Bartolomé and Rabida Island
Today we started before breakfast and took advantage of the cool early morning weather. We walked up the steps to the summit of Bartolomé Island, on our way we made several stop to learn about the interesting geological formations found in the area. Bartolomé is considered an open textbook of geology; shield volcanoes and parasitic cones were all around this small island. We found some pioneer plants such as lava cacti, Tiquilia and spurge standing solitary on this barren island. After breakfast, we went for snorkeling from a golden sandy beach. Colorful reef fish, sharks and rays were seen while we float in calm, clear and warm water.
In the afternoon we continued with our activities, which were kayaking or snorkeling along the red cliffs of Rabida Island. We had warm and calm waters; the underwater activity was amazing — we spotted from white tipped reef sharks, marine iguanas, sea lions and several species of colorful reef fish. Later some of us went for a hike on the island; we found several species of finches, many kinds of flowering plants such as the Galápagos tomatoes, arrow leaf morning glories and prickly pear cacti including several frigate birds gliding on top of us.
Back on the beach we got the chance to take pictures of sea lions with the unique red background of Radida Island. Great way to end the second day of our expedition, there will be much more to come…
