Sombrero Chino and Sullivan Bay, Santiago
We were determined to find penguins today, and so our first outing was a Zodiac ride along the rough lava shores of Southeastern Santiago Island. We were fortunate to find one lone penguin resting on the lava. He posed wonderfully for countless photos! Back on board National Geographic Islander we wiggled into our wetsuits and three Zodiacs of guests went snorkeling in crystal clear water. We saw white-tipped reef sharks and many schools of colorful fish, some of us spotted a sea turtle and sea lions as well. The non-snorkeling group of guests spent the morning on a tiny white sand beach that we shared with a few curious sea lions. One juvenile sea lion was particularly friendly and made the rounds sniffing us, our shoes, back packs and towels. We saw a huge 7 foot hammerhead swim past the beach and that did not keep us from enjoying the chilly water for a swim. The snorkelers joined us on the beach and I led two short walks along the coast. Two oystercatchers, endemic cherry tomatoes and the view to the west of the volcanoes of Isabela Island were the highlights for the walkers.
In the afternoon, I shared a presentation with the group about my PhD research on the giant tortoises and introduced donkeys of Volcan Alcedo. This talk led us into a discussion of the current conservation issues that are facing the Galápagos Islands. At 1600, once the sunny afternoon had cooled off, we disembarked on the extensive and pitch black pahoehoe lava flow at Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island. We marveled at the endless variety of patterns in the lava and took many photos as we hiked the mile long trail across this relatively recent field of basalt. From studying the logs of whaling vessels we know the age of this lava flow; massive volcanic activity was recorded here in 1897.
On our way back to the ship we stopped to look again for penguins and were rewarded with a lone male who was braying for his mate. Those in the last Zodiac back to the ship saw the happy ending to this story: the penguin pair was reunited and mated…very quickly, as birds do. Tonight dinner was served on the Sky Deck and we enjoyed salsa and merengue dancing afterwards under a full moon. Very romantic!
