San Cristobal
The first island you see coming from the mainland Ecuador, also first landing for the famous naturalist Charles Darwin on his five-year voyage around South America whose main mission was to chart the coast of it. His first sightings and collections from the Galápagos started here, not too far from where we are, a place known as Punta Pitt.
The day’s activities started with a Zodiac ride along the coast of this location. We encountered special wildlife like red-footed boobies, frigates and the always charming sea lions. Few blue-footed boobies were also around here, busy hunting fish in their special dive bombing way. After this we headed onto the island for a wet landing on a small brown beach to get ready for a hike onto a narrow trail up to an elevation with a wonderful view and interesting geology.
Along the path were many lava lizards running across, males doing push-ups to impress the females, running as if trying to get away, but not too far. The vegetation of the area is not abundant but is quite interesting because is so well adapted to living under harsh conditions. For the moment it is looking green due to some rain, but in the other seasons they lose their leaves and turn grey giving the island a totally different aspect.
After this power hike and sightings of some red-footed boobies in their nests, some with eggs, we all headed back to the beach. Almost everybody got in the water to enjoy its inviting pleasant temperature and be in the company of some sea lions lying on the beach. Others sea lions came to inspect us in curiosity.
Coming back on board for lunch and a rest announced the end of this adventurous morning.
Following the program we had to navigate to a different location called the kicker rock where the most incredible snorkeling session awaited, good water temperature and the beautiful landscape combined to make this last snorkel an unforgettable experience for everyone.
After coming back on board to change, we circumnavigated the spot to enjoy the majesty of it and as incredible sunset that can only be compared to paradise lost.
This was an incredible end to our expedition on board National Geographic Endeavour in the Galápagos Islands.
