Cerro Dragon & Sombrero Chino Islands
This day found us around the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island. The NG Endeavour was anchored in a placid bay, Conway Bay, with Cerro Dragon in the background.
Cerro Dragon, Spanish for “Dragon Hill,” is an excellent location to observe Galápagos land iguanas. We went on an early hike with the hope to find these majestic and colorful reptiles. Land iguanas have a prehistoric appearance; they look just like miniature dragons. We were fortunate for we saw several individuals on the trail and resting under the vegetation.
After the walk, we were all eager to go back on board so we could go snorkeling or swimming to cool off. Some guests took an adventurous deep-water Zodiac trip to the challenging snorkel site of Guy Fawkes Islets. In this place we saw great schools of black-stripped Salemas, Yellow-tailed razor fish, Galápagos sea lions and many invertebrates along the cliff side. Some other guests opted to go to a nearby beach to swim. Both activities were of great success today.
In the afternoon we sailed to a different location, “Sombrero Chino.” This volcanic cone has a very peculiar shape; it resembles a “Chinese hat.” This young volcanic cone is covered with rusty black lava fields that dramatically contrast with the white sand and turquoise waters of the surroundings. Without any doubt Sombrero Chino reminded us about how fascinating the geology of the Galápagos Islands is. The black lava fields of the coastline of Santiago Island seen from Sombrero Chino gave us the opportunity to dream about how barren the islands must have been when they were just formed.
Kayaking, snorkeling outings, Zodiac cruises and time to relax on the beach were offered. Several guests had the thrill to swim and snorkel with Galápagos penguins and with white tipped reef sharks!
Later in the afternoon we all came back on board accompanied by a stunning sunset. To top the day off we had a mouth-watering barbeque on the outer deck around the pool, a great way to end another day in this remote and exciting paradise in the middle of the Pacific.
This day found us around the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island. The NG Endeavour was anchored in a placid bay, Conway Bay, with Cerro Dragon in the background.
Cerro Dragon, Spanish for “Dragon Hill,” is an excellent location to observe Galápagos land iguanas. We went on an early hike with the hope to find these majestic and colorful reptiles. Land iguanas have a prehistoric appearance; they look just like miniature dragons. We were fortunate for we saw several individuals on the trail and resting under the vegetation.
After the walk, we were all eager to go back on board so we could go snorkeling or swimming to cool off. Some guests took an adventurous deep-water Zodiac trip to the challenging snorkel site of Guy Fawkes Islets. In this place we saw great schools of black-stripped Salemas, Yellow-tailed razor fish, Galápagos sea lions and many invertebrates along the cliff side. Some other guests opted to go to a nearby beach to swim. Both activities were of great success today.
In the afternoon we sailed to a different location, “Sombrero Chino.” This volcanic cone has a very peculiar shape; it resembles a “Chinese hat.” This young volcanic cone is covered with rusty black lava fields that dramatically contrast with the white sand and turquoise waters of the surroundings. Without any doubt Sombrero Chino reminded us about how fascinating the geology of the Galápagos Islands is. The black lava fields of the coastline of Santiago Island seen from Sombrero Chino gave us the opportunity to dream about how barren the islands must have been when they were just formed.
Kayaking, snorkeling outings, Zodiac cruises and time to relax on the beach were offered. Several guests had the thrill to swim and snorkel with Galápagos penguins and with white tipped reef sharks!
Later in the afternoon we all came back on board accompanied by a stunning sunset. To top the day off we had a mouth-watering barbeque on the outer deck around the pool, a great way to end another day in this remote and exciting paradise in the middle of the Pacific.
