Cerro Dragon & Chinese Hat Islet
This morning we were greeted by a magnificent sunrise, with boobies flying overhead. Several photographers landed on the island at 6:00am to take advantage of the amazing light the morning had to offer, followed by the rest of the group who enjoyed the later excursion on the island. Our walk started on black volcanic basalt, with marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs amongst them. The nearby organic beaches consisted of many types of shells and sea urchin spines. We watched a great blue heron feeding on the Sally Lightfoot crabs and a lava heron fishing in the tidal pools. Santa Cruz has many giant prickly pear and candelabra cacti in its landscape, giving it a very unique appearance, as well as a good habitat for the land iguana.
After the nice walk on Dragon Hill, we returned to the Polaris, donned our wet suits, and departed for snorkeling around Guy Fawkes Islets. This was an impressive wall descending to depths well over 100 feet. There were many colorful sponges, corals, and barnacles. The Galápagos marine life was very active here. The sea lions enjoyed playing with the snorkelers, coming near them before swimming off into the deep, only to return for more playtime.
Later on, we moved to the southeastern face of James Island, where we found a particular and paradoxical volcanic area, Chinese Hat Islet. Between James Island and Chinese Hat, there is a great channel where we interacted with sea lions, swam near the beach, kayaked, and snorkeled. These activities brought us close to a white tip reef shark, marine iguanas, and the Galápagos penguin.
Our day ended with a great view from the sky deck of the gorgeous landscape we visited today in front of the setting sun. This was followed by a tasty barbeque under the stars, ending yet another fabulous day in the Galápagos Islands aboard the Polaris.
This morning we were greeted by a magnificent sunrise, with boobies flying overhead. Several photographers landed on the island at 6:00am to take advantage of the amazing light the morning had to offer, followed by the rest of the group who enjoyed the later excursion on the island. Our walk started on black volcanic basalt, with marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs amongst them. The nearby organic beaches consisted of many types of shells and sea urchin spines. We watched a great blue heron feeding on the Sally Lightfoot crabs and a lava heron fishing in the tidal pools. Santa Cruz has many giant prickly pear and candelabra cacti in its landscape, giving it a very unique appearance, as well as a good habitat for the land iguana.
After the nice walk on Dragon Hill, we returned to the Polaris, donned our wet suits, and departed for snorkeling around Guy Fawkes Islets. This was an impressive wall descending to depths well over 100 feet. There were many colorful sponges, corals, and barnacles. The Galápagos marine life was very active here. The sea lions enjoyed playing with the snorkelers, coming near them before swimming off into the deep, only to return for more playtime.
Later on, we moved to the southeastern face of James Island, where we found a particular and paradoxical volcanic area, Chinese Hat Islet. Between James Island and Chinese Hat, there is a great channel where we interacted with sea lions, swam near the beach, kayaked, and snorkeled. These activities brought us close to a white tip reef shark, marine iguanas, and the Galápagos penguin.
Our day ended with a great view from the sky deck of the gorgeous landscape we visited today in front of the setting sun. This was followed by a tasty barbeque under the stars, ending yet another fabulous day in the Galápagos Islands aboard the Polaris.
