Santiago Island: Puerto Egas – Espumilla Beach

AM.: The visitor site Port Egas is a black sand beach located on the west side of James Bay and northwest of Santiago Island. South of the beach is Sugarloaf Volcano, which has deposits of volcanic tuff, the same that has favored the formation of the black sand beach. The Crater is just north of this site; it has a saltwater lagoon, which during the summer dry season becomes a salt mine.

PM.: The Espumilla visitor site is on the northern coast of Santiago Island in James Bay. The main attractions here are a palo santo forest, beach and the landscape. The beach is an important site for nesting marine turtles (Chelonia midas agassizi).

Bartolome Island – Santiago Island: Sullivan Bay

AM.: The Bartolomé visitor site, is a flagship site in the Galapagos Islands because of its wonderful beauty. It possesses masterful landscapes and its main attractions are the beaches, the dunes and Pinnacle Rock. Among the local species, there is the sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), which choose this place as a nesting site and the Galapagos penguin. This site has two beaches: North Beach and South Beach. The north beach is the landing site where you can practice swimming and snorkeling. South beach is accessed by a small path along the mangroves and over the great sand dune.

Bartolome Escalera, The top of this hill is about 115 m and the route is performed on a path of 795 meters. No one knows the exact age of this island but according to its geological composition and general characteristics it is quite young. The few plants found on the island are called pioneers because they are the first plants that arrive and settle there. E.g. Tiquilia nesiotes, Tiquilia fusca and Chamaesyce spp. East of the summit there are spatter cones, consisting of thick lava droplets. To the west lie tuff cones (volcanic ash sediment) and their eroded remnants. The Tower or Pinnacle is part of a tuff cone. A small colony of penguins, Spheniscus mendiculus, breeds in the small bay. Bartolomé is one of the best places to see them.

PM.: Sullivan Bay is of great geological interest. It is located southeast of Santiago Island; the landing can be performed either in the rocky shore (dry landing) or the white sand beach (wet landing). The length of the trail is approximately 1.5 km; travel time is one hour and a half. The area is covered by Pahoehoe lava flows (solidified lava in corrugated or accordion form). It was very active in the last 25 years of the nineteenth century. The Sullivan lava was formed in 1897. Geologically this flow is very young. The formed magma is flat but the movement of underground lava, the rapid cooling and other eruptions led to the break in many places. These formations have a thickness of 1.5 m and did not cover much of the previous relief forming “kipukas” (Islands of vegetation surrounded by newer lava tides)

North Seymour – Transfer Out

AM.: North Seymour is located north of Baltra (or South Seymour). The total distance of the trail is 2 miles. Seymour North, Plaza Sur, and Plaza Norte, Baltra, northeastern Santa Cruz, Santa Fe and part of Española, were formed by uprisings of underwater volcanic lavas. They were part of a volcanic lava table deposited in sheet form along cracks located on the ocean floor. The uprisings occurred sporadically and lasted more than a million years to reach its current level. The vegetation is bush and hosts the largest nesting colony of Great Frigatebirds in Galapagos. Importantly, the Galapagos is the westernmost distribution for this species. The common frigate is also present. Permitted Uses: Interpretive Group Tour with a Naturalist Guide; Guided walks: Snorkel Panga Ride. Our guide will be checked out at the airport of Baltra. We look forward to a future trip back on our yacht Darwin.