Cerro Dragon & Sombrero Chino
We woke up early in the morning with a sunny day and a nice breeze at the northern side of Santa Cruz Island for a pre-breakfast outing. The early morning conditions at “Cerro Dragon” (Dragon Hill) were almost perfect for our hike. The first strong sun rays of the day gave us the best light for our pictures and a great chance for encountering Galápagos Land Iguanas that recently came out from their borrows to sunbathe. We came across with several of them as well as lots of land birds such as Darwin finches and Galápagos Mockingbirds.
On our way back to the landing site we passed by a small brackish lagoon, where we spotted a solitary but beautifully coloured Greater Flamingo. This beautiful bird species spent much of its life filtering tiny invertebrates and algae which are most of their diet.
Upon returning on board the National Geographic Polaris a heartfelt breakfast awaited us. Next on our morning schedule was an opportunity to snorkel at Guy Fawkes Islets, which are remnants of an old eroded tuff cone not far from Santa Cruz Island. This snorkelling outing was an outstanding experience, and we were blessed once again by the best conditions we can wish for, sunny, calm seas and very clear waters. Our fearless snorkelers had various remarkable encounters: white-tipped reef sharks, Galápagos sea lions, large schools of fish and a wonderful variety of marine invertebrates along a steep underwater wall.
Not far from northern Santa Cruz lays Santiago Island. Off its southern shore several islets can be seen. Among them is one with a particular shape “Sombrero Chino” (Chinese Hat). Several choices were offered to our guests in this area. Everybody had a chance to enjoy the marine ecosystem one way or another. Some guests opted to go to a tiny white beach; they were entertained by a few Galápagos sea lions and a Galápagos penguin, which was fishing in the shallow waters. Some preferred to explore the area by kayaking, while others went snorkelling in the hope to see Galápagos penguins in the water, and this was a real success!
Towards the end of the afternoon most of our guests were able to enjoy the most beautiful sunset of the week from the teak deck of the National Geographic Polaris. There is still one more day to go in this thrilling expedition around the archipelago; we are sure that more adventures await us tomorrow.
We woke up early in the morning with a sunny day and a nice breeze at the northern side of Santa Cruz Island for a pre-breakfast outing. The early morning conditions at “Cerro Dragon” (Dragon Hill) were almost perfect for our hike. The first strong sun rays of the day gave us the best light for our pictures and a great chance for encountering Galápagos Land Iguanas that recently came out from their borrows to sunbathe. We came across with several of them as well as lots of land birds such as Darwin finches and Galápagos Mockingbirds.
On our way back to the landing site we passed by a small brackish lagoon, where we spotted a solitary but beautifully coloured Greater Flamingo. This beautiful bird species spent much of its life filtering tiny invertebrates and algae which are most of their diet.
Upon returning on board the National Geographic Polaris a heartfelt breakfast awaited us. Next on our morning schedule was an opportunity to snorkel at Guy Fawkes Islets, which are remnants of an old eroded tuff cone not far from Santa Cruz Island. This snorkelling outing was an outstanding experience, and we were blessed once again by the best conditions we can wish for, sunny, calm seas and very clear waters. Our fearless snorkelers had various remarkable encounters: white-tipped reef sharks, Galápagos sea lions, large schools of fish and a wonderful variety of marine invertebrates along a steep underwater wall.
Not far from northern Santa Cruz lays Santiago Island. Off its southern shore several islets can be seen. Among them is one with a particular shape “Sombrero Chino” (Chinese Hat). Several choices were offered to our guests in this area. Everybody had a chance to enjoy the marine ecosystem one way or another. Some guests opted to go to a tiny white beach; they were entertained by a few Galápagos sea lions and a Galápagos penguin, which was fishing in the shallow waters. Some preferred to explore the area by kayaking, while others went snorkelling in the hope to see Galápagos penguins in the water, and this was a real success!
Towards the end of the afternoon most of our guests were able to enjoy the most beautiful sunset of the week from the teak deck of the National Geographic Polaris. There is still one more day to go in this thrilling expedition around the archipelago; we are sure that more adventures await us tomorrow.
