After a beautiful week sailing around the westernmost part of the archipelago visiting the youngest islands and being witnesses to the eruption of Wolf volcano, we finally arrived at San Cristobal Island, one of the oldest in the Galapagos. Soon after breakfast we started our Zodiac ride followed by a wet landing on a green olivine beach sparkling with crystals and of course our ever-present friends the sea lions officially welcomed us to the island. Our walk started along a narrow trail, a place eroded by water after strong rainfalls during the previous “El Niño” phenomenon, and then up to a scenic point where we could see the peninsula of Punta Pitt. We tried to find the last of the three species of boobies, the red-footed booby. Plants and eroded tuff (volcanic-ash) were our companions along the trail.
Red-footed boobies are pelagic and nest here on the southeast point of the archipelago where many species arrive for the first time. High endemism exists here, like our San Cristobal lava lizards, mockingbirds and much more wildlife. We ventured deeper into their nesting site and finally saw them right under us by the cliffs. There were many white fluffy chicks, juvenile and a nesting adults, all stages in a single spot. Probably one of the best attractions during this hike were the blue footed boobies that are coming back to this part of the island for nesting. We observed three couples and one nest with two eggs.
Back to the beach some opted to swim among the sea lions while others just relaxed on the beach. Our younger explorers enjoyed the calm waters, swimming with juvenile sea lions, while along the seashore some guests enjoyed taking pictures of seabirds and some lava lizards.
Just before lunch, the National Geographic Islander started navigation heading west to Kicker Rock or “Leon Dormido” where we started our last activities, swimming around an impressive tuff cone. We observed many green sea turtles, colorful fish, rays and different species of sharks during the snorkeling. Galapagos sharks, white and black tipped reef sharks delighted our guests. Afterwards we all returned to the ship and we circumnavigated Kicker-Rock, observing the gigantic formation. From the deck we watched an incredible sunset while in the air magnificent frigate birds were our last companion as we ended this incredible week in the Galapagos.
