Today was our first full expedition day in the Galapagos Islands and a day full of new experiences. We woke up to the iconic view of the Bartolome pinnacle. Bartolome Island was named after the second lieutenant on the HMS Beagle, James Bartholomew Sullivan. This beautiful island seems like another planet, looking more like the moon than earth itself. It only has a few plants and lava lizards can survive and live in these conditions. The water that surrounds this island, on the other hand, is full of life and we got to experience this as we jumped in to look for underwater creatures during snorkeling. In the afternoon the captain moved the National Geographic Islander to another island called Rábida. This island has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, a red sand beach where a small colony of sea lions live. The red color of the sand is due to high concentrations of iron oxide, a component found among volcanic islands. On Rábida we got the opportunity to snorkel again and also kayak and paddle board along this beautiful landscape. It was a breathtaking start in the Galapagos Islands!