During the night we navigated on a smooth sea and dropped anchor before dawn beside the small islet of Sombrero Chino. When we awoke and went out on deck the scene was otherworldly, with the extensive black lava fields on the larger, central island of Santiago running as far as we could see in either direction. Our wellness specialist Roxana led a small group of guests in stretching exercises on the sky deck, while the rest of us slept in until breakfast at 0730. We enjoyed a delicious meal of eggs benedict, smoked trout, fresh tropical fruits, pancakes and cereal. At 0830 we stepped into the Zodiacs and went slowly along the rugged coast searching for wildlife and enjoying the fantastic views.
This huge lava flow dates for 1897. We know this from whaling ships, which kept detailed log books of their voyages. In spite of the 100+ years since the lava has cooled, there is very little vegetation yet growing on the lava. We watched and photographed several small lava herons—also known as striated herons—that were crouched on the shore, fishing. On the cindery slopes of Sombrero Chino I pointed out the endemic Galapagos cherry tomato plant, which is amazingly adapted to the salt arid environment and is being studied by a direct descendant of Charles Darwin!
We spotted a single fast-moving penguin and we motored along behind it as it sped up and dove for fish in the turquoise water! Soon we returned to the ship for the next outings of the morning: snorkeling, a shore walk, or beach and swimming. Aura and Juan Carlos led the two snorkeling groups and they had a marvelous time swimming in the clear, shallow channel between Sombrero Chino and Santiago Islands. They found colorful fish of many species, including schools of razorfish, a few long cornetfish, territorial damsels, bright king angels, banded blennies, flag cabrilla sea bass and many others. Just at the very end of the outing, a penguin flitted past and those who had remained in the water got to see this cute bird flying along underwater!
Meanwhile, Jonathan took a group along the shore and across the rocky terrain to find a hawk, lava lizards and sea lions. On the beach we went swimming beside a big and thankfully nonchalant male sea lion. The water was clear and warm and a couple young sea lions joined us for a swim! But the best thing that happened was when a penguin zipped back and forth several times in the very shallow waters beside the beach! That was a big thrill for all of us!
We returned to the ship at noon and Captain Teran navigated past the crater of Bainbridge Rock. We stood on the sky deck and looked into the brackish water lagoon that fills this crater, but there were no flamingos there today.
After lunch and our much needed siesta, I shared my own personal story about doing the research for my PhD while camping for a year and a half on Volcan Alecdo, Isabela Island in 1979 and 1980. I was investigating the interactions between the giant tortoises and the introduced donkeys. The highlight of this experience was when the volcano south of where I was camped, erupted! The lava fountained and flowed for 5 weeks and it was an amazing and frightening fireworks show!
The afternoon was windy and cool. We took the Zodiacs to the edge of the same lava flow we had seen in the morning Zodiac ride and disembarked straight onto the lava for our afternoon hike at Sullivan Bay. The lava at this northern end of the flow is of the pahoehoe type, ropy and smooth, and with an amazing variety of textures and forms, but easy to walk on. We took countless photos of the lava and saw a few pioneer plants that have started to grow in the lava. Enroute back to the ship, our pangueros found three penguins standing on shore and we were able at last to photograph these charming little birds.
Back on board the ship we found that the lounge and restaurant had been decorated for Halloween and in the evening there were both some very lovely and some frighteningly ugly creatures who served us orange piña coladas and a delicious dinner!
