We woke up today with the glorious view of Sombrero Chino and the Bainbridge Islets in front of our ship. These beautiful parasitic cones of Santiago Island were probably formed a long time ago when the sea level was lower than it is nowadays. Sombrero Chino can be roughly translated into English as “Chinese Hat” because it has an extended, peculiar shape that reminds one of a huge hat like the ones worn in some regions of China. This unusual, yet striking, shape is typically found on oceanic islands of volcanic origins. These kinds of formations are also known as “shield volcanoes”. In Hawaii, for example, it is believed that these huge formations are the war shields of their Gods on earth.
Right after breakfast we explored the area this using our Zodiac fleet. The Zodiac ride was a very successful one for we had the chance to cover a relatively long distance admiring the striking volcanic landscape and looking for wildlife. Several heron species, marine iguanas, and sea lions were admired and photographed.
Once onboard we put on our snorkeling gear to continue exploring the area by practicing deep-water snorkeling. The underwater world in this exotic location was at its best today, for it was sunny and the waters were crystal clear. We had great sightings of sea lions fishing, several white tip reef sharks, as well as many colorful species of tropical fish.
At the end of the snorkeling session we enjoyed the cool ocean in a very different fashion, by jumping from the National Geographic Islander! It was a lot fun!
At lunch time the ship was repositioned to the south of the fourth largest islands of the Galapagos archipelago, Santiago Island. On our way to Santiago Island we sailed near Bainbridge Rocks and spotted in the distance a few Greater flamingos on a saltwater lake inside a crater.
In the late afternoon we disembarked at Sullivan Bay for a memorable hike on a fairly recent black lava flow. Most of the hike was over smooth “pahoehoe” or ropy lava with “aa” lava patches here and there. Along the way we observed some volcanic formations like cinder cones, spatter cones, “hornitos” tree casts, etc. We had a beautiful sunset and we were mesmerized by the silhouettes of many sea birds coming back to their shelters to spend the night.
Once back onboard we had a wonderful BBQ dinner that was a grand finale for an unforgettable day in this paradise.
