Galapagos day 4

On Tuesday, May 31, we had an early morning snorkel (6:45 am) and we saw LOTS of fish, including some sharks.

 Yup, that's us!  The snorkeling was fantastic!!  We thank Rafael for sharing his underwater photos with us.

"HI" 

"See you later!" 

    

After breakfast we visited Bartolome Island, home to the famous Pinnacle Rock and Overlook. 

We hiked up a trail to Bartolome's summit where we had spectacular views of Pinnacle Rock and the beach.

The summit is just ahead!

We pass lava flows

View from the summit

That's Pinnacle Rock

A group photo and then one of us with our Naturalist Guide, Rafael

Heading back down

On the way back to the yacht, we passed close to Pinnacle Rock and saw a sea lion relaxing on the rocks.

 I'm sure he sat up to greet us as we passed by.

As we were relaxing on the yacht, a pod of dolphins was spotted.  Rafael said get in the panga and let's chase.  We were in the slow panga so when Pedro's panga came back toward us, several of us slid over into that faster panga, which lightened the load in Rafael's panga so it could go faster.  We all caught up with the dolphins and enjoyed racing alongside them.

 We all had a lot of fun chasing the dolphins and trying to get a good photo.

In the afternoon, with Pedro as our guide, we visited Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island.  It is one of the most outstanding volcanic sites in the Galapagos.  

In the nearly 100 years since the Sullivan Bay lava flow, only a few plants like Mullugo and Lava cacti have managed to take root in this harsh environment.

And maybe this guy, too!

There was also the opportunity to snorkel on the beach.

 And see some Sally Lightfoot crabs

And we had a photo opportunity for the 2 of us....

 and with Ernie and Mark

The next day we will visit a major egg-laying site for sea turtles.....