Today we visited San Cristobal Island. San Cristobal is one of the oldest islands in the archipelago, as well as one of the largest. Our starting point in the morning was Punta Pitt on the southeastern side of the island. This is the closest point to mainland Ecuador, which is just 600 miles away. Here we made a wet landing before an invigorating and remarkable hike. The first part of the trail is in a ravine, a dry area that changes its appearance at different times of the year.
Once we arrived at the upper platform of Punta Pitt, we found nesting sites for different species of boobies. A great way to differentiate booby species is by location. If the booby is on the ground, it is either a Nazca booby or a blue-footed booby. When a booby is found on a branch, it is definitely a red-footed booby. At the final part of the trail, we found a dramatic cliff from which we appreciated a spectacular landscape.
We finished the day with an easy stroll on the beautiful beach of Cerro Brujo, and we enjoyed every minute with the Galapagos sea lions. This marvelous, white sand beach has great conditions for swimming. After we came back to the ship, we circumnavigated Kicker Rock while admiring the sunset.
What a wonderful ending to our expedition in the Enchanted Islands!
