We started our day with a Zodiac ride along the coast of a young black lava flow that occurred 117 years ago. During the ride we spotted brown pelicans, striated herons, sea lions and Galapagos penguins fishing and basking on the lava fields. The Galapagos penguin is the only penguin found in the Northern hemisphere and it’s also the third smallest penguin in the world. After the ride we decided to jump in the blue water and go snorkeling to explore the magic of the Galapagos Ocean and its wonders. During our snorkeling outing we spotted a large variety of fish, colorful marine invertebrates and were lucky to spot a couple of Galapagos penguins in the water.
We enjoyed seeing three species of parrot fish (blue chin, bicolor and bump head). While looking for sharks we found a couple of white tip reef sharks resting in the underwater caves. We also saw a baby sea horse (Pacific sea horse) within the algae and later swimming in a clear vertical column of water. Swimming with the Galapagos penguins was the highlight of the trip. It’s just incredible to see penguins next to a tropical lava field with cacti in the background.
After lunch we had a dry landing on Sullivan bay, a barren and pristine visitor site on Santiago Island. This experience helped us to imagine traveling back in time to explore the Galapagos as the islands were before they had a complex ecosystem well established on them. It was a good example of what primary succession looks like within island ecosystems. This young lava flow covered all of the paths and is slowly breaking down, giving way to many pioneer plants to establish and set roots deep in the basaltic lava.
We finished our day with a beautiful sunset as we looked forward to the rest of our Galapagos expedition.
