Rabida/Bartolome

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The first thing I noticed when I woke up and looked out my window was Rabida’s dark red shoreline. This is because of the high percentage of oxidized iron in the composition of the lava which formed the beach. The cacti on this island differ from the cacti on other islands because Rabida isn’t populated by iguanas, who eat the cacti. The pointy things that are found on all cacti are there, but they are soft like bristles of a paintbrush. After a nice hike around the island we swapped our shoes for flippers and snorkeled around the reef. I seen a lot of colourful fish, starfish, and even a couple white tip sharks.

When we got back to the boat I felt like I was in kindergarten again - there were snacks and refreshments waiting for us, and we were told to take a nap. We began sailing to our next destination which was Bartolome, located 2 hours northeast of Rabida.

The island of Bartolome had a very rugged landscape that was carved into interesting shapes by the ocean. It is one of the younger islands in the Galapagos. We took the dinghy boat out and snorkeled again at Pinnacle Rock, which is one of the most easily recognized landform on Bartolome. I saw some of the same fish I seen earlier, as well as some new ones. The most exciting part was being able to swim with Galapagos penguins, which are the smallest species of penguins and the only species found north of the Equator. That evening we did a sunset hike on Bartolome, which went to an amazing lookout. Here we had an amazing panaramic view of the varied lava formations and volcanic peaks.

Tonight was going to be a rough night cruising because we were headed 7 hours north to the island of Genovesa.

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