After we navigated all night from Santa Cruz Island we woke up this morning to an impressive sight called Punta Pitt on San Cristobal or Chatham Island. There are cliffs made of volcanic ash making a half moon of what once was a huge ash volcano that has eroded. There is a brown sandy beach welcoming us along with young sea lions that playfully approach our boat before the landing.
After drying our feet and putting proper shoes on, we walked along an empty creek bed up the mountain until the trail led us to the other side of the Pitt Point. Along the route we saw endemic Chatham lava lizards and Chatham mockingbirds as well as blue footed and red footed boobies. Red foots is the most successful of the three species present in Galapagos, they feed in the open ocean far away from the islands and therefore we can only spot them in the outer periphery of the archipelago. Blue footed boobies fish near the shoreline so their food supply is limited to the amount of shoreline. Red foots nest up on trees or bushes on a proper nest while Blue foots lay two eggs on the ground and all they have to show for a nest is a guano ring. They are continuously pooping and turning around to face away from the sunlight and project a shade over the eggs.
After the visit we snorkeled and swam from the landing beach. Later in the day we visited Cerro Brujo where a white sandy beach invited to swim again. It’s so easy to be happy in Galapagos.
