San Cristobal
On September 15, 1835, a young British naturalist named Charles Darwin reached his first Galapagos Island. Although initially disappointed by his first sight of the islands and their barren aspect, he was quickly blown away by the strange and outlandish nature of the inhabitants of this remote archipelago. The first things he noticed were the apparent tameness of the animals, and most importantly the close affinities of Galapagos flora and fauna to those of mainland America.
This island was San Cristobal, the easternmost island in the group, and the season was the dry one, so on approaching this very same island today, at the same time of the year, we may truly feel that we are following in the footsteps of this legendary man. It is an island of rolling hills, green highlands, stark lava flows and spectacular white beaches; and was historically one of the first to be inhabited. It has a harsh history as the home of the infamous Manuel Cobos Empire, a large and particularly brutal penal colony. Today it's a lot more civilized however, and the main town on the island, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, is the political and administrative capital of the Ecuadorian province of the Galapagos.
We approached San Cristobal bright and early and lowered Zodiacs to explore the most famous and truly spectacular of its landmarks, Leon Dormido – the sleeping lion, as seen from certain angles it bears a striking resemblance to an Egyptian sphynx. This rocky outcrop is the remnant of a vertical tuff cone formation which has split in two, and its cliffs soar up to over 500 ft, dwarfing our fleet of Zodiacs. Once back on board Polaris, we repositioned to one of the most spectacular beaches in Galapagos, at Cerro Brujo, where we strolled along white sand the texture of baking flour which lines the harsh AA lava flow. We found sea lions, an oyster catcher couple teaching their chick to forage, many shore birds in a salt water lagoon, and spent a couple of hours exploring the intertidal pools which had been exposed at low tide.
During the afternoon we visited the most famous interpretation centre in Galapagos, followed by time spent exploring the streetside cafes and shops of the town, getting a taste for how the local “Galapagueños” live. We returned on board amongst the anchored pangas in the bay, taken over for the night by the most ubiquitous inhabitants of the Galapagos, the sea lions, whilst enjoying a most impressive sunset over Wreck Bay.
On September 15, 1835, a young British naturalist named Charles Darwin reached his first Galapagos Island. Although initially disappointed by his first sight of the islands and their barren aspect, he was quickly blown away by the strange and outlandish nature of the inhabitants of this remote archipelago. The first things he noticed were the apparent tameness of the animals, and most importantly the close affinities of Galapagos flora and fauna to those of mainland America.
This island was San Cristobal, the easternmost island in the group, and the season was the dry one, so on approaching this very same island today, at the same time of the year, we may truly feel that we are following in the footsteps of this legendary man. It is an island of rolling hills, green highlands, stark lava flows and spectacular white beaches; and was historically one of the first to be inhabited. It has a harsh history as the home of the infamous Manuel Cobos Empire, a large and particularly brutal penal colony. Today it's a lot more civilized however, and the main town on the island, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, is the political and administrative capital of the Ecuadorian province of the Galapagos.
We approached San Cristobal bright and early and lowered Zodiacs to explore the most famous and truly spectacular of its landmarks, Leon Dormido – the sleeping lion, as seen from certain angles it bears a striking resemblance to an Egyptian sphynx. This rocky outcrop is the remnant of a vertical tuff cone formation which has split in two, and its cliffs soar up to over 500 ft, dwarfing our fleet of Zodiacs. Once back on board Polaris, we repositioned to one of the most spectacular beaches in Galapagos, at Cerro Brujo, where we strolled along white sand the texture of baking flour which lines the harsh AA lava flow. We found sea lions, an oyster catcher couple teaching their chick to forage, many shore birds in a salt water lagoon, and spent a couple of hours exploring the intertidal pools which had been exposed at low tide.
During the afternoon we visited the most famous interpretation centre in Galapagos, followed by time spent exploring the streetside cafes and shops of the town, getting a taste for how the local “Galapagueños” live. We returned on board amongst the anchored pangas in the bay, taken over for the night by the most ubiquitous inhabitants of the Galapagos, the sea lions, whilst enjoying a most impressive sunset over Wreck Bay.
