Today we woke up for an early walk uphill to the top of Bartolome, a satellite islet of Santiago Island. This relatively young island is a good place to appreciate different geological formations such as tuff and spatter cones, and young basaltic flows. The presence of pioneer plants such as Tiquilia nesiotica and the lava cactus makes of Bartolome a good place to understand how life started in Galapagos after the first colonizers stablished in newly formed islands. In the afternoon we visited Chinese Hat, another satellite islet of Santiago Island. The presence of sea lions and colorful fishes made up our afternoon. We finished our exploration day with an outstanding sunset that we could appreciate on the sky deck of the National Geographic Endeavour II.
5/12/2025
Read
National Geographic Endeavour II
Floreana Island
We started our day early at Punta Cormorant just as the sun came up. Nearby, the rocky outline of Devil’s Crown stood out in the distance. As we landed, sea lions were waiting on the beach, giving us a lively start to the morning. During our walk, we visited a large brackish lagoon that’s known for attracting flamingos. We were lucky to see a few of them, which can be rare depending on the season. The highlight of the day was snorkeling at Champion Islet. The water was calm and clear, and we saw a wide variety of marine life. Sea lions swam nearby, and we spotted plenty of colorful fish. In the afternoon, we went kayaking in a quiet, protected area, sharing the space with sea turtles and rays. We finished the day at Floreana Island’s Post Office Barrel where we joined the tradition of leaving and/or taking a postcard for hand delivery upon our return home. A beautiful sunset ended the day.