We had a lovely wakeup call this morning as we anchored at Cristobal Island, at a location known as Punta Pitt. This is the closest point to mainland South America from the Galapagos, close to 600 nautical miles away from the archipelago. After breakfast we had our last visit ashore on a very green, sandy beach made up of ashes and olivine crystals. We then had the opportunity to climb through a steep canyon created by the erosion of water and wind over hundreds of thousands of years. One of the goals of the morning was to see the three species of boobies found on these islands. We observed red-footed boobies nesting on trees, Nasca Bobbies flying by the shore rocks, and blue-footed boobies fishing in front of our very eyes! The scenic views were also very beautiful: Galapagos Nolana with its succulent leaves, Cristobal daisies, and also Sesuvium portulacastrum, or Galapagos carpet weed, a colorful purple and green addition to the rocky landscape and a very attractive succulent plant. After all of that we headed back to the beach for a refreshing swim with sea lions!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon in Leon Dormido, a nearby tuff cone. Our purpose was snorkeling with big fish. We also saw many invertebrates, from bright colored sponges and sea urchins to cup corals colonizing the external walls of the cone. Many sea turtles were also spotted and black tip reef sharks swam by. It was a great adventure! At the end of the afternoon everyone met at the sky deck as we circumnavigated Leon Dormido, with an impressive sunset as the background to our last day in paradise.
