We woke up off the coast of Bartolome Island. We headed out for an invigorating, early morning walk to the top of the island. The entire walk was full of incredible landscapes. The different lava fields we observed and various interesting formations like lava tunnels, tuff cones, and spatter cones all made this walk enjoyable. When we got to the top, an astonishing view was waiting for us. Pinnacle Rock, the most iconic view of the islands, offered the perfect scenery for pictures. The contrast in the vegetation, the golden sand beaches, the tuff formations, and the shades of blue in the ocean all made for a great vista.
Later in the morning, we got ready for our first water activity of the expedition. We landed on the golden sand beach, where we prepared to discover the beauty of the undersea life of the Galapagos Islands. We swam with Galapagos penguins, whitetip reef sharks, Pacific green sea turtles, and many different species of fish. It was a wonderful experience.
For our afternoon adventure, we sailed to the next island. We disembarked on the northern side of Santa Cruz Island. We walked along the beach and had our first encounter with marine iguanas. The iguanas were sunbathing on the beach before going into the sea for algae to eat. As we moved farther inland, we arrived at Dragon Hill. We found many Galapagos land iguanas as we walked around the hill. Some of them posed for us to take pictures, and some were more difficult to spot. They blend in perfectly with the vegetation that surrounds them.
