The rainy season is ending, and the temperatures of the air and water are slowly changing and cooling down. We woke up to a very pleasant temperature for our hike to the top of Bartholomew Island.
Our guests went ashore before breakfast and climbed up 360 steps to reach the highest point of the island. As everyone reached the summit, our reward was the most famous view of Galapagos.
Bartholomew is an island with little vegetation but with a great amount of geological features. As we ascended, we saw spatter cones, cinder cones, lava flows, lava tubes, and the pioneer plants that successfully colonized this island. After our hike, everyone returned aboard for breakfast. We departed later in the morning.
In the afternoon, we went to the southeastern side of Santiago Island. Chinese Hat, a beautiful islet, is right next to the island. Our guests went snorkeling from the Zodiacs in the channel that separates Chinese Hat Islet from Santiago Island. Later in the afternoon, guests had an opportunity to go on a Zodiac exploration to look for Galapagos penguins and Galapagos sea lions. We saw a few penguins, pelicans, herons, and sea lions along the coast on this clear and sunny afternoon.
We ended our day with a barbeque dinner under the stars.
Photo caption and credit: Galapagos penguins roosting on lava rocks after feeding. Photo by Gilda Gonzalez
