This brand new day in our expedition around the Galapagos Islands greeted us with the splendid view of Sombrero Chino and the Bainbridge Islets. These striking parasitic cones of Santiago Island are believed to have been formed a long time ago when the sea level was lower in the area. Sombrero Chino can be roughly translated to English as “Chinese Hat”. It has an extended peculiar shape that looks almost like a huge hat, like the ones worn in some regions in China. This unusual yet conspicuous shape is typically found in oceanic islands of volcanic origin. These kinds of formations are also known as “shield volcanoes”.
Just after breakfast we explored the area by our Zodiac fleet. The Zodiac ride was a very successful one, for we had the chance to cover a relatively long distance admiring the astonishing volcanic landscape and looking for wildlife. Lava herons, noddy terns, Galapagos shearwaters and Galapagos sea lions were admired and photographed. Just when we were coming back to the ship, we finally spotted a single Galapagos penguin, which showed of its wings and diving skills to the delight of its observers.
Once onboard we put on our snorkeling gear to continue exploring the area, but this time by going deep-water snorkeling. The underwater world in this unique location was as its bests today, with sunny skies and clear, warm waters.
At lunch time, the ship was repositioned to the south of the fourth largest islands of the Galapagos archipelago, Santiago Island. On our way to Santiago Island, we sailed near Bainbridge Rocks, where we spotted a few Greater flamingos in the distance, on an inner brackish water lake inside the crater.
In the afternoon, after a presentation on Charles Darwin by naturalist Vanesa Gallo, we went to Sullivan Bay located on Santiago Island. We had a fascinating hike on fairly recent lava flow. The lava we observed today is believed to be just a little more than a hundred years old. It came from an eruption that was witnessed as recently as in the year 1897. Most of the hike was over smooth “pahoehoe” or ropey lava with many “aa” lava patches here and there. Along the way we observed some volcanic formations like cinder cones, spatter cones, “hornitos” tree casts, etc.
As the day was coming to an end, we returned to the ship with the company of the last sunrays of the day. As a finale we had a BBQ for dinner served on the sky deck, with a golden sunset in the background.
