This morning we anchored in Sullivan Bay just off the island of Santiago, Galapagos. The first activity of the day was a pre-breakfast, hour long hike on the “young” pahoehoe (smooth) and a’a (rough) lava flows of the island that were formed when the volcano erupted in the late 19th century. It is amazing how plants and animals have adapted to survive in this harsh environment. In a sea of black lava, there was one pioneer cactus called “hope”. Broken-toe Sue, who opted to forego todays off ship activities, can find solace in the fact that the lava hasn’t changed much from when we visited here in 2021.
We returned to the ship for breakfast and then set back out in the zodiac for our first snorkeling adventure of the trip. We performed a wet landing on a beach and then proceeded into the water from there. The water was relatively clear, very cold, but the wet suits did their job of keeping us warm. We saw lots of fish and coral and even a small shark.
After lunch we had our controversial topic discussed by Pablo (this is a standard feature of an OAT tour). Todays topic was Ecuador’s use of the U.S. dollar as their official currency. Banks closed and didn’t open for weeks when they converted their currency to the U.S $. During the closure, citizens lost 80% of the value in their bank accounts. Devastating for most. They also felt like they lost some of their history and culture when their currency went away. But now they are glad because their currency is considerably more stable.
In the afternoon we rode the zodiac across the bay to Bartolomé Island for another snorkel trip. Only six of us went this time. We jumped into the water directly from the zodiac and snorkeled around Pinnacle Rock. We saw 5 baby black tipped sharks, a sea turtle, a Galapagos penguin, two types of stingrays, flounder fish, sea anemones, sea lion, and three types of star fish. It was phenomenal. We did not have a chance to dive here on our 2021 visit so this was indeed a treat.
Our last experience was a hike up the mountain to the lighthouse on the top of Bartolomé. Not many from the tour group did this activity as it was 365 steps to the top (and 365 down). It felt like many more and after being in the Ades last week, we were grateful to be doing the hike at sea level. It was worth the climb as the sunset views were beautiful. After the hike, we got back into the zodiac and our driver drove us along the shore in search of more Galapagos penguins.
Back to the ship for dinner (Chef made ceviche), briefing and to bed after a activity filled day.
Santiago Lava Hike
Snorkeling
Bartolomé Hike
Meals and Briefing
