Bartholomew and Chinese Hat Islands, 12/29/2022, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Today we explored two islands: Bartholomew and Chinese Hat. Both are located in the central region of the archipelago.
Bartholomew has the most photographed landscape in the archipelago. It is a great spot for snorkeling and has an orange sand beach. We hiked, snorkeled, and took tours in the glass-bottom boat.
This afternoon, we snorkeled in the channel that separates Chinese Hat from Santiago Island. After this, we explored the coast by Zodiac and enjoyed a colorful sunset.
Gilda was born in Ambato, located in the very heart of the Ecuadorian Andes. Since she was a child, she loved animals, often rescuing street cats and dogs. Her parents always made sure there were nature books and plenty of Jacques Cousteau’s videos a...
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Today we had the opportunity to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park facilities. Today is giant tortoise day! Early in the morning we visited the baby-giants which are part of a program to breed and protect the world-famous giant tortoises. Following, we explored the Highlands with a visit to a hydroponic farm and a sugarcane farm, then we had a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. In the Highlands, we walked among the tortoises. These huge reptiles were roaming freely as they grazed on grass and a variety of plants. Soon after our visit, we returned to Puerto Ayora and had a chance to explore the town and enjoy shopping for local handicrafts. Back on board National Geographic Endeavour II , we danced to music performed by a local folk band after our delicious dinner and nightly briefing. It was a full day of enjoying face-to-face time with Galapagos giant tortoises and visiting a new town.
Each day on this journey brings us to a drastically different island environment and Santiago is no exception. Buccaneer Cove, a historically significant area for past visitors, including Charles Darwin, allows for incredible exploration of the coastal area in kayaks as we start our day. Since it is a newer island in the archipelago, the volcanic landscape is prominent. Exploration of the undersea environment brings us numerous species of colorful reef fish and sea lions. Puerto Egas in the afternoon allows a hike along the coast, seeing remnants of a human population that lived here up until the early 1960’s. Galapagos fur seals lounge along the coast as numerous ruddy turnstones, semipalmated plovers, and American oystercatchers roam the coast in the late afternoon for their daily sustenance.
Every day, this magical archipelago is enthralling and brings joy and amazement to our lives. Today was not the exception, for we started this day with a spectacular sighting! A huge humpback whale was spotted with her baby at close range from the ship, just within a few minutes after we anchored in front of Urbina Bay. A glorious early sunrise and its golden reflections were the perfect setting for observing the whale and baby floating placidly at the surface. Suddenly, both jumped out of the water, breaching very high in the air, making a huge splash around them. The whales performed this amazing natural show twice, each time leaping three times in a row. This spectacular sighting mesmerized us! Later on, after breakfast, we went for a walk and observed Galapagos land iguanas and Alcedo Volcano giant tortoises. In the afternoon, we went to Tagus Cove. We had plenty of choices with kayaking, snorkeling, Zodiac rides, and a hike. What an unforgettable day in paradise!
