Today we are in the eastern part of Galapagos on San Cristobal Island. It is the oldest of the islands and has a very impressive and unique flora and fauna. At 8:00 a.m. we landed on the greenish beach at the foot of a gigantic tuff volcano that appeared eroded and rusted. I like this scenery because of the breathtaking views. Today we climbed all the way up to the summit in search of red-footed boobies, endemic lava lizards and chatam mockingbirds. The walk was great and we had a lot of fun. After our exertions, we jumped into the water to cool off. Some guests enthusiastically played with sea lions for about 30 minutes. They commented that it was one of the best experiences they had during this extraordinary week. Today is the last day of our expedition around the Enchanted Islands and our guests are trying to enjoy it as much as they can.
After our wonderful morning we came back to the Endeavour and motored to our next destination, Kicker Rock. It is a very old tuff cone standing two miles off the coast of San Cristobal. As we prepared to go snorkeling, everyone was a little anxious because this place is famous for sharks. But we jumped in and right away we saw many marine turtles. The water was a bit choppy but the visibility was very good. After 10 minutes of being in the water with nothing major happening, a large school of about 40 sharks suddenly swam below our feet. It lasted about 5 minutes and I call it “five minutes of glory.” Galapagos is such an unpredictable place. It is not a zoo, and even naturalists familiar with these islands can be surprised by what turns up.
Later we circumnavigated Kicker Rock, which was covered by tons of seabirds such as Nazca boobies, red-billed tropic birds, frigates, and some sea lions basking on the shoreline.
The sun at the equator comes down very quickly and the sky turned reddish-orange colors. Our guests enjoyed some champagne to celebrate a very intense and incredible journey around Galapagos, my homeland, the place I love.
