Cerro Dragón & Sombrero Chino

We had an amazing day in Cerro Dragón. At first light, the horizon promised clear skies, and by the time breakfast was served, everything outside was glowing with the brightest colors of a forest that can be witnessed only at the dry season. This place demonstrate the force of the adaptation of certain species that survives were others refuse to live.

For many years land iguanas thrived here, but eventually they disappeared because of introduced animals like dogs. These populations are very important, even if they are the same species that we find in some other islands because the genes of these particular land iguanas are distinct from iguanas in other places.

Many years after the introduced species have been removed, scientists found a way to reproduce these land iguanas in captivity. And now, the land iguana’s numbers are nearly stable enough for them to reproduce in natural circumstances without human help.

This morning, we saw some of these great reptiles during our walk. A few were observed in the shade of a giant cactus, and some females and males hung around with us while others moved on in search of food. After returning to National Geographic Endeavour, we prepared to snorkel around some old volcanoes in the middle of the ocean near Guy Fawkes Islets. The water was a little warmer here compared to the Isabela. Some of our friends decided to stay at the beach on Santa Cruz Island—it’s may not be a really large beach, but the waters are beautiful and the landscape is impressive.

As we moved to the next island, the wind increased its force producing large waves. Those didn’t stop any of us. Our youngest explorers learned something very nice apart of what we usually do here. They had Zodiac driving lessons, and they did it very well. This experience showed them that not everything is as easy as it looks, and that it takes a lot of effort, patience and great concentration to keep everyone on board as dry as possible.

We also had another chance to snorkel at Sombrero Chino in very shallow waters with many species of fish and some marine iguanas as well.

It was a fantastic experience.