Bartolome and Sombrero Chino , 11/18/2021, National Geographic Endeavour II
Aboard the
National Geographic Endeavour II
Galápagos
Today we woke up with the most iconic view in the Galapagos Islands: Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome Island. We started the day with a pre-breakfast hike to the top of Bartolome Island and after a delicious breakfast, we went in the water to look for penguins feeding.
In the afternoon, we visited Sombrero Chino, an islet close to Bartolome Island, also home to Galapagos penguins. We got to swim with the very curious penguins again! We ended this perfect day with a beautiful sunset Zodiac ride around Sombrero Chino.
Most of Gianna´s memories seem to be dreams, made on flawless white sandy beaches with black lava rock contours and gorgeous turquoise ocean waters. Most of it happened while barefoot, in an enchanting place that some people regard as an ideal natura...
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We began our day with a landing on North Seymour, where we encountered hundreds of birds, mostly frigatebirds flying overhead. We followed a path that took us to a breeding site of blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds. We watched their mating displays in awe as nature showed us its wonderful ways. Male frigatebirds inflated their red gular sacs and stretched out their wings trying to attract a mate. Male blue-footed boobies slowing raising their cerulean feet to show a potential mate that they can fish well and support a nest. We also spotted land iguanas, marine iguanas, lava lizards, and a Galapagos racer snake along the path. We continued our navigation to Rabida Island, famous for its red sand beach, a coloration resulting from iron oxide in its volcanic soil. Those who chose to snorkel were delighted with sightings of sea turtles, sharks, Galapagos sea lions, and colorful fish. As the sun dipped into the horizon, we continued with a casual walk to a brackish pond that has a resurgent population of American flamingos, an excellent way to finish this day.
Genovesa Island is a very special place where the animals live in harmony with each other. The volcano itself has an interesting shape due to southeast trade winds creating a mouth in the crater that became Darwin Bay. Genovesa is not a very tall volcano, but it has high cliffs surrounding the sunken caldera, which sea birds use as nesting grounds. The caldera floor is about 900 feet deep. Genovesa is the door to the Pacific Ocean. It is ideal for sea birds that spend a lot of time feeding far out in the ocean. Red-footed boobies are pelagic birds, spending a lot of time feeding and then returning to the nesting site to raise their young. Great frigatebirds nest here between March and June, and the island is also home to the endemic swallow-tailed gull, the only night feeding gull in the world. The island’s isolation has impacted its ecological development. For example, opuntia cactus has developed quite soft spines presumably as a response to the lack of land reptiles that would prey on the cactus. The largest colony of red-footed boobies is found on Genovesa Island. They are found almost everywhere in Darwin Bay. They nest in red mangroves where they built a platform of twigs on which they will lay one single white egg. The reason for laying one egg is due to the distance that the boobies travel to look for food—up to 300 kilometers outside of the Galapagos and back. They will tend to their young for a few months and then it will be completely independent until it reaches sexual maturity. Great frigatebirds will also raise one single offspring, but the young will stay in the colony for a very long period. Young frigatebirds take a few years to become sexually mature and will spend this time learning the unique the piratical skills of adults who regularly steal food from other birds. Genovesa has two visitor sites. Darwin Bay offers a coralline sandy beach where mangroves and saltbushes grow, and Prince Phillip’s Steps, which are cemented rocks and a railing that allow the visitor to climb to the top of a 90-foot cliff for a fantastic view!
Early in the morning we disembarked on a pre-breakfast outing to the top of Bartholomew Island. This island allowed us to travel back in time to experience an island the Galapagos in its early stages of development before it had a complex ecosystem established. During the hike, we learned about the geology of the islands, from lava tubes to eroded craters in a lunar-like landscape. Those of us who did not choose to go a hike went on a Zodiac exploration along the coast of Batholomew and were able to spot a few Galapagos penguins resting on the shore. After breakfast, we went beach snorkeling and deep-water snorkeling. We were delighted by the opportunity to swim with Galapagos penguins. These endemic birds were very curious, swimming with us for a few minutes as they fed on sardines. Several white-tipped reef sharks were also spotted while snorkeling as well as a couple of playful Galapagos sea lions and large schools of fish. After lunch, we navigated towards Chinese Hat. This small visitor site is a satellite islet of Santiago Island. During the afternoon we went deep-water snorkeling with Galapagos penguins, tiger snake eels, large schools of fish, Pacific green sea turtles, and even an octopus or two. The water was calm, and we had excellent visibility to explore the seas. After snorkeling some of us opted for a Zodiac cruise along the coast of Santiago and Chinese Hat. We had golden light from a spectacular sunset which contributed to great photographs of penguins and brown pelicans resting on the black lava fields.
