One of the most classically beautiful spots in the Galapagos is Chinese Hat. With its conical shape and eroded remains of a tuff cone, this island shows us the volcanism of the archipelago as a snapshot taken a long time ago. A few meters from here and separated by turquoise waters, Santiago Island looks barren, covered by a black lava flow created by an eruption in 1800’s.
Our day began with a Zodiac ride to observe the immense black lava field, which produced a barren landscape that contrasted with the greenery and lush vegetation observed few day ago in the highlands of Santa Cruz. We observed lava herons, Galapagos hawks, brown pelicans, and Galapagos penguins swimming like torpedoes trying to catch small black-striped salemas. Afterwards, we came back to the coast of Santiago to enjoy some terrific snorkeling with all sorts of marine life, from penguins swimming with us, a great number of tropical fish, white-tipped reef sharks, and iguanas feeding on algae underwater. We were fortunate because the ocean showed us its wonders.
After lunch and a short navigation along Santiago Island, we disembarked A shore landing where your feet will stay dryat Sullivan Bay to explore and imagine how Galapagos was during its beginnings, understanding what it takes to establish a successful species in this enchanted archipelago. We observed dramatic formations of Pahoehoe, or ropy lava, and a great number of small cinder cones. Incredibly, along this dry and barren terrain, life has begun to well up. We observed lava cactus and pioneers plants growing right on the naked rocks. Finally we arrived at the old lava field, the brown and reddish colors contrasting with the new black lava. The huge eroded cinder cones formed natural paths among them, and we observed a surrealistic landscape comparable and incredibly similar to Mars, the red planet.
With the last beams of sun coloring the lava fields a unique orange, we imagined how Galapagos was millions of years ago when the complex evolutionary process began to take place in this natural laboratory with incredible creatures and unique landscapes.
