Bartholomew and Sombrero Chino
Early this morning we headed ashore to the island of Bartholomew, which is located on the eastern side of Santiago Island. We are in the central realm of the archipelago and this island is well known for its stunning landscapes and all the volcanic formations that we observed during our climb to the top of the island. Bartholomew has perhaps the most famous view in the archipelago and we were rewarded once we reached the summit of the island by observing it.
After this walk we all returned aboard to have breakfast and then we headed to the shore once again to go snorkeling from the beach or to go on a ride on our glass-bottom boat. There we found a great variety of fish and marine invertebrates, and some of our guests also encountered a white tipped reef shark resting under a rock.
This afternoon we went to the south side of Santiago Island and went snorkeling from our Zodiacs in the channel that separates Sombrero Chino Islet from Santiago. Here we had another incredible snorkeling; this afternoon we found a couple of Galapagos marine iguanas feeding on algae, some stingrays, sharks, and a large group of Galapagos penguins that headed straight to our guests and swam around them.
Later on the afternoon we returned to the same channel for a Zodiac ride along the coasts of Santiago Island and Sombrero Chino where we saw Galapagos penguins, Galapagos sea lions, and a lonely Galapagos hawk looking for food around an ancient lava flow.
The day is ending but the adventure still continues.
