Galapagos Trip, Worldwide Trips

Galapagos Tour: day 2

Day two: Bartolome and Caleta Bucanero, Santiago Island

The first real day on-board gave everyone a chance to see wildlife and views, beautiful views. One of the first activities was a naturalist-led trip to climb to the top of Bartolome Island. It was a 388 ish step climb. I decided that would be a bit too much for me so we went on the zodiac tour. While the hiking group had a gorgeous view from the top, but we had the amazing birds, lizards, and plants close up and personal.

The zodiac cruised close to the island so the naturalist could scout out the various animals that are so very camouflaged, they were not easy to see unless they were pointed out to us. Once we realized what were were looking for, we saw wildlife everywhere. We saw lava lizards, crabs, pelicans, and the favorites the Galapagos penguin and blue footed boobies.

Our first view of the Galapagos penguin was such a delight. They are fairly small (about 19 inches tall) and are the only penguins that exist north of the equator. They survive because of the cool Humboldt current which is a rich source of fish. While we didn’t see penguin couples, they were all around us and could be seen among other water birds on rocks and swimming around us.

The zodiac driver kept turning the zodiac so we could get up close and personal. The animals were not afraid of us at all and just watched as we took pictures.

We also saw another of the iconic Galapagos sites, Pinnacle Rock. Pinnacle Rock was formed when the sea cooled hot lava and formed a huge rock that looks like a shark tooth. It is made up of many thin layers of basalt.

Another famous Galapagos view: Pinnacle Rock. The next picture shows it from the top of the island.
View from the top of Bartolome. You can see the ship waiting for everyone to return.
Also on Bartolome, was this great blue heron. It looked a bit small but others we saw later on were much bigger.

After lunch, we went to Caleta Bucanero, Santiago. This was the first chance to go sea kayaking.

They were only allowed to have a certain number of sea kayaks. This was taken before we got into them

While the views of the bay were great, the current was a bit strong and we were more worried about getting into trouble on the rocks. For us, it was harrowing. We knew the zodiac followed the kayaks so we would be fine, we were more worried about being bashed into the rocks to enjoy the trip. This was also the first chance to go snorkeling from the beach. I know I wouldn’t get into the cold water (even with a wet suit) from a beach, I waited until we went into the water from the zodiac. Then I am forced to address the cold water.