Today we woke up anchored in Sombrero Chino, a pyroclastic cone formation at the foot of James Island. We spent a wonderful morning exploring for penguins. We took a Zodiac tour, kayaked, and enjoyed a marvelous snorkel with sharks, rays, turtles, penguins, and many sea stars and multicolored fish. In the afternoon, we snorkeled again from a tiny beach at Sullivan Bay. Later, we walked on a very new pahoehoe lava field to admire the volcanic formations. We had a great day with a lot of surprises.
11/18/2024
Read
National Geographic Islander II
Santa Cruz Island
Our first full day of our expedition was spent exploring Santa Cruz Island, a central island of the archipelago with plenty of human and wildlife attractions. After we landed, a bus took us to El Trapiche, a great historical site in the highlands of Santa Cruz which provided a great example of how people who came to Galapagos at the beginning of its colonization survived. We learned how coffee, cacao, and sugar cane products, including sugar cane alcohol, is produced. We even had the chance to taste all of these delicious products. We took the bus again and drove to a higher location on Santa Cruz Island, to Los Gemelos. These outstanding geological formations are sinkholes of approximately 100-meters deep, surrounded by a unique Scalesia pedunculata forest. Walking through this dense forest was amazing due to the presence of different species of Darwin’s finches. A delicious lunch was waiting for us at a mesmerizing site, a ranch/restaurant surrounded by Galapagos giant tortoises. After we finished our lunch, we enjoyed a stroll to look for this gigantic and beautiful reptile, which gave us the chance to take wonderful pictures with them.
