Bartolome' and the Pinnacle

21   Bartolome'

We begin the day with a visit to Bartolome', with a hike to the top of a volcano three hundred fifty feet above sea level.  Okay, it’s not exactly a hike.  It’s more a matter of going up a very long staircase---about 360 steps.  The stairs are not to make our lives easier but to protect the island from the erosion that would follow eager tourists hiking up the volcano.

Bartolome' shore view before we begin our ascent

Pinnacle rock

Pinnacle Rock is a cone shaped volcanic spire that formed when an underwater volcano erupted, sending up magma.  ‘Tuff’ cones created in this way have steep sides and are made of layers of ash or basalt.

Pinnacle Rock

 The view as we ascend the stairs is spectacular.  In the bottom right of the photo below you can see the shadow of the stairs we’re using to go up, and the views before us as we climb.

Bartolome'  view from ‘stairs’- Shadow of staircase in bottom right of phot

Bartolome' panorama

At the top of the stairs we take some time to catch our breath and admire the views….and the lighthouse.

Lighthouse on Bartolome'

 As I was looking at this photo I thought,  ‘windmill?’

No.

Lighthouse.

With solar panels.

(Please remember I write my travel blog based on my journals, and I'm writing from the comfort of my home.  If my notes are missing info or, as is often the case with me, barely legible, a little extra research goes a long way.)

We have some time after we descend to enjoy the white sand beach.  One more oystercatcher before we go….

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Next: Camping on Santa Cruz and Giant Tortoises

 

Really Charlie? Darwin and the Finches

I think it’s fairly clear by now that I am not a very good birder  Recognizing this even as I travel, I buy a guide to Birds of the Galapagos to help me identify them.  Some are easy, like blue-footed boobies and oystercatchers with their bright orange beaks. The male frigate bird’s bright red pouch stands out even when it isn’t fully inflated to attract a female.

Male frigate bird, pouch partially inflated

 Other birds—not so easy for me to identify.  For example, I occasionally mix up finches and mockingbirds.  (Birders are now cringing.)

Hood (?) mockingbird

Some people can identify several kinds of finches in the Galapagos.  With notes from the trip to guide me through my photos, a lot of  research and comparisons, I could spot a few differences.  I have to admit it….I am not a very good birder.  

In 1835, Charles Darwin was the naturalist on the HMS  Beagle mapping the waters around South America. Darwin identified thirteen medium ground finches (many of them on Santiago), and determined they all descended from a single pair that arrived about a million years ago. Thirteen different finches.

Which makes me want to ask, “Really, Charlie?  You saw *that* many differences?

 

In my efforts to better identify different finches, I came across

https://myweb.rollins.edu/jsiry/Grants%27finch-study.html  where drawings help highlight the different ways the the birds have adapted.  Perhaps it will help you.  I can see the minor differences that make a major difference in survival-- the length of a beak, how pointed it is....   As I make my way through the islands, I do see varied and unique traits.  

In spite of my self-effacing sarcasm,  I admit that the astonishing variety of life continues to amaze me.  I am in awe of those who  recognize variations that are so subtle, they suggest slightly different birds evolved from the same bird.  I am a little overwhelmed to realize that here, looking at these little finches, the theories of natural selection and evolution were born.

But I know I will never be a good birder.  So once again, I welcome comments and feedback.