Today we explored Punta Pitt on the northeastern side of San Cristobal Island. After breakfast, we started with a hike that began along an old dry creek and went all the way to the top of a cinder cone. At the top, we looked at the incredible landscape and the contrast of barren terrain against red vegetation at the coast.
We were also on the lookout for one of the most colorful birds on the islands: the red-footed booby. Near a breeding ground on the coast, we saw some red-footed booby chicks and some adults looking as though they were trying to start a nest.
Along the trail we observed the endemic San Cristobal lava lizard and, in a stroke of luck, also several San Cristobal mockingbirds. This species of mockingbirds is endangered by the feral cats that prey on them, greatly reducing their numbers.
As we returned to the beach, some Galápagos sea lions rested and relaxed on the warm green sand. We also imitated the sea lions behavior and stayed on the shore for a while.
We returned to the National Geographic Islander and began to navigate to Leon Dormido on the west coast of San Cristobal. As we arrived at Leon Dormido, we geared up and went snorkeling from our Zodiacs. We looked at different species of fish and green sea turtles. We also found a small school of juvenile black-tipped sharks.
After this great outing we returned to our ship and circumnavigated along the steep, tall cliffs of this islet and looked at frigatebirds, Nazca boobies, and blue-footed boobies. It was a great way to end our week in the Enchanted Islands.
