San Cristobal Island
We approached the oldest island in the archipelago early in the morning. We had travelled a good six hours overnight to reach this easternmost island of San Cristobal. Chatham in English, the name given by the early buccaneers and pirates is rarely used anymore, though it is still retained as an official name on many maps. The captain anchored the National Geographic Islander off Punta Pitt in the northeast, and a dramatic vista unfolded with the rising sun. Long shadows accentuated the ribs and ridges leftover from the erosion of millennia. Green and even somewhat lush, this will change in a month or two when the rains finally stop, the plants drop leaves, and the arid-zone vegetation once more dominates the landscape.
Our objectives today were red-footed boobies, and indeed we found them. Hikers who followed the steep ravine up to the plateau found a couple of nesting pairs; Zodiac riders found them on the bluffs along the coast, nesting in low bushes, Nolana and Cryptocarpus primarily. One islet offshore had frigates with inflated gular pouches in full courtship mode, swallow-tailed gulls, Nazca boobies, red-footed boobies, blue-footed boobies, Galápagos shearwaters, and probably even more.
San Cristobal is a very special island in a special archipelago. The prevailing winds here come from the southeast, and therefore movement between islands is mostly a one-way affair. San Cristobal and the two other islands in this southeast corner are isolated from the rest of the archipelago, and genetically their residents have evolved over the millennia with little to no mixing from other populations.
As a result, the San Cristobal lava lizard and San Cristobal mockingbird are unique, and seeing them this morning was another check on our wildlife list.
The afternoon was, however, an outrageous “gran finale” for the snorkelers. It is rare to get good visibility in the water around Leon Dormido, an eroded tuff cone formation surrounded by deep water. But today was perfect, with 50-foot visibility down to the white-sand floor in the crack between the cliffs. We came in hopes of seeing sharks—and did we see sharks! In groups of 10-12, several schools of Galápagos and black-tipped sharks swam elegantly beneath us. Some lucky folks even saw a hammerhead shark (but shy individuals as they are, it left the area fairly quickly, but must have returned as several people saw it—or was there more than one?).
Then several huge spotted eagle rays glided into the passage along with sharks and turtles…for a moment one didn’t know where to look!
Champagne and ceviche and sunset and Leon Dormido topped off a pretty fantastic day…a wonderful ending to a marvelous week. Good karma!
