Punta Pitt and Leon Dormido
Today we had fantastic trip to two of the most spectacular visitor sites of the archipelago: Punta Pitt and Leon Dormido. A comfortable wet landing on a spectacular green sand beach was the best way to begin our exploration. One of the biggest surprises at the beginning of the trail was the presence of a Galápagos snake moving from lava rock to lava rock.
On our way to the top of the tuff cones, we experienced all the wonders of an ancient volcanic world: eroded lava rocks all over the place, volcanic ash that was the main component of the trail, but the dominant structure were the tuff cones that looked like sleeping giants of the old volcanic era. Once we reached the highest elevation, a magnificent view of Punta Pitt bay was shown to us. The deep blue sea made the perfect color contrast for an awe-inspiring picture.
At the end of the trail, we finally saw the main attraction of the visit: red-footed boobies. Just the fact of being there was a complete marvelous experience: seabirds of different kinds soaring all over the place, Chatham mockingbirds and ground finches singing the perfect melody of nature, and colorful San Cristobal lava lizards running on the volcanic ash. As we came back to the beach, we spent a magic moment swimming in the waves that splashed along the shore line. Once back on board the National Geographic Islander, it was to take our heading to our next destination.
In the afternoon the exploration just got better, and the best activity to begin with was to go deep water snorkeling at one of the most symbolic visitor sites of Galápagos: Leon Dormido. As we entered the water, reef fishes of different colors were our faithful companions during the activity. Farther along the cliffs, sea turtles of different sizes were swimming and diving everywhere around us, but the main surprised were the baby Galápagos sharks the surrounded us once we reached the channel of Leon Dormido. At the end of exploration, we enjoyed a charming sunset as circumnavigating Leon Dormido for a relaxing moment. Today we experienced one of the most magical days of the Galápagos Islands exploration.
