Volcanic Islands

 The Galapagos are oceanic islands because they were never connected to the mainland.  They were/are made by by hotspots in the crust under the ocean.  The volcano’s are shield volcanoes which means when they erupt it’s not violent like what we think of but are more of a gentle lava flow.  This morning’s hike allowed us to see how the islands are made up of these lava flows.  We took zodiacs to Bartolome Island.  

A man made boardwalk of 388 steps leads up to the top for an amazing viewpoint.  This hike is about seeing how the islands are formed.  The main animal life on the island is lizards although we also saw pelicans, crabs, blue footed boobies, and the little Galapagos penguins.  While slightly challenging , the guides were very good to make frequent stops to recover.  At the top we were able to take pictures of vista of several of the islands and the ocean.  

Two different snorkeling  trips were offered.  For those that were less sure about their snorkeling skills, they offered a trip that started on a beach.  For those with a little more experience you could start snorkeling from a zodiac which was the option we took.  The water was pleasant when wearing the shorty wet suit with a rash guard beneath.  We immediately started seeing aquatic wildlife even encountering a sea turtle and a couple of white tipped sharks.  I could tell this was going to be my favorite activity on the trip.  

After we returned and took a quick shower, we took time to enjoy lunch in the main dining room.  Again, this is a combination of a starter buffet and ordered main.  In Galapagos any meat that is brought into islands must be precooked, so seafood was always the best option.  They always had some type of ceviche that was delicious.  And thankfully the dessert were portioned in bite sized pieces so you could enjoy one without over indulging.

The afternoon activity was a zodiac tour of the coastline.  From these tours you could see wildlife on the shore along with seeing how the volcanic eruptions had formed the layered islands.  This one explored Buccaneer Cove where we had repositioned to during lunch.

We had a wonderful pre dinner lecture on on the Geology of the Galapagos giving a great description of how volcanic islands are formed and why they are constantly moving.  I learned more about volcanoes in this 20 minute lecture than my previous 66 years!  This was followed by a recap on what to expect tomorrow .   We had another lovely dinner in The Grill before heading to bed.