San Cristobal Island
Today we visited Punta Pitt on San Cristobal; this Island is one of the oldest in the Galápagos, and was formed by many volcanoes – some made of hard basaltic lava and others made of volcanic ash.
This morning we landed on a beach made up of tiny olivine crystals, an iron silicate also known as peridote, which sparkles during sunny days. The volcanic landscape that we visited during our hike is just amazing and very different than the islands visited so far.
At this visitor site occur three species of boobies, along with frigatebirds and swallow-tailed gulls. The Galápagos National Park has been working intensively to protect the ecosystems and eradicating feral animals in order to restore endangered species and provide the birds and all small animals on land – such as the endemic lava lizard – with better living conditions.
During our zodiac ride around the cliffs and little islet we saw frigatebirds sitting on the bushes, resting after their long journeys over the ocean and fluffy red-footed booby chicks stretching their wings, building up their muscles before taking off.
In the afternoon we headed to Leon Dormido. This offshore rock is part of San Cristobal Island. Here we had the opportunity to snorkel and have a zodiac ride around the rock to contemplate the landscape.
While snorkeling at Leon Dormido we encountered Galápagos sharks, sea lions, and myriad tropical fish as well as sea turtles.
Visiting this place full of Pacific green sea turtles was just an amazing way to end the expedition. It was like a dream came true!
