On our first expedition day in Galapagos, National Geographic Islander II navigated for 3 and a half hours towards Bartolomé island. It is a famous island located at the eastern side of Santiago Island with an area of only 1.3 km2 (0.5mi2). Here we appreciated the unique geological formations and pioneer vegetation. After 30-minute walk up 372 stairs, we are rewarded with the most iconic view of the Galápagos, memorialized in the movie, “Master and Commander.” After this early morning walk, we put on our snorkeling gear and explored the underwater world of Bartolomé.
After our morning activities, we navigated for another hour and forty minutes towards Santa Cruz Island. We visited the northwestern side of the island, a place known as Dragon Hill, so named after the endemic Galapagos land iguana. We happily spotted plenty of them during our nature walk along a dry forest.
