Cerro Dragon and Sombrero Chino
Today was another wonderful day in the natural paradise of the Galápagos Islands. Our first stop was Cerro Dragon, one of the most charming places for seeing land iguanas. Once on the trail, the dominant incense tree forest looked fabulous all around us, and the Galápagos cotton bushes offered the perfect contrast for a phenomenal view. Farther up the trail, we entered the land iguanas’ domain. Most of them where sleeping inside their caves; but as we walked a little farther, they appeared to us – looking like modern dinosaurs. Once we reached the summit of Cerro Dragon, it was time to enjoy the magical view, where it was possible to see some of the major islands such as Santiago, Rabida, and Pinzon; all of them lying down on the water like sleeping giants.
On the way back down the trail, a baby iguana surprised us as it ran along the middle of the path. Suddenly it started climbing some of the branches of a scutia bush, and those spines did not seem to hurt it at all, which was simply amazing. We made it back to the beach just in time for the next fabulous activity: deep water snorkeling. While in the water by the Guy Fawkes islets, the spectacular underwater walls of the place made us feel like we were in a different world. All the barnacles, fish, and colorful anemones created a perfect sea garden. As soon as we returned from this wonderful adventure, we started sailing to the next destination: Sombrero Chino.
In the afternoon, the expedition got even better. Even though we had a rough Zodiac ride to the channel, once there, it was the perfect place for more adventure. The cherry on top of the ice cream was definitely the deep water snorkeling. All the reef fish that surrounded us amazed us with the magic of the undersea paradise of the Galápagos Islands. As soon as snorkeling was over, we still had time to enjoy a nice white sand beach at Sombrero Chino. While having a relaxing moment, a big male sea lion started fighting another one in order to protect his territory – that was amazing! Right at the end of the journey we had the opportunity to see a few Galápagos penguins on the rocks while enjoying the beautiful sunset as a background. Today we had such an amazing experience that it is going to be part of us for a lifetime.
