San Cristobal Island
Today National Geographic Islander anchored at Punta Pitt, on the northwest coast of San Cristobal. Here the eroded cinder cones have left a magnificent view, like thousands of peaks on an endless summit!
We started the day on our Zodiacs and traveled to a nearby rock that is a large rookery holding the three species of boobies: blue, red and Nazca. Great frigates, swallow-tailed gulls, storm petrels and shearwaters also live here too! The birds are all together in a rather small volcanic formation that allows them to nest, due to the rich ocean currents that bathe the northern tip of this island.
As we landed on the golden beach at Punta Pitt, Galápagos sea lions were sunbathing together with a few marine iguanas. We hiked along an old fissure that has developed into a canyon, where we encountered endemic lava lizards and the San Cristobal mockingbird, unique to this island. At the top of the trail the vegetation showed us the red ice plant or Sesuvium, together with Portulaca and Batis maritima. Red footed boobies nested in nearby bushes, so we were able to observe them perching and flying along the cliffs.
After lunch we motored to the famous Kicker Rock to have a farewell deep water snorkel, where we found an impressive school of spotted Eagle’s rays, Galápagos and hammerhead sharks, Pacific green sea turtles, Galápagos sea lions, and large schools of tropical fish.
Soon afterward, our Captain motored the National Geographic Islander around this very old eroded volcanic cone, where we enjoyed a beautiful sunset in the company of all our guests at the sundeck. What a great way to end this amazing cruise in the Enchanted Islands!
