Galapagos Day 7 (3/27)

Santiago and Bartolome Islands

We landed at Egas Port on Santiago Island and walked along the coast, which was yet another fascinating variation on lava formations, with water-carved steps that looked like someone had architected them. The port was the site of an abandoned salt mine (owned by Hector Egas, hence the name), with nothing left behind but collapsing buildings and an old soccer field.

There were a couple of finches that were literally flying in our faces and a fair number of buttlerflies, which was unusual, along with the Sally Lightfoots and sea and land iquanas. Along the seashore outside the cove, there were water smoothed lava gravel and seashells instead of sand.

Eventually we reached a set of grottoes called "The Grottoes." Sea lions (and theoretically seals, but if they were there I couldn't tell the difference) swam in and out of the pools of water while sea birds stood on the ledges.

Alison explored the old salt mine and the nearby shoreline while I went snorkelling.

In the afternoon, we landed on Bartolome Island, named after Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, a friend of Charles Darwin. The daily activity display noted "370 steps to the top" which doesn't sound like much, but in very arid, hot weather (which is basically what it is ALWAYS), it's a long climb. But the views were amazing. There is what is considered the most iconic landscape shot in the Galapagos, but the volcanic wasteland that is most of the island was just as other-worldly.  Another iconic sight, the bay where they filmed a portion of "Master and Commander." The main feature of interest was Pinnacle Rock, a volcanic cone, which was formed when magma was expelled from an underwater volcano; the sea cooled the hot lava, which then exploded, only to come together and form a huge rock made up of many thin layers of basalt.

Pinnacle Rock is the sharp spike on the right

In the evening, storm clouds made for a spectacular sunset.

The next day would be our last morning in the Galapagos, which we will in day 8, followed by a summary of the snorkeling round the islands (with a lot of videos).