San Cristobal Island
We disembark with a wet landing on the second oldest of the Galápagos Islands. We hike along an old riverbed to enjoy the great tuff walls of an ancient caldera, forming a perfect view for us visitors. As we continued our exploration, we encountered the Chatam mockingbird and the very rare endemic scorpion which lives in the arid areas of Galápagos. The red carpet covering the full ground was made by the endemic Galápagos carpet weed, a type of succulent which turns red in the dry season. Once on the other side of the cliff we encountered red footed boobies nesting on the bushes and some lava gulls flying along the cliffs.
Swimming off the beach was an option after the hike. Our younger explorers also had the chance to enjoy learning how to drive a Zodiac over here!
During the afternoon we snorkeled at Kicker Rock and we were more than lucky to spot about 50 Galápagos sharks swimming around us! After snorkeling we came back to the National Geographic Endeavour and sailed around Kicker Rock with a glass of champagne in hand.
A beautiful sunset and a wonderful expedition taught us well in the enchanted archipelago.
