Dragon Hill & Sombrero Chino
There is always a reward when the day begins early. Dragon Hill is located northwest of Santa Cruz Island, and even though we are almost done with April, it is still part of the warm rainy season. We expect mud along the way as well as some insects, typical issues of this season; therefore we leave the ship at 06:30 in the morning just trying to avoid some heat.
It was a beautiful clear morning, and the sun was shining already. Just after landing on a rocky shore, we found the tide going down, exposing all the coastal rocks. Shore birds there were feeding. We saw a nice beach framed by dark lava rocks on one side where birds feed off invertebrates, such as ruddy turn stones and whimbrels. On the other side of the beach, framed by green coastal plants and a small lagoon, we have a swimming marine iguana, joined by some white-cheeked pintails. All this, and we are just at the beginning.
The moment we really hit the path was when the action began. The vegetation is grown, and we saw lots of Galápagos cotton in bloom, beautiful yellow flowers, at least four species of Darwin finches, and Galápagos mockingbirds.
However our main goals are the land iguanas. The vegetation is high, so we had a challenge ahead of us, but traces were there… droppings, burrows, and finally an iguana, a gorgeous yellow one behind the vegetation. We continued on the trail. Galápagos painted locusts, and drama came along, a spider eating its prey. We continued again and just before reaching the highest point of the place, a feral cat – a silent one – appeared right in the foreground ahead of us. To a land iguana, this is not a great welcome.
This was certainly a successful early morning outing, and we knew we must get back to the ship to eat breakfast and get more energy to snorkel at Guy Fawkes. Snorkeling today is so relaxing. We just swam along a deep wall, no bottom to see, but the wall feels like a huge city with lots of different colorful inhabitants, including fishes and invertebrates. Not a single inch was left free, and of course there were many playful sea lions.
We had an exciting morning and, during our resting time on our way to Sombrero Chino, bottle-nosed dolphins rode the bow for quite some time. The afternoon began with snorkeling for some or a relaxed moment on the beach of Sombrero Chino, a lovely little white beach. We sent out snorkelers again, for new experiences. Some snorkeled with the current, some with no current, and many saw fishes in many schools, eagle rays, sting rays, and penguins as small torpedoes underwater. To finish the day, we took a Zodiac ride along the same coast or spent time kayaking, just to say goodbye to this small inhospitable yet beautiful place.
