For our first breakfast on the boat, we had banana pancakes -- not bad at all.
At 8 AM we left the boat by dinghy to land on the island of Bartolome. Bartolome is one of the youngest islands in the Galapagos, only 300,000 years old (which is quite young geologically speaking). The volcanic island is so young that few species of plant grow there. It appears black or brown, more like Mars than Earth. We began to walk up the steps to reach the top of the hill, which affords a great view. Along the way, we did see the only two plants growing there, a type Scalesia and the Lava Cactus. The only animal was the Lava Lizard, named because it is one of the first to colonize lava. We also saw tuff cones and lava tubes, both both volcanic rock features.
From the top, the view is spectacular, featuring the most common Galapagos photograph and postcard: Pinnacle Rock. Pinnacle Rock is volcanic formation which rises dramatically out of the water into a sharp point:
