Santa Cruz & Sombrero Chino Islands
Today we started visiting the northwestern site of Santa Cruz Island; the place we visited is called Dragon Hill. The sky was clear and the sea was so calm that nobody even felt the ship’s movement.
We eagerly disembarked at around eight in the morning. Cerro Dragon is a very interesting place. It is home to one of the most beautiful creatures of the archipelago, the Galápagos land iguana. Cerro Dragon was closed for tourism activities for many years. The population of land iguanas was at the brink of extinction due to the many feral dogs and cats that were introduced there. However, the iguana’s populations were able to recover very well after a long lasting project that the Galápagos National Park implemented.
The hike this morning was a very successful one for we were able to spot several of them. We even saw a baby Galápagos land iguana near the trail, which means that the populations are being recovered.
In the afternoon, the Captain repositioned the ship to a different island called “Sombrero Chino.” This small island is located very near the southeastern shore of Santiago Island. Our guests had some options to explore the area: kayaking, deep water snorkeling, and Zodiac rides.
This place has the most fascinating volcanic scenery. Cacti, turquoise waters, a big sea lion swimming near and around the group that was snorkeling, and white tipped reef sharks. To top the day off we observed several Galápagos penguins around this place as well.
Later in the afternoon we enjoyed the cocktail hour on the sky deck while watching an amazing sunset. Finally, we ended our day with a delicious barbecue on the teak deck while a cool refreshing breeze filled the atmosphere.
Today we started visiting the northwestern site of Santa Cruz Island; the place we visited is called Dragon Hill. The sky was clear and the sea was so calm that nobody even felt the ship’s movement.
We eagerly disembarked at around eight in the morning. Cerro Dragon is a very interesting place. It is home to one of the most beautiful creatures of the archipelago, the Galápagos land iguana. Cerro Dragon was closed for tourism activities for many years. The population of land iguanas was at the brink of extinction due to the many feral dogs and cats that were introduced there. However, the iguana’s populations were able to recover very well after a long lasting project that the Galápagos National Park implemented.
The hike this morning was a very successful one for we were able to spot several of them. We even saw a baby Galápagos land iguana near the trail, which means that the populations are being recovered.
In the afternoon, the Captain repositioned the ship to a different island called “Sombrero Chino.” This small island is located very near the southeastern shore of Santiago Island. Our guests had some options to explore the area: kayaking, deep water snorkeling, and Zodiac rides.
This place has the most fascinating volcanic scenery. Cacti, turquoise waters, a big sea lion swimming near and around the group that was snorkeling, and white tipped reef sharks. To top the day off we observed several Galápagos penguins around this place as well.
Later in the afternoon we enjoyed the cocktail hour on the sky deck while watching an amazing sunset. Finally, we ended our day with a delicious barbecue on the teak deck while a cool refreshing breeze filled the atmosphere.
