Dragon Hill & Chinese Hat
Today the National Geographic Endeavour took us to the western side of Santa Cruz Island; our visitor’s site is Dragon Hill, a place where we find one of the recovered populations of Galápagos land iguanas. We started early—at 6:00 AM we were on the trail. Here the dominant incense tree forest— which during this season has no leaves— and the overcast sky created this ghostly scenery. But we found some color! The prickly pear cactus had started to bloom! Beautiful bright yellow flowers were decorating the trail.
Further in, we entered the land iguanas’ domain. Most of them where sleeping inside their caves; but as we walked a little farther we found a couple of these yellow reptiles. Once we reached the summit of Dragon Hill we enjoyed the outstanding view: from here you can see some of the major islands such as Santiago, Rabida, and Pinzon.
The deep-water snorkeling took place at Guy Fawkes islets, where the spectacular underwater walls are covered with barnacles, colorful anemones and corals. The sea stars and fish gave more colors to this beautiful ecosystem.
This afternoon we went to Chinese Hat, an islet separated from Santiago Island by a channel. This channel, being protected from the wind, was the perfect place for our activities. The deep-water snorkeling was definitely a success; we saw all different kinds of reef fish, some marine iguanas underwater, several white -tipped reef sharks, and a few lucky ones saw some Galápagos penguins. We enjoyed a beautiful beach that we had to share with sea lions, some zodiac rides, and for those who like sports, we had some kayaking!
Galápagos offers activities for everybody! And the fun never ends; after all, while we are in such a privileged place we have to take advantage of every minute.
