Punta Pitt and Leon Dormido, San Cristobal Island
Our first sight when we arrived at the beach at Punta Pitt before beginning our exploration were several “moving rocks” that actually were sea lions just resting and rolling around. The sounds of several of them mixed, and upon disembarking we tried to find a good clear area between them to get our feet dry and start our daily exploration. As we ascended between the rocks a San Cristobal mockingbird came by, looking at us with curiosity.
As we walked we observed the deep red colors of the Sesuvium plant, which covered most of the area, creating a beautiful contrast with the brown ash and black lava. The strong swells splashed against the rocks, sending a spray of water and foam into the air. Several adult red footed boobies were preening while a juvenile was sitting on a nest; probably waiting for its parents to return from the sea and feed it. A very strong wind blew, creating choppy conditions and white caps on the sea, when suddenly a goliath emerged from the ocean, a humpback whale breaching in front of us probably 400 feet off the coastline. It breached several times, but the most interesting surprise was that another whale, this time a little one, began to do the same. It was not as big as the other whale, but for us just as important and intriguing, because in these situations intentions and will is what matters as the smaller whale mimicked what the bigger one was doing. It simply couldn’t get better than this.
On the way back to the beach we saw several lava lizards on the trail, and back at the beach the noisy sea lions were rolling around, swimming in the water, and simply having fun.
In the afternoon it was time to snorkel, this time at Leon Dormido, and the highlight was having the chance to see sharks during the snorkeling. Several of our explorers had never seen a shark while they swam in the same waters, and I know the feeling of the first encounter: it is a mixture of awareness, a little fear, and the need to see and explore that we all have. As expected the sharks were present, small Galápagos sharks and hammerheads. Besides the sharks a few marine turtles were in the water around the same area. After snorkeling we came back onboard to change clothes and get ready for a circumnavigation around Leon Dormido and celebrated the days we stayed on this unique place in the world.
