Baltra and Bartolome

Our beach on Baltra
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Our 7-night cruise was actually a 3-night and 4-night cruise put together.  Most people stayed all 7 nights, but we did have some people leave this day.  We had even more passengers come aboard the ship, although we were still way under capacity.  So, this day was slightly different, although I could tell that our cruise staff still made their best efforts to keep the day interesting for us and help us see as much as possible.  I had actually read about this issue before I left home, and that travelers should try to find cruises that don't do this so you don't have to waste time waiting for new passengers.  Well, finding those 7-day only cruises is easier said than done! I think it went just fine, however.  For our morning excursion, we had a choice of either doing what they call a deep-sea snorkel (where they take you out on panga and you snorkel directly from there in deep water), or a panga ride around Punta Carrion, Santa Cruz.  Being weak swimmers, we chose the panga ride.

Bartolome
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On our panga ride we drove along the cliffs and saw bright yellow fish, fur sea lions, and birds.  It was a quick excursion, about one hour, but it was still nice to go out and see something new.  In the afternoon, we went back to Baltra so we could drop off the passengers that were leaving, and wait for the new people to show up.  Our schedule was up in the air because we weren't sure if the plane from Quito would be delayed.  So, while we waited, we were offered an optional excursion to the beach on Baltra.  I was surprised that besides Shauna and I, only one other person took this opportunity!

Bartolome: A must-see view from the top

From the top!
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Baltra is the airport island and is also an Ecaudorian military base.  So it is not exactly known for its wildlife and being a visitor spot.  However, it does have a nice beach, and we went there!  I was actually very pleasantly surprised about how much we enjoyed ourselves there.  Along with our guide, there were only four of us.  I love deserted beaches.  I swam in the calm water and this is where I came the closest to a sea lion - one swam right by me, an arm's length away!  Boobies dived into the water very close to me as they fished.  It was very exciting to me to have all that wildlife to myself.  Really fun times.

Bartolome landing for hike to the top
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Back on the ship, our new passengers arrived and we were taken to our afternoon destination, Bartolome.  What a scenic island.  This island has the famous Pinnacle Rock, seen in many photos.  We took our panga around the side of the rock and then we were dropped off on the beach.  We saw a penguin there, sitting still on the rocks!  A practiced poser for photos, for sure - he held really still.  We also lay down close to sea lions on the beach, although by this point being close to animals was so familiar that we didn't even bother taking pictures.

Looking back at the trail
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After a small interval, we were picked up again in our panga and taken to a different area, where we would begin our hike to the top of the island.  The hike alternates between normal rocky ground and boardwalk/stairs.  I was grateful for the stairs because the ground was very dusty - stairs make for easier walking.  What a view at the top!  We looked back at Pinnacle Rock and our beach, and the islands beyond.  I was so happy to do this walk and see the view myself, after seeing so many pictures of it while researching our trip!  Definitely a highlight of being in the islands.