Cerro Dragon & Sombrero Chino
It was an early morning rise, but a fine time to wake up and to look around our ship in search of a perfect photo. The light was good enough and it warmed up the land iguanas fast at a famous visitor area of the National Park.
Dragon Hill, as we know it, is a place that was constantly disturbed by introduced animals like dogs and cats, which were observed predating on some endemic fauna. The population of land iguanas was dramatically reduced to an approximate of 70 individuals. Years after dogs, cats and even donkeys were eradicated from this place, we see that the flora and fauna have a chance to recover from the many attempts of predation.
Land iguanas were constantly studied by early scientist of the Galápagos Islands. The last good tracking of some of the individuals occurred around 2001, with more than 300 individuals counted. This morning we counted 26 land iguanas, which is a very good number compared to the time in the past when there were introduced animals disturbing the iguana populations.
After our power walk, we came back for a few minutes to get ready to snorkel in the collapsed volcano of the Guy Fawkes islets. The snorkel included some good efforts to swim against the current, but the enthusiasm of our guest is better than any difficulty. Sea lions and tons of fish of different types were observed in this great and deep place.
The afternoon was good. Once again, kayakers and snorkelers enjoyed and understood the importance of relaxation in the ocean, forgetting the real and far world away from this enchanted archipelago.
