Cerro Dragon & Chinese Hat
This morning we started our day with a great walk on the northern part of Santa Cruz Island, Cerro Dragon or Dragon’s Hill. Along the beach we could see the rocky shore that was left barren with low tide, an excellent spot for herons and oyster catchers to eat barnacles and sea urchins.
As we walked inland we were lucky to find two flamingoes in a small brackish lagoon. Then we walked through a dry forest of gray palo santos and prickly pears where we saw some Galápagos cotton plants and a few Darwin finches. Our goal, however, was to get to the land iguana territory where we found more than 15 individuals, some fighting for territory and one trying to mate. It is important to mention that this behavior is unusual to see at this time of the year. Nonetheless, it was pretty amazing to see how they interacted with each other. The iguanas that we saw on this path were the most colorful and active land iguanas that we have seen the whole week.
After this great walk some of us went for deep water snorkeling along a small islet called Guy Fawkes. Here we saw a few Galápagos sharks and thousands of black striped salemas, but the most amazing part was the great wall that was covered with colorful invertebrates like sponges, sea anemones, black coral, etc. We also had a chance to go to a beautiful white beach where we could swim, snorkel and relax.
At mid-day we navigated on board the National Geographic Endeavour to a nearby island called Sombrero Chino. Here, a few groups went for deep water snorkeling. We saw three white tip sharks, sergeant majors, cardinal fish, parrot fish and a busy penguin looking for food. The kayakers also had a great time going along the coast of Sombrero Chino, and the young explorers had the best time swimming at the beach with a playful sea lion.
Last but not least, at the end of the day we took a Zodiac ride along the coast of Santiago looking for Galápagos penguins. The geological formations along the coast of this island and Sombrero Chino are breathtaking and it only prepared us for our expedition tomorrow.
