Instead of taking multi-day cruises, another way to visit the Galapagos is by taking day trips to nearby islands. It is more limiting to travel this way in several respects, but we liked being able to leave the rest of the group at the end of the day, sleep on land, and of course the bottom-line dollar amount.
The day trip options out of Puerto Ayora include Bartolome, North Seymour, Plazas, and Santa Fe. Each operator is permitted to go to each island on a specific day during the week. The best deals are found by booking last minute in town, but July is high season in the Galapagos. For that reason and the limited time-frame, we booked day trips about 3-4 weeks in advance. Our AirBnB host was very helpful and recommended two companies, Galagents and Santa Fe. Based upon availability and our preferences, we sailed to Bartolome with Galagents first ($189 per person).
It took about ~2.5 hours by boat to get to Bartolome.
Since it was a long trip, breakfast and lunch were included in the price and served on board. Matt was not a fan of the instant coffee, typical in Ecuador.
Turquoise water and ghost crabs greeted us upon landing.
One of the reasons, we selected Bartolome as a day trip option was because of the small population of Galapagos Penguins living near Pinnacle Rock, pictured below in the middle right.
Side note here: the Galapagos penguins are the only equatorial penguin species and are endangered with less than 1,000 pairs remaining. Unfortunately, we did not see or snorkel with any penguins, which other than the LAN experience, was a low-point of the trip. Just one reason to return the islands someday, next time to Fernandina Island and/or Isabella Island where the majority of the penguin populations live! ;)
Penguins aside, Bartolome was gorgeous. It is a volcanic island and very dry. For that reason, there is not a lot of wildlife on the island, besides the lava lizard, and only a few plant species grow here, such as the endemic lava cactus.
To minimize impact, a boardwalk was built for visitors to climb to the top of the volcanic cone.
The clouds and blue sky were magnificent against the volcanic cone, as we climbed around.
The views were incredible, and the day almost picture perfect. The contrast between the browns, reds, and greens of the island with the blue water was stunning.
From the very top, the yacht could be seen at anchor in the bay.
After the climb down and a short dingy ride, lunch was served on board, and we snorkeled off the coast. The snorkeling was okay, but it would have been even better to spot the penguins!
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