Cerro Dragon & Sombrero Chino
After a rough night’s navigation, we anchored in Cerro Dragon at Santa Cruz Island. This island is the second largest and one of the most beautiful not only for its gorgeous highlands but also because one of the most amazing animals in Galápagos lives here: the land iguana. Most of our guests joined us early this morning for landing on a very rustic pier.
Before our arrival to the land iguanas' territory, we crossed a small forest of mangroves and palo santo trees and, finally hidden among the vegetation, we saw the first land iguana. He was a very peaceful male walking beside us; he wasn’t afraid of us and was very impressive and magnificent. Inland we saw more and more iguanas as if they tried to tell us they were the survivors here in this remote but at the same time beautiful paradise.
Afterwards, we came back on board and prepared our snorkeling gear. We began the deep water snorkeling activities along the Guy Fawkes islets. The water was extremely clear and we saw beautiful tropical fish; we were lucky because all of us could swim around the islet although in some parts currents were very strong but finally, we defeated them.
In the afternoon, we sailed to Sombrero Chino. This island located beside Santiago has a very curious shape, a little bit conical like a Chinese hat. We started out with kayakers and then, the group of deep water snorkelers. Again, like in the morning, I had to swim, but instead, water was very calm and we saw stingrays, white-tipped sharks and the beautiful Galápagos penguin. We swam for around one hour and finally, Eddy, our panga driver, carried us back to the National Geographic Polaris.
But the last surprise was waiting for us. A delicious dinner was served on the teak deck; it was different because it was a barbecue. We shared this night with our guests in front of Santiago and Sombrero Chino Islands. All was dark outside, but in our minds we still remembered how beautiful this day was.
After a rough night’s navigation, we anchored in Cerro Dragon at Santa Cruz Island. This island is the second largest and one of the most beautiful not only for its gorgeous highlands but also because one of the most amazing animals in Galápagos lives here: the land iguana. Most of our guests joined us early this morning for landing on a very rustic pier.
Before our arrival to the land iguanas' territory, we crossed a small forest of mangroves and palo santo trees and, finally hidden among the vegetation, we saw the first land iguana. He was a very peaceful male walking beside us; he wasn’t afraid of us and was very impressive and magnificent. Inland we saw more and more iguanas as if they tried to tell us they were the survivors here in this remote but at the same time beautiful paradise.
Afterwards, we came back on board and prepared our snorkeling gear. We began the deep water snorkeling activities along the Guy Fawkes islets. The water was extremely clear and we saw beautiful tropical fish; we were lucky because all of us could swim around the islet although in some parts currents were very strong but finally, we defeated them.
In the afternoon, we sailed to Sombrero Chino. This island located beside Santiago has a very curious shape, a little bit conical like a Chinese hat. We started out with kayakers and then, the group of deep water snorkelers. Again, like in the morning, I had to swim, but instead, water was very calm and we saw stingrays, white-tipped sharks and the beautiful Galápagos penguin. We swam for around one hour and finally, Eddy, our panga driver, carried us back to the National Geographic Polaris.
But the last surprise was waiting for us. A delicious dinner was served on the teak deck; it was different because it was a barbecue. We shared this night with our guests in front of Santiago and Sombrero Chino Islands. All was dark outside, but in our minds we still remembered how beautiful this day was.
