13 Pix – Bartolome, Black Turtle Cove, and the Tortoise Farm

After Fernandina, we whipped back around Isabela on another marathon night sailing and in the morning hit Bartolome.

1.

2. We climbed what seemed to me like a volcano, but the guide assured us it was a mere vent.

3. Apparently this site was in a movie. I don’t remember which, but that rock on the right played a part.

4. The guide tempted the guys into racing up the last set of stairs by saying that the other guide could do it in 8 seconds. The fastest in our group took 12, but that was with us counting “one elephant, two elephant” because no one had a watch.

5. It’s as hard going back down as going up. Just not as slow.

6. This strange underwater formation was as shallow as a wading pool.

7. This was an extremely rare kind of iguana. The kind that runs away.

8. Then we hit Black Turtle Cove where the first thing we saw was… spotted rays. These are the nice kind that aren’t poisonous, unlike all the sting rays we’d run into up until now. A groups swam out, promenaded around our dinghy, then joined up with another group as it swam out for form this mega group.

9. Until recently they thought the black shelled turtles here were a different species than in the rest of the Galapagos. They tried to prove it with genetic testing and discovered they are merely older members of the same species.

10. Shark.

11. The next day we visited the tortoise farm on Santa Cruz, where boots were mandatory.

12. This shell was hung in a gazebo for us for us to try on, but we were short on time, so no one got a chance.

13. Good thing the tortoises were co-operative. They come out of the nearby reserve on their own. For perspective, these guys are between knee and waist high.

That pretty much covers the trip. I still have some pictures to share, but expect after this coming week I’ll be back to my regular posts.

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