Captain Garces had our boson haul up the anchor at midnight and we navigated during the remainder of the night to the north and then west to anchor just after dawn off the small island of Sombrero Chino. This island is aptly named, as it looks in profile like a traditional Chinese hat!
This morning, following a hearty breakfast of eggs benedict and smoked trout, we boarded Zodiacs, and went in search of penguins and other wildlife. We were very quickly and pleasantly rewarded with sightings of several cute endemic Galapagos penguins! They stood on the lava rocks along the coast and knew to turn their backs to us as we approached, so that their white chests and bellies would not stand out so dramatically against the black lava. We were still able to get great photos, thanks to the maneuvering of the Zodiacs by our pangueros. We saw dozens of bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs feeding and several striated herons stalking fish and baby crabs as we motored along close to shore. It was a lovely morning – sunny but breezy and the contrast between the expanse of black lava, the tiny white beaches and the turquoise ocean was spectacular.
Some of the guests and guides went out on Zodiacs to snorkel and we had a fabulous outing! We found at least a dozen species of colorful and fearless fish plus white-tipped reef sharks, sea lions and feeding marine iguanas. The water was cool and the clarity excellent and we stayed out for over an hour. Naturalist Gaby and a small group of guests went to a tiny white beach and were thoroughly entertained first by a friendly sea lion pup, who sniffed at their bare feet, and then by a pair of black and white oystercatchers, who shrilly called to one another as they landed beside us.
Once everyone returned to the ship and quickly showered, the National Geographic Islander maneuvered alongside Bainbridge Islet and from the sky deck we peered into a shallow crater lake. There were two big groups of pink flamingos feeding in the lagoon!
In the afternoon, I gave a talk about my experiences doing my PhD research and living on Volcan Alcedo on Isabela Island. I am pretty sure that everyone now understands where my love of nature and the Galapagos came from!
Later on, we hiked for a mile and a quarter on the barren lava fields of Sullivan Bay that date from 1897. The variety of shapes and patterns in this pahoehoe flow was amazing. We discovered several pioneer plants species growing out of the lava (including the endemic cactus Brachycereus), a few lava lizards and the endemic painted locusts. Our guide Ruly spotted an abandoned dove nest with a broken egg. We reached the shore and climbed into the Zodiacs just as the sun set and the mosquitoes came out!
During tonight’s our recap hour, our video chronicler Giancarlo showed us his video preview and we reminisced a bit about all we have seen thus far. After a delicious barbecue dinner on the sky deck we turned in, once again tired but satisfied, having enjoyed yet another full and fabulous day in Las Islas Encantadas!
