Sombrero Chino and Sullivan Bay, Santiago Island, 11/1/2024, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
Sombrero Chino Islet is a spectacular example of a small, single eruption volcano with a couple of sandy beaches which provide unique opportunities to snorkel with Galapagos penguins. Sullivan Bay features striking black lava flows that go back to 1897, creating a stark and beautiful contrast against the turquoise waters.
Salvador Cazar studied biology at the Universidad Nacional Del Sur, Bahía Blanca, in Argentina and at the Catholic University of Ecuador. Between 1988 and 1994, Salvador worked as a naturalist and tour leader for several national and international to...
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Today we took advantage of the first light of day to go for a natural history walk on this small but abundant in wildlife island. As we walked along the trail, we saw countless swallow-tailed gulls, yellow land iguanas, and Galapagos sea lions. The red Galapagos carpet weed gave the island a very exotic look and enhanced our photographs. During the afternoon, we enjoyed the crystal-clear waters of Santa Fe Island by taking part in different activities, such as a glass bottom Zodiac tour and snorkeling. The highlight of the late afternoon was a hike along the forest. Here we found a unique species of land iguana, the pale iguana. Hawks were also observed until sea lions stole our guests’ attention. It was another incredible day in the Galapagos.
The grand finale of an astonishing week ended with our visit to Genovesa. This is one of the most incredible places in Galapagos and is known as the island of the birds because the great number and variety of land and sea birds seen here. Genovesa has unique creatures like the short-eared owl we saw along our walk, the large cactus finch, and the large ground finch, both unique birds found nowhere else. The snorkeling was superb, with some inquisitive sea lions that were playing with our enthusiastic guests. Kayakers enjoyed the ride along the magical cliff that forms the ring of the caldera at Darwin Bay. We have had an amazing week exploring this enchanted archipelago.
