This morning National Geographic Endeavour lies anchored in the partially exposed bay off Pitt Point on San Cristobal Island. A mellow ground swell makes the ship roll gently from side to side as our guests wake up to a beautiful morning with mostly sunny skies. The high air humidity promises yet another warm tropical day which starkly contrasts the mostly barren northeastern end of this island originally named after a William Pitt, Earl of Chatham.
As the sun makes its appearance, a southeastern breeze of the southern trade winds uncommon for this time of the year start picking up. Good news for those who will venture inland today to explore in the closest thing to "canyoning" the volcanic Galapagos Islands have to offer. As the adventurers return to the shore, Galapagos sea lions seemingly don’t mind sharing the golden glittering sands of the olivine beach at the landing site, as many of us go in for a well-deserved cool down swim with a few sea lion pups even joining in on the fun.
As lunch time approaches and our Zodiacs make their way back to the ship, the National Geographic Endeavour heaves anchor and clears Pitt Islet on a southwesterly course on its way for our next stop of the day.
Leon Dormido, the "Sleeping Lion," also known as Kicker Rock, off the wind-protected northern coastline is our snorkeling spot for the afternoon.
And what a snorkeling session we had!
With a rare visibility above 30 feet at this site, the waters around the submerged cliffs unveiled vast shoals of Creole fish with Galapagos sea lions and Green sea turtles gently piercing holes through the schools. Several species of sharks such as Galapagos shark, black tip sharks and scalloped hammerhead sharks as well as white spotted eagle rays cautiously inspect the surroundings as they waited for their turn to pass through this very popular cleaning station.
As I write these lines National Geographic Endeavour heaves anchor once again in preparation for what should be an amazing sunset circumnavigation of Kicker Rock.
