Lava lumps & pinguinos!

SANTIAGO – Sullivan Bay & Bartolome

We awoke again to crystal clear waters and two unusual looking islands. We had moved a short way to Santiago’s east coast. Here we were next to Bartolome and Sullivan Bay.

Into the Panga

We jumped, or rather carefully climbed into the pangas to set off for Sullivan Bay first. The ride took us past unusual rock formations and several pinguinos, or penguins in english. They moved so fast it was almost impossible to take a good photo and they seemed to tease us by popping up one side and a second later appearing the other side of the boat when were were poised with cameras looking at the initial spot.

Penguino

Lava!

As the panga arrived to Sullivan bay and we stepped onto the island, it looked as though we were departing onto hard faeces. The differing degrees of brown lava that had once swirled boiling hot, and solidified into some amazing shapes. Charles Darwin had once been on here, however before the eruption which changed the whole landscape had occurred. As we took a trail around the island we saw no wildlife, but were constantly amazed by strange cacti and lava formations. You can see un-eroded volcanic formations like pahoehoe lava, lava bubbles and tree-trunk molds near the surface. Some parts to me even resembled

Elephant skin?

elephant skin! There is a view point to carefully climb which offers fantastic sights, the dark lava against the red rock is quite a combination. If you stare long enough at the solidified lava you can begin to imagine it bubbling away in full fury as it would have done in the past.

There are also places you can sneak down into, and these make for some very funny photos. Without wildlife, this island still held all our interest for a few hours.

Santiago

There was time for a quick snorkelling excursion in which we saw several sealions playing and some sharks, penguins were around but seemed too fast to get a good glimpse of. This refreshing dip in the ocean prepared us for the next island hike on Bartolome. This is located just off Sullivan Bay and provides some amazing panoramic view points. There is an uphill climb to the 114 meter summit, on a prepared pathway.

Bartolome View Point

Bartolome is best know for it’s tuff cone known as Pinnacle Rock. This large black partially eroded lava formation was created when magma expelled from the volcano reached the sea. When the seawaters cooled the hot lava it caused an explosion. The exploded particles eventually fasten together forming a rock composed of thin layers. This is one of the best recognised and most photographed sights in Galapagos and of course we all got our cameras out and snapped away. From the view point you can see two half moon beaches which are great for snorkelling from.

The walk downhill to the panga was much easier, and many marine iguanas were lined up on the tiny pier waiting for us.

Penguino close up

Snorkelling was next on the agenda near one of the half moon beaches seen from above. This was fantastic. Sealions swirled around us, a penguin flew straight past almost touching my nose, some sharks were circling below and then we witnessed more penguins on rocks having some mating fun. This was quite funny to watch, after each short love making session they separated and one of them excreted faeces before hopping back on, so pleasant. This was enough sight seeing for one day but again we had seen such diversity in just two days and islands in close proximity offering such different experiences.

Sexual Healing

Did you know?

Galapagos penguins are the smallest and most northerly of the warm weather penguins. They are only found in the Galapagos Islands and are the only species to cross into the Northern Hemisphere. They arrived in Galapagos via the Humboldt Current, which brings cold waters and nutrients north from Antarctica.

In a Nutshell: These two islands offer unique sightings of the Galapagos Penguinos and offer some great view shots too, well worth a visit!

Tags: Bartolome, Galapagos islands, lava, penguins, Santiago