The National Geographic Islander arrived right before sunrise to the are known as “Sombrero Chino”, the first light of the day reveals an extremely beautiful volcanic landscape, the islet of Sombrero Chino and right across a turquoise channel the dark lava flows of Sullivan Bay on James Island. Right after breakfast we ready ourselves for the first adventure, our guest are able to choose from kayaking to boat riding along the volcanic shores of the area. We spotted sea lions, the Galapagos penguin, frigate birds flying right over us and brown pelican diving trying to scoop some fish out, after exploring from the kayak and the zodiac we returned to the National Geographic Islander to get geared up for the great snorkel ahead. The zodiacs take us close to the beautiful and crystalline water channel where we jump off to start our underwater adventure. We snorkel along the walk of the lava flows of Sullivan Bay, where we observe an array of marine life happening right below the surface, from blue-chin parrot fish to Galapagos penguins, what an exceptional experience.
As soon as we return to the National Geographic Islander, our guests meet us on the top deck to jump off the ship, most of our guests participate and they have a great time.
After lunch we offer a talk on the Human History of the Galapagos and Zodiac driving lessons for the young explorers.
The National Geographic Islander repositions to Sullivan Bay and we are in for another adventure on one of the most recently formed lava flows of James Island. We had a dry landing on Pahoe’ hoe lava, the place looked as if we had landed on a different planet, dark broken lava flows everywhere and no sign of any life form at sight. We continued hiking inland and out of the sudden we encountered what looked like cucumbers and it turned out to be a very rare pioneer plant, know as lava cactus, one of the first life forms to arrive and stablish on such harsh habitat. We walked roughly a mile inland and observed how the new lava had penetrated and surrounded some old eroded tuff cones as if it were a black ocean attempting to swallow tiny islands. A quite dramatic landscape, just how many of the islands looked millions of years ago. We ended the afternoon visit looking for the Galapagos penguin and as lucky as we were, three of the showed up near the black shores of Sullivan bay. What a great day full of activities, beautiful landscapes and emotions.
