Rabida and Bartolome Islands

Our second day was dedicated to Rabida and Bartolome Islands. We explored Rabida Island in the morning. It is also called "red island" because of the high amount of iron that oxidizes over time. It didn't look like anything I'd seen before.
 
We walked over to a lagoon, where we saw many pink flamingos! It was my first time seeing flamingos in person, and I love them because they're pink! We even saw some nestling at the other end of the lagoon. We could only see them clearly by zooming in on our phone cameras. The scenery was stunning!

We continued our walk and were fortunate to come across a Galapagos dove and a lava lizard. We also saw quite a few giant cacti, called opuntia, which are endemic to the Galapagos Islands.

We returned to the boat, had our lunch, then embarked on a dinghy ride along Bartolome Island. There we saw cute little penguins, a blue-footed booby, and sally lightfoot crabs! And sea lions are really everywhere. We started our hike on the 300-plus steps in Bartolome after a dry landing. It was quite a challenging hike for us, but we were gifted with stunning views of volcanic landscapes and the Pinnacle Rock off the shore - the unusual looking rock formation emerging from the land like an arrowhead. We felt tired and out of breath, but the view was all worth it! We took some pictures along the way, a disguise for getting a moment to catch our breath. We were astounded to see the Pinnacle Rock and the sunset in one frame when we finally reached Bartolome's summit!

Our hike was extra special, because we met the lovely, Erin! She is one of our Trip Planners, based in the USA, and it is an unforgettable experience to meet her in person! Mai and I are so happy to have met her!