Today we woke up for an early pre-breakfast walk uphill to the top of Bartolome, a satellite islet of Santiago Island. This relatively new island is a good place to appreciate different geological formations such as tuff, spatter cones and basaltic flows. It was a pleasure for me to share my knowledge of geological formation of these islands with our local people. The presence of pioneer plants such as Tiquilia nesiotica and lava cactus makes Bartolome a good place to understand how life started in Galapagos after the first plants stablished on newly formed islands. We also had the chance to explore the underwater world of this place. Having fishermen from the community was an amazing experience as they started finding and pointing species of commercial interest, such as spiny lobsters and sea cucumbers. In the afternoon, we explored the island of Rabida, where one of the highlights were the flamingoes that we found in a lagoon, and sea lions resting at the beach during a beautiful sunset. We ended our day sharing “canelazos,” one of the main traditional drinks of Ecuador.
5/11/2025
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National Geographic Endeavour II
Española Island
We started our expedition by visiting one of the oldest islands of the archipelago and quite a fantastic one. We explored the beach in the morning and the inside of the island in the afternoon. Our first outing was a snorkel exploration of a small islet located on Gardner Bay, where we observed sharks, sea lions, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and many colorful fish! The temperature of the water, great visibility, and an abundance of life made for an outstanding first deep-water snorkel. We also walked and swam on a beautiful white sand beach next to the big colony of sea lions that live here. In the afternoon, we hiked on Suárez Point. This is the only site in the archipelago where we can find the very famous waved albatross. We walked a rocky trail and spotted marine iguanas and lava lizards with nearly every step before reaching the nesting grounds of Nazca boobies and the albatrosses. These wonderful and magnificent marine birds nested and displayed for their mates. We observed the beauty of these animals as we enjoyed the sunset. It was a spectacular first full day.