Cerro Dragon & Sombrero Chino
We started the morning with a walk on Cerro Dragon, painteresque location situated in the northwestern part of Santa Cruz Island. This visitors’ site is well known for the abundance of Galápagos land iguanas that live in the area. At this time of the year, the end of the rainy season, the vegetation around this place still looks beautifully green. A great number of Galápagos cotton plants are blooming. Gorgeous weather accompanied us during the walk. Inquisitive Galápagos mockingbirds are nesting and some of the juveniles came to investigate their astonished observers at a very close range. Later in the morning we went for our first snorkeling outing of the day around Guy Fawkes Islets. In this place there is a beautiful underwater wall where we observed many fish and many kinds of invertebrates. Some other guests opted to cool down by swimming from the Polaris in the refreshing waters of the Pacific Ocean.
In the afternoon and just after lunch we went around Bainbridge Islets. We observed from the highest points of our ship a very large group of Greater flamingos that live in a saline lagoon that is located in the crater of one of these islets. The islet where the birds live is so flat and long therefore we could observe this unusual sighting. After this activity, we got ready for our second snorkeling outing of the day this time around the volcanic setting of Sombrero Chino. This beautiful volcanic cone resembles a Chinese Hat. Snorkeling was superb, we observed many different species of fish, stingrays, and Galápagos penguins! Other guests decided to explore the area by kayaking or taking Zodiac rides. Late in the afternoon we all came back onboard to talk about our new impressions and fond memories that the day provoked. Our expedition will continue tomorrow, we can hardly wait to see what this magical archipelago will bring to our lives.
We started the morning with a walk on Cerro Dragon, painteresque location situated in the northwestern part of Santa Cruz Island. This visitors’ site is well known for the abundance of Galápagos land iguanas that live in the area. At this time of the year, the end of the rainy season, the vegetation around this place still looks beautifully green. A great number of Galápagos cotton plants are blooming. Gorgeous weather accompanied us during the walk. Inquisitive Galápagos mockingbirds are nesting and some of the juveniles came to investigate their astonished observers at a very close range. Later in the morning we went for our first snorkeling outing of the day around Guy Fawkes Islets. In this place there is a beautiful underwater wall where we observed many fish and many kinds of invertebrates. Some other guests opted to cool down by swimming from the Polaris in the refreshing waters of the Pacific Ocean.
In the afternoon and just after lunch we went around Bainbridge Islets. We observed from the highest points of our ship a very large group of Greater flamingos that live in a saline lagoon that is located in the crater of one of these islets. The islet where the birds live is so flat and long therefore we could observe this unusual sighting. After this activity, we got ready for our second snorkeling outing of the day this time around the volcanic setting of Sombrero Chino. This beautiful volcanic cone resembles a Chinese Hat. Snorkeling was superb, we observed many different species of fish, stingrays, and Galápagos penguins! Other guests decided to explore the area by kayaking or taking Zodiac rides. Late in the afternoon we all came back onboard to talk about our new impressions and fond memories that the day provoked. Our expedition will continue tomorrow, we can hardly wait to see what this magical archipelago will bring to our lives.
