Today we visited the island of San Cristobal. We started our day with a hike at Punta Pitt, where we walked uphill along a beautiful landscape made of volcanic tuff. Here we could observe the last of the three species of boobies we had yet to encounter in the Galapagos, the red-footed booby. In the afternoon, after a delicious lunch, we visited Cerro Brujo, a great place to relax on the last full day of our trip. We also spent time walking among sea lions and sea birds feeding along the shore. We ended our day navigating around Kicker Rock, a tuff cone in the middle of the ocean, a few miles off the coast of San Cristobal.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 30 May 2023
San Cristobal Island, 5/30/2023, National Geographic Islander II
- Aboard the National Geographic Islander II
- Galápagos
Javier Carrion, Naturalist
Javier grew up on Santa Cruz island where his grandparents first arrived in the 1940´s. Veritable pioneers, his grandparents settled in the highlands where they found a place to raise their children.
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San Cristobal is the easternmost island of the Galapagos and one of the oldest. It has a wealth of human, geological, and genetic history, with a unique contrast among its habitats. Today we visited its most iconic sites, including Punta Pitt’s golden beach, which is made from volcanic material and is a resting site for sea lions. Its mountain is comprised of compact ash, known as tuff cones. This destination has a healthy colony of red-footed boobies, which are the least known in the archipelago, and we were surprised by the dance of blue-footed boobies and the beautiful great frigatebirds nesting near the trail. We also visited the western central coast of the island at Cerro Brujo, with one of the most beautiful beaches in the archipelago, with soft, fine white sand. Our day culminated with a beautiful sunset at Kicker Rock.
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Española Island is an older, eroded volcano with outstanding, unique wildlife. Although better known for the nesting bird colonies, Gardner Bay Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on earth, not only because of its fine, white sand surrounded by colorful turquoise waters, but also for the sea lion colony that rests here. Punta Suarez looks as if nothing could live there, but as we walked along the loop trail, it unveiled highly concentrated nesting bird colonies. Included in its inhabitants is one of the most important, the waved albatross, which only nests on this island from April to December. We also observed Nazca boobies, colorful marine iguanas, lava lizards, and more. What a privilege it was for all of us to visit this special place.