Today was the last day of our Galapagos adventure on board the National Geographic Endeavor II. Without dwelling on the sadness that comes at the end of any great expedition, suffice it to say, today was magical. We began the day with a visit to Punta Pitt on San Cristobal. This was the day we had been waiting for—we were ready for great red-footed booby sightings and we were not disappointed. You see, this is a red-footed booby nesting site and they have recently begun the mating season here. The island was seasoned with sedimentary rock as well as basalt formations. The endemic Galapagos carpet weed plant sprinkled the plateaus with deep red accents. When we reached the summit, we were treated with red-footed boobies building their nests with newly formed partners.
At midday, we heard the inspiring story of Galapagos National Park Ranger Diego Bermeo. He has created the “Young Galapagos Photographers Project” locally, which allows young Galapagos generations to see and explore the islands through a camera lens promoting conservation, geographic awareness, and knowledge.
Later in the day, we embarked upon Cerro Brujo for our last outing with our amazing, passionate, and talented Naturalists. We cannot say enough about their presence and enhancement of our expedition. When they speak, you hang upon every word of wisdom and knowledge about the uniqueness and fragility of Galapagos. On Cerro Brujo, we enjoyed our last few words of wisdom from our naturalists and the powdery sand underneath our feet. At first, the sand on Cerro Brujo is more coarse and uninviting to your bare feet, but soon you encounter the transition zone where the effects of wind and water weathering and erosion are evident in the change from coarse grain to finely grained sand. The powdery sand was sprinkled with sea lions sunbathing in small groups. Our expedition family, yes, family, enjoyed time together on the white sand beach frolicking in the water, hiking to the end of the beachfront, and taking in the scenery together one last time.
It was breathtaking. Although we know that only a few hours stand between us and final disembarkation from our newly formed family, we all took advantage of the day, right up until the sunset magically danced on the horizon.
