From the National Geographic Endeavour in Galapagos, 1/4/2013, National Geographic Endeavour

Punta Pitt and Leon Dormido

After a great day in the second largest island of Galapagos we started to navigate to the island of San Cristobal, where there is an incredible location at the most northwesterly point of this fifth largest island of the archipelago.

Punta Pitt early in the morning showed a bit of why this place is so special. It was sunny and warm so we had a wet landing on the sandy beach, where unlike other wet landings, there were not that many sea lions.

We disembarked expecting great opportunities to enjoy the landscapes; in this area the view is just a dream. The joy went up higher when we reached the cliff section where a small group of red footed boobies were incubating eggs and far away in the ocean a Zodiac was trying to get close to the dolphins. We then walked back to the beach, it had been warm and we were all looking for a chance to cool off.

As the morning went by there were some sea lions ready to play with the guests in the water. The sea lions seemed to enjoy swimming in between them! It is no doubt that we still, at the end of our expedition, have fun watching how wildlife, in complete balance, interacts with us.

The plan in the afternoon was different, with the Zodiacs in the water, and some of us snorkeling. This is one of the very nicest areas to snorkel, this close to San Cristobal. Most of us were excited due to the good opportunities to see sharks, rays and turtles. The water is cold but did not stop us!

We went into a channel formed by two of the rocks forming Leon Dormido. This area is the best, for the underwater topography always invites the marine life looking for the currents. Here is where you can have close encounters with the biggest animals.

After just a few minutes there was a big school of sharks, turtles, and fish, and all over you could hear the guests excited by the endless number of attractions. This was definitely a good way to solidify our expedition on these wonderful islands. Everybody went back to the Zodiacs very happy, commenting are how great the expedition was.

As we headed back to the National Geographic Endeavor the adventure wasn’t over yet. We told everyone aboard the ship we would circumnavigate the area for another great opportunity to take a few last pictures of the expedition.