We left our somewhat rocky anchorage off Santa Fe Island just before midnight and cruised along smoothly all night to the north and then west, anchoring soon after dawn off the small cinder island of Sombrero Chino. Indeed, from a distance the island looks like an old fashioned Chinese hat! Thick wet clouds of garua mist blew in from the southeast while we ate a hearty breakfast of eggs benedict, so I delayed our Zodiac ride for a half hour. Sure enough, the garua blew off and the morning was beautiful: breezy and cool and soon even the sun had come out!
We boarded the Zodiacs and rode along with our naturalists admiring an extensive lava flow on the large island of Santiago that dates from 1897. We saw marine iguanas sunning, and lava herons (also known as striated herons) catching tiny red cardinal fish. A Galapagos hawk perched on a white sand beach and several sea lions rested also on the sand. A huge bull sea lion barked and rolled in the surf; he was guarding the females, one of which must have been in estrus. One Zodiac found a penguin flitting and diving and feeding close to shore.
On board we wiggled into our wet suits and headed out for a long and amazing snorkel in the clear, shallow channel between Sombrero Chino and Santiago Islands. There were zillions of fish of dozens of species, and white-tipped reef sharks, rays and penguins! The conditions were fabulous – clear water and sunshine – and the snorkelers swam on and on and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Meanwhile, I took a small group of four guests to a charming white beach where we read or relaxed or dug in the sand according to our age and inclination. Later we were joined by an iguana and a sea lion, and then by a good number of the snorkelers who came to warm up on our lovely strip of brilliant white sand. As soon as we were all back on the ship the captain had our boson haul up the anchor and we cruised close to one of the Bainbridge Islets. In a crater lake we observed a couple dozen bright pink flamingoes and with binoculars you could see that a dozen of them were sitting on tall mud nests.
In the afternoon, following a welcomed siesta, I showed our guests pictures and shared my personal story about the experiences I had – now many years ago – while doing my PhD research and living on Isabela Island’s Volcan Alcedo. Back in the late 70s when I camped for a year and a half on the volcano, I didn’t have a radio or cell phone; but I was never lonely as I was surrounded by fearless hawks and tortoises who kept me company and well entertained!
Our afternoon hike at Sullivan Bay was a dry landing disembarkation on the same extensive lava field we had cruised along in the morning. Here however the lava is of the pahoehoe type and hence smooth enough for a fairly easy hike. The textures and variety of the lava was amazing and we took countless photos.
To wrap up yet another fantastic day in the “Islas Encantadas,” this evening we enjoyed a scrumptious barbecue dinner on the sky deck under a brilliant moon!
