Bartolomé Island looks like the moon. Astronauts have concurred on this when they've visited. It's not the same type of basaltic lava of the other islands. Bartolomé isn't nice pahoehoe lava. This island is sooty, with pale tuff cones and spatter cones everywhere. It's as though a pot of chocolate boiled over, sending little bursting balls of chocolate throughout. And, Bartolomé sits in the rain shadow of Santiago and Santa Cruz, so is perpetually in drought. As a result, little grows here, and we get this incredible moonscape. We visited on a pre-breakfast hike, after a 6am wake-up call.
Sally Lightfoot crabs don't mind the conditions. They -- and our first Galápagos penguins! -- greeted us as we climbed up the dock. The one penguin was somewhat distant from the dock, on a rocky ledge, and I didn't have a long lens with me this morning. But he was there for about an hour while we were. Penguins like to use the lava tubes for fishing. We were also treated to diving blue footed boobies. I love them.
The tuff is sensitive to erosion, so the Park Service has built a wooden walkway, where visitors can disembark from their boats and climb to the top, without walking directly on the lava. The climb includes 399 steps, and the view from the top is spectacular.
Looking out from the trail at another lava slope.
I thought it was incredibly beautiful.
The colors on this piece of lava are likely not from minerals in the lava, but minerals from oxidation. The purples are stunning. More, several took photos hoisting large lava chunks over their heads, to impress their family and friends at home -- this lava is full of air and so actually pretty light.
Really an incredible landscape. Each island is so remarkably different from the others....
Our first encounter with lava cactus. These are pioneer plants, able to live under rough conditions, so they colonize early and help build soil for other plants.
Lovely harbor on the other side -- we're at the top of the climb now. Combined with the early morning fog, it indeed seemed otherworldly.
A very photographed spot, and one that people think is a beautiful landmark. Sadly, it's not natural. Back during WWII days, the U.S. used the Galápagos as a base and training ground. So Pinnacle Rock, as it's known, is actually the result of practice bombing runs. If you look closely, you can see rock in the foreground at ocean level -- that's part of the rock that was bombed away creating that chasm.
One of my participants insisted on taking my camera from me to help show I was there. Good thinking, even though I hate having my photo taking. But it also set a tone for the week, and several forced me to do it throughout the trip. I am grateful though.
Anther view, before leaving. Several tour boats are in the water to the right. The Park Service now regulates how many people, where they go, when they go, how many at one time, as well as the boats and the guides and what they do. I'm sure it's complicated, but I'm equally sure that it's made a tremendous difference to the management and sustainability efforts needed to maintain the islands as a unique and irreplaceable component of the world's biodiversity.
Ah, looking back down toward the dock. You can't see the dock from here, but you can see the bottom part of the trail.
More of the trail, just before heading back down.
Looking across the way. I love the morning fog and light.
And looking back up at the lighthouse. We actually didn't see many lighthouses on the islands.
Back at the bottom, one last look at the magnificent color and lava.
Then it was back to the boat to have breakfast and get ready for our first snorkeling session. Yvonne and Caryn and I were going to be buddies, and even though we were uncertain, we were looking forward to tackling it together.
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