Thursday 29 May 2008 - Bartolome Island

Pinnacle Rock - Master and Commander!

From Rabida we sailed to Bartolome Islands for an overnight stay.

En route we stopped at Flamingo Island - an old volcanic cone now a large lake and home to thousands of pink flamingos.

Sadly there were only a handful the evening we stopped by. The lack of rainfall had depleted the lake and most of the flamingos had sought fresh water elsewhere.

From the moving deck it was difficult to get a good photo. In the photo to the right you can clearly make out the shape of the old volcanic cone, but unfortunately you can't see into the inland lake.

We weren't the only on-lookers either - the large National Geographic vessel was also in company with us.

A little larger than our modest craft. We were all headed for the same spot - an anchorage just off Bartolome Island, made famous recently for its appearance in the film Master and Commander.

In the next post you'll recognise Pinnacle Rock which is a great geologic feature that stands out in the film.

For now a quiet night lay ahead. Well for most people.

John and I stayed up after dinner. The view of the heavens from the upper deck was just too spectacular to leave.

You could see the Southern Cross to the South - something the North Americans loved to have pointed out. And to the North you could also make out the North Star - Polaris.

The remainder of the sky was thick with that greater milky spread of stars and galactic clusters.

After everyone else went to bed, John and I were attracted to a splashing off the stern of the boat. Here, one of the ships lights had been left on. It flooded the water off the stern. In and around it half a dozen sea lions chased the fish that the light attracted. It was an amazing show of water acrobatics!

In amongst the playful sea lions was a tiny sea turtle, no bigger than the palm of my hand, also swimming around in the light. Wow.

Once again, the life in Galapagos just overwhelmed us.

Tomorrow we'd visit one of my favourite sites in the whole of the islands - but it would have nothing to do with wild life!