Punta Pitt and Kicker Rock, San Cristobal Island
Here we are on one of the oldest island of Galápagos; the morning is rainy but beautiful, the impressive cliff forming Punta Pitt is a movie scene. It reminds me of The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, but here the famous actors are the red-footed boobies, the frigates, and swallow-tailed gulls nesting on these high vertical walls made of tuff, which is compacted ashes from old volcanic eruptions, soar of sand stone.
The rain, which is typically common in the “hot rainy” season in Galápagos (from December to May) was not going to temper our desire to explore this magical place. We took our Zodiacs and disembarked on the greenish beach. Yes, in Galápagos we have beaches of various colors: red, black, golden, brownish ones, white, and green as this one, which means it is full of olivine, a glass common in basaltic formations and found here in great quantities. Once here, we walked a steep path taking us to the top of this secondary volcano; the hike is worth it! It is a magical breathtaking view.
Later a Zodiac ride along the cliffs gave us a chance to take pictures and enjoy of the astonishing wildlife: red-billed tropicbirds, male frigates with their pouches blown up, red- and blue-footed boobies, and as always our friendly sea lions playing in the water. This morning was very special, the rain stopped and left in front of our eyes a very uncommon sight here—waterfalls—yes, waterfalls in Galápagos. It sounds strange, but it happens here once in a blue moon and this morning was really unique.
In the afternoon we arrived at Kicker Rock. This famous old tuff cone that always brings surprises to us—this time we saw a hammerhead shark and many marine turtles among the richness of the marine life of Galápagos. We circumnavigated Kicker Rock to take in the view from the sky deck of National Geographic Islander. This is the mating season for many birds, one more time the frigates were there, Nazca boobies and terns, pelicans and gulls, and the final touch of the week—bottlenose dolphins jumping just at the bow of our ship! All our travelers exclaimed: What a great experience! What a great finale! What a great show! Yes, it was the greatest show this unique paradise on Earth can offer to you!
