Santa Cruz Island, Sombrero Chino
This morning we disembarked in calm weather, meaning warm, slighty overcast and practically no wind. We landed on shore around eight o’ clock, and a typical Galápagos coastal scene was unfolding in front of us; the background a dry forest of cacti and incense trees with patches of evergreens like leatherleaf and pearlberry, in the foreground succulents like carpetweed and saltwort and between that a shallow tidal pool with several types of shore and wading birds feeding on the innumerous fiddler crabs and other small invertebrates. A basking marine Iguana completed the picture. It is this kind of scenery that I care for so deeply, knowing this can be seen nowhere else on our planet. It would have been sufficient to just sit and take it in for the whole morning, yet this trail also leads us to a hill where we can see land iguanas going about their daily business.
The National Park decided not too long ago that this would be a perfect place to reintroduce land iguanas; having enough endemic and native plants on which they feed, having the right soil to dig their burrows and yet accessible enough for visitors like us.
Once back on board we could wash the warm morning off with a refreshing snorkel along the cliffs of Guy Fawkes, a cluster of eroded tuff cones, and marvel at the colourful walls brimming with life, or at the beach where a light breeze accompanied a blue and sunny sky.
And all this was just the morning!
Our afternoon started with yet another interesting lecture by Kitty Coley, our onboard National Geographic Geologist, updating us on the latest discoveries on the close relationships between birds and dinosaurs. Where else is a better place to let your imagination work on this topic than Galápagos?
Afterwards we visited Sombrero Chino, or Chinese Hat, a photogenic cone just some yards off the jagged basaltic coast of Santiago Island. Here we snorkeled, kayaked, or simply enjoyed the beach until the sun painted everything in golden colours. Sea lions, penguins, frigate birds and islands, both big and small met our eyes wherever we looked.
At night, after the traditional barbeque, our staff guide Walter Perez treated us on a star gazing show, pointing out constellations and planets, all this accompanied by his trademark sense of humor.
