the golden beach for our last snorkeling and of course it was great, perhaps one of the best sites of the week. ‘Why was it the best site?’ you might wonder. Well, that is because we were snorkeling with Galápagos penguins, sea lions, tropical fish and a white tip shark!
In the afternoon most people went to James Bay at James Island and the rest, we went snorkeling. Again, it turned out to be one of the best snorkeling outings. We saw Pacific green sea turtles, white tip reef sharks, a school of barracudas, parrot fish and then we encountered a huge male sea lion that was not happy, so we got out. People on the walk saw some migratory birds like plovers and sandpipers, American oyster catchers, sea lions, marine iguanas, and Galápagos fur seals by the grottos, which are formed by the lava flows along the coast.
It was a fantastic week. The group enjoyed including the International Women’s Forum (IWF). It has been a trip of a life time. Hasta la vista.
