Bartolomé Island
Our optional wake up call this morning was at six thirty, and attending was worth it! We visited one of the strangest looking islands in the archipelago; Bartolomé Island gave us a perspective on how the moon might look, so we were happy to be there shortly after the sun rose. At the cement jetty we were welcomed by a couple of penguins and this alone made the entire trip worth it. Fast walkers headed up to the top first, climbing 376 easy steps. The amazing scenery was the perfect setting for taking pictures, holding the flag of our partner in conservation, National Geographic Society.
After a superb breakfast on the teak deck, we headed out for different options on the water: one was snorkeling and the other was the glass bottom boat. Penguins by the dozens playing and pulling snorkelers' strings gave us an unforgettable experience. Panamic cushion sea stars, and chocolate chip sea stars were abundant this morning at the shallow waters of Bartolomé; from the glass bottom boat we saw schools of cardinal fish, schools of surgeon razor yellowtail fish, trumpet fish, a sea turtle and a playful sea lion.
The afternoon started off with snorkeling at the beach, some people saw two different species of sea turtles, schools of king angel fishes and many sea lion on the water and also at the beach.
After the snorkel we headed out for a walk, in which we where able to identify some shore birds, like Galápagos Oystercatchers, whimbrels, ruddy turnstones and more… but the target of the walk was the fur sea lion. Lucky us we found around four of them just laying on the crevices of the grottos. Two beautiful yellow-crowned herons were also seen there.
Coming back on board, a spectacular sunset delighted us and made for a perfect farewell dingy ride back to our happy and comfortable home for the week, the National Geographic Polaris.
Our optional wake up call this morning was at six thirty, and attending was worth it! We visited one of the strangest looking islands in the archipelago; Bartolomé Island gave us a perspective on how the moon might look, so we were happy to be there shortly after the sun rose. At the cement jetty we were welcomed by a couple of penguins and this alone made the entire trip worth it. Fast walkers headed up to the top first, climbing 376 easy steps. The amazing scenery was the perfect setting for taking pictures, holding the flag of our partner in conservation, National Geographic Society.
After a superb breakfast on the teak deck, we headed out for different options on the water: one was snorkeling and the other was the glass bottom boat. Penguins by the dozens playing and pulling snorkelers' strings gave us an unforgettable experience. Panamic cushion sea stars, and chocolate chip sea stars were abundant this morning at the shallow waters of Bartolomé; from the glass bottom boat we saw schools of cardinal fish, schools of surgeon razor yellowtail fish, trumpet fish, a sea turtle and a playful sea lion.
The afternoon started off with snorkeling at the beach, some people saw two different species of sea turtles, schools of king angel fishes and many sea lion on the water and also at the beach.
After the snorkel we headed out for a walk, in which we where able to identify some shore birds, like Galápagos Oystercatchers, whimbrels, ruddy turnstones and more… but the target of the walk was the fur sea lion. Lucky us we found around four of them just laying on the crevices of the grottos. Two beautiful yellow-crowned herons were also seen there.
Coming back on board, a spectacular sunset delighted us and made for a perfect farewell dingy ride back to our happy and comfortable home for the week, the National Geographic Polaris.
