Dragon Hill & Sombrero Chino
Today we had great weather, clear skies and good visibility in the sea. We began our day doing an exploration around Dragon Hill, located on the northern part of Santa Cruz Island. Here we found lots of land iguanas surrounded by a local forest where the giant prickly pear cactus and the incense tree are the predominant vegetation.
Some of our guests went deep water snorkeling to Guy Fawkes, a group of islets located about a mile off the coast of Santa Cruz. At this site they saw several species of marine invertebrates attached to a very steep wall. Big schools of tropical fish were seen too.
Later in the morning our younger explorers got the chance to learn with our experienced Zodiac drivers how to drive a Zodiac craft in the Galápagos Islands. They were very exited about this wonderful experience.
After lunch we headed north towards Sombrero Chino Island, which is right beside the island of Santiago. The navigation gave us the chance to see great geological formations such as young lava flows and tuff cones, one of which had a small group of seven flamingos standing in a salt-water lagoon inside the crater.
Once we dropped anchor, we set off for kayaking, deep water snorkeling and a Zodiac ride. All of these activities were done in a very sheltered channel right in between the two islands. This channel holds a lot of marine life, and we found Galápagos penguins, shore birds, white-tipped reef sharks, and at least ten different types of fish.
This was our sixth day visiting Galápagos yet we seem to be discovering new things as we continue with our journey. This expedition in the enchanted Islands will always remain with us.
