2geonomads

Saturday 30th April 2016

Overnight we have made our way north to the island of Santiago and after breakfast we land at the vast Sullivan lava field caused by by a volcanic eruption 200 years ago. Even in this harsh environment plants such as the low- lying mollugo and lava cactus manage to survive. The lava flow has produced an astonishing variety of patterns when pockets of gas or water trapped under the lava exploded.

We later climb to a lookout on the nearby Bartolomew Island, which together with Sullivan Bay was named after the naturalist friend of Charles Darwin, Sir Bartolomew James Sullivan, who was Lieutenant aboard HMS Beagle.

Snorkelling from the beach later in the day not totally satisfactory as the water, especially close in to the shore which is where I usually spend my time is very murky. To make matters worse my snorkel was continually letting in water.

 However, I did manage to provide some entertainment for my fellow travellers when I charged head-on towards what I thought was the slim, streamlined figure of Chandra from Switzerland when snorkelling only to find that I was in fact on a collision course towards a sea lion. Next time I will remember that the sea lion is the one without the snorkel and the bright blue fins!

However, the preparations on board our vessel before snorkelling did provide some entertainment. I was explaining to some of the other passengers that I would be fine in the water if I could wear a wetsuit, a life jacket and those things that fit under your arms. I was struggling to find the word for them when Gail helped out with ” spaghetti “!  ‘Noodle’ was what I was searching for and I suppose one has to be grateful that Mrs I didn’t come up with ‘gnocchi’ or ‘fettuccine’.

Finish off the day with another relaxing dinner and then it’s off to bed after a quick rundown on the next day’s programme from Sylvia.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret