Bartolome & Santiago Islands
We woke up quite exited since this was going to be our first full day at the Galápagos archipelago. Most of us started the day doing a walk on Bartolome. The objective was to get to the top of the island where there is a nice look out point situated 350 feet above sea level. There are 372 steps to the top and it is really worth every step you climb because the view from the summit is one of the most amazing scenic views of the whole archipelago. The Pinnacle Rock that was the highlight during the walk was also our snorkeling spot later in the morning after our breakfast. The water was very nice, with a good temperature and calm conditions. The sun gave us the best light to see big schools of tropical fish, as well as sea stars, sea urchins and a couple of white tipped reef sharks!
After our morning’s visit we enjoyed the navigation towards Puerto Egas, our visitor’s site for the afternoon; to get there we passed along the northern part of Santiago Island which was a popular place for whalers and buccaneers back in the seventeen hundreds. This island has fresh water and giant tortoises, a valuable treasure for these travelers.
We dropped the anchor at about two thirty in the afternoon after a wonderful lunch where our guests had the chance to try traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. At Puerto Egas we had many activities to explore the coastal, marine and land ecosystems of Santiago. Some of us went kayaking, some others went snorkeling off a black sandy volcanic beach and all of us did a hike later in the afternoon. Some of the species seen were sea turtles, the Galápagos sea lions, the Galápagos fur sea lions, and different species of sea birds and migratory birds. The walk along the intertidal zone took us to a whole series of tidal pools that had a lot of life. The sally lightfoot crabs and the marine iguanas gave us a show since they were feeding.
